Tag: 2015

  • Lord Condon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Condon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken, or propose to take, to support Kent County Council with the increased number of young people seeking asylum in Kent.

    Lord Bates

    The Government recognises the outstanding work of Kent County Council in caring for unaccompanied asylum seeking children, but believes a national response is required. We have offered additional funding to other Local Authorities willing to accept cases from Kent and are working closely with the Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Children’s Services to finalise plans for a new scheme to disperse unaccompanied child asylum seekers to the care of other local authorities.

    At the same time we continue to work with French authorities to monitor the pressures of illegal immigration at the UK border and work with port operators to bolster security. Significant investment has been made by the UK and French governments to provide additional security measures in Coquelles, including fencing, extra private security personnel, round-the-clock searching and additional French mobile policing units.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendation that nurses should not be added to the shortage occupation list, what they expect will be the impact of changes to the immigration rules on the running of hospitals, care homes, and care in the community.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    On 15 October 2015, the Home Secretary announced that the Tier 2 restrictions will be temporarily changed for nurses so that they can be recruited from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

    Nurses will be added to the Government’s Shortage Occupation List (SoL) on an interim basis. The temporary rule change, which will apply to applications considered from December, will mean that nurses from outside the EEA who apply to work in the United Kingdom will have their applications for nursing posts prioritised.

    The change is designed to ease pressure on health and care services ahead of the busy winter period and at a time when the Government is introducing tough new controls on agency spending. It will help improve continuity of care for patients and maintain safe staffing levels.

    The Home Secretary has also asked the Migration Advisory Committee to carry out a review of the evidence about whether nurses should remain on the SoL and to report back to the Home Office by 15 February 2016.

  • Baroness Young of Old Scone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Young of Old Scone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Young of Old Scone on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what resources are being allocated to prevent the spread of pests and diseases affecting the natural environment, including trees and woodland, and what assessment they have made of whether they are sufficient.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Protecting our country from plant and tree pests and diseases is important for our economy, the environment and society and is one of Defra’s strategic priorities.

    In 2013 the independent Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Taskforce assessed the threat to the health of our plants from pests and diseases and made eight recommendations to strengthen our approach, which were all accepted by Defra. The Plant Biosecurity Strategy sets out our plans to enhance existing risk-based activity and to develop new and innovative approaches such as the now publicly available plant health risk register.

    As part of our risk-based approach, agreed management approaches for pests and diseases are periodically reviewed so that we can ensure our responses are appropriate and lessons are learned for the future.

    Defra’s spend on plant health policies is now around £30 million per year, which includes policies to protect tree health.

    Defra is the lead department for plant and tree health. We published the Tree Health Management Plan in April 2014, setting out priority areas for action and outlining how the Government is working with others to manage tree pests and diseases. We work with other Government departments and agencies, as well as stakeholders from across industry and non-government organisations to address different plant and tree health issues. This work includes a programme of training and awareness-raising about biosecurity risks for other Government Departments and stakeholders such as food retailers.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Government has made of the rates of productivity of young employed people in the UK.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to promote Pension Wise.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The government launched a comprehensive nationwide marketing campaign in late August. This will ensure that more people are aware of Pension Wise, of how it can help them, and that they can – and do – access high-quality, impartial guidance on making the most of the new pension flexibilities.

  • Dr James Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dr James Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr James Davies on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on the future of the private sector home care industry of the implementation of the national living wage.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has engaged with the social care sector, including care providers, to understand how the introduction of the National Living Wage will affect them. The overall costs of providing social care will be considered as part of the Spending Review later this year.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Oliver Colvile – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to promote tenant management.

    Brandon Lewis

    We have allocated funding of £1million in 2015/16 (through the Tenant Empowerment Programme) to support social housing tenants’ involvement in their local communities. This includes support to those who wish to manage delivery of services to their homes and estates by taking up their Statutory Right To Manage.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information the British Defence Attaché to Russia has provided to the Russian government on measures taken to ensure accidental engagement with Russian military aircraft flying in Iraqi airspace does not lead to engagement in military confrontation.

    Michael Fallon

    Russian military aircraft are not conducting combat operations in Iraqi airspace: The British Defence attache in Moscow has therefore provided no information to the Russian Government on this subject.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many submissions his Department has received to date from (a) hon. Members, (b) academics, (c) industry, (d) think tanks, (e) allies and partners, (f) non-governmental organisations and (g) the public on the forthcoming National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review documents.

    Michael Fallon

    The Ministry of Defence receives a very wide range of letters from interested groups and individuals, on the National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review. Information on the breakdown of these could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review are cross Government reviews led by the Cabinet Office. They will be closely aligned with the 2015 Spending Review and are expected to be published towards the end of the year.

    “

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the schedule of comparable programme objects in HM Treasury’s publication, Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly: Statement of Funding Policy, published in October 2010, what the total expenditure was on the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority between 2010 and 2015; and what the forecast expenditure is in each location on that authority in each of the next five years.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The total expenditure on the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) between 2010 and 2015 was £15,381 million. This was predominantly spent on front-line operations and decommissioning with a small central spend on the NDA itself and on activities such as R&D. The expenditure was across the NDA estate which covers England, Scotland and Wales. However, it should be noted that Sellafield, the UK’s largest, most complex and challenging site accounts for over half of the NDA’s annual budget. There are no nuclear facilities in Northern Ireland.

    TheDepartment’s request for future funding as part of the Spending Review contains details of the NDA’s estimates of expenditure in line with its existing plans. This includes focussing on tackling the highest hazards at Sellafield.