Tag: 2015

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support her Department has given to recycling initiatives of spoil wastes from harbour dredging.

    George Eustice

    There are a number of good examples where support has been provided to the successful, beneficial re-use and recycling of dredged materials, including land formation at Allfleet’s Marsh on Wallasea Island, beach replenishment in Poole Bay and land claim undertaken to construct the London Gateway Port in the Thames Estuary. In addition, in 2014 the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) published research on the potential to improve the co-ordination of such projects in the future.

    The UK Marine Policy Statement (2011) states that applications to dispose of wastes must demonstrate that appropriate consideration has been given to the internationally agreed hierarchy of waste management options for sea disposal, which includes recycling.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial support is available to people earning at least £111 per week net who are the principal carers for elderly relatives with a disability.

    Justin Tomlinson

    This Government recognises and appreciates the vital contribution made by carers.

    A variety of support is available to both carers and the severely disabled people that they care for. Support is both financial, including through the benefit and Tax Credit systems and the Universal Credit service, and in other ways through local councils and health services.

    Carer’s Allowance is designed to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person. For this reason it is not available to people earning more than £110 a week net of allowable deductions and expenses.

    Carers earning more than £110 a week may be entitled to other financial support, such as Universal Credit or Tax Credits if they satisfy the qualifying conditions.

    People with a disability can claim benefits in their own right in order to meet their needs. Depending on individual circumstances, such financial support can be through universal, extra costs benefits and/or means-tested benefits. Means-tested benefits, such as Pension Credit, include an additional amount for people with a severe disability (currently £61.85 a week for a single person) which can be paid to a disabled person to help meet the costs of caring if their carer is not receiving Carer’s Allowance.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to publish statistics on the number of sanctions made in relation to jobseekers claiming universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    The information you have requested is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for UC. All statistics will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.

    The latest official experimental statistics on UC and the Departments release strategy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics

    “

  • Lord Harrison – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Harrison – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how the requirement for public-interest enterprises to disclose non-financial interests and diversity measures under European Union Directive 2014/95 affects United Kingdom small and medium-sized enterprises wishing to be listed on stock exchanges across the European Union.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government expects to publish a consultation document shortly on plans for transposition of this Directive, most of whose provisions are already reflected in UK reporting requirements. A full impact assessment, including an assessment of the impact on SMEs, will be made available alongside the consultation document.

  • Lord Smith of Leigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Smith of Leigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Leigh on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support the greater provision of respite places and care homes in order to reduce problems of bed-blocking.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Local authorities are responsible for commissioning care and respite placements and for ensuring that the provision of care and support meets the needs of local people. The Department is supporting local authorities to improve commissioning and ensure that their local markets are effective.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prisons, Probation, Rehabilitation and Sentencing on 9 September (HC5660), how many National Offender Management Service Staff were delivering commercial work for Just Solutions International; and of those, how many had been doing so full-time.

    Lord Faulks

    Just Solutions international (JSi) was established in 2012 and formally launched in 2013. In September this year, it was announced that JSi would cease to operate.

    3.5 full time staff worked under the JSi brand. These staff also worked on other core business within the National Offender Management Service. An additional five staff were temporarily seconded from the Public Sector Prison Service in March 2015. All staff have been reallocated to focus on domestic priorities.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of expenditure on UK Trade and Investment on the level of foreign direct investment in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency between 2010 and 2015.

    Anna Soubry

    During the 2010/11-2014/15 period, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) recorded 8160 successful Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects won in the UK; of which 284 investments were in Scotland.

    UKTI and its regional/local partners were involved in supporting 6415 of the total number of UK investments.

    Breaking down the Scottish successes further, 5 landed in Kilmarnock and Loudoun.

    UKTI works as one team with Scottish Government and all other regional and local partners, to promote and support inward investment into all parts of the UK.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to principle 7 in paragraph 3.2 of his Department’s publication, Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly: Statement of Funding Policy, published in October 2010, which areas of self-financed expenditure of the Scottish Parliament are included in that principle.

    Greg Hands

    Principle 3.2.7, as set out in the 2010 edition of the Statement of Funding Policy, encompassed business rates income and council tax revenues collected by Scottish local authorities.

    The Statement of Funding Policy is reviewed and updated periodically. The devolved administrations have been informed that the Treasury expects to publish a revised version on 25th November to coincide with the Spending Review announcement.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the benefits to UK businesses in the (a) retail, (b) automobile, (c) construction, (d) ICT, (e) financial services and (f) defence sectors of reduced tariff barriers arising from UK membership of the World Trade Organisation.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government has not made a specific assessment of the benefits to UK businesses in these sectors as a result of the UK’s membership of the WTO. But the benefits will be substantial as over the 20 years of the WTO average applied tariffs have been cut in half from 15 per cent in 1995 to less than 8 per cent today. And there are now 161 WTO Members comprising 98% of world trade, with the new (post-1995) members contributing 21% of this total. Further benefits are likely from negotiations currently underway: for example the Information Technology Agreement 2 (ITA2) should liberalise tariffs that affect around £12 billion of UK exports and imports.

  • Mark Garnier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Mark Garnier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Garnier on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to provide financial assistance to local authorities to deal with unforecastable shortfalls arising from the revaluation of business rates levied on GP surgeries.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The business rates retention scheme in England is providing real incentives for councils to support enterprise and economic growth. In 2015/16, 362 authorities expect to retain an extra £544 million in business rates above baseline funding. Under the scheme, local authorities or pools of local authorities are protected against significant declines in business rates income, such as from rating appeals on GP surgeries, through a safety net that guarantees income at 92.5% of baseline funding.