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Tag: 2015

  • David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what his Department’s expenditure was in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Wales in 2014.

    Amber Rudd

    The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s expenditure for the financial year 2013-2014 was in (a) England £2,445.6m, (b) Scotland £437.2m, (c) Northern Ireland £1.8m and (d) Wales £117.4m.

    Expenditure that is incurred for the benefit of the UK as a whole and cannot be disseminated by individual country or region is excluded from these amounts.

    The figures are published annually and can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2014

    “

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, want his policy is on promoting the demilitarisation of Gaza.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The organisations involved in the process of clearing home-owners’ applications to the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM) are the UN agencies doing the damage assessment, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Public Works and Housing and Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Government of Israel.

    No individuals have been rejected to date, but a number of the assessments submitted require review ahead of further processing. These were mostly caused by repetition of names of individuals or where the assessments were recorded under the names of owners who are deceased for example. The GRM does not allow for the disqualification of individuals assessed for shelter repair on grounds of political association or geographic location in Gaza.

    The Government of Israel, like all participants in the mechanism, is able to object to individuals participating in the GRM.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the diagnosis and treatment of motor neurone disease.

    Norman Lamb

    Motor neurone disease (MND) is a rare incurable neurodegenerative condition and there are estimated to be up to 5,000 people with MND in the United Kingdom. In its early stages the disease can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms a patient may present with, such as fatigue, clumsiness and muscle weakness are shared with more common, less serious conditions. No two people with MND will be affected in exactly the same way and there is no one test to diagnose the condition.

    To support general practitioners (GPs) to spot the potential symptoms of MND, the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGPs) and the MND Association have worked together to produce a ‘Red Flag Tool’ which sets out key signs of MND to help GPs to identify suspected cases and refer them promptly to a neurologist for appropriate investigation. The RCGP and British Medical Journal have also both produced MND e-learning courses which together cover both signs and symptoms as well disease management.

    All services for people with MND should be commissioned as a specialised service in line with NHS England’s neurosciences service specification. This sets out what providers must have in place to deliver high quality specialised neurological care.

    Specialist MND care can include a range of services such as counselling and emotional support, respiratory care, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, respiratory secretion management, neurorehabilitation, physiotherapy and palliative care. Drugs can be used for symptom management, but riluzole is the only pharmacological drug licensed in the UK to slow the progression of MND.

    Finally, the Department has asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to produce a clinical guideline on MND. Development is currently underway and the guideline is anticipated for publication in February 2016.

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of application backlogs at the Disclosure and Barring Service.

    Karen Bradley

    The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) receives around 4 million disclosure
    applications a year and provides the Home Office with monthly updates on its
    performance. Latest data for the 2014-15 operational year, covering the period
    from April 2014 to January 2015, shows that 95.4% of disclosure certificates
    were issued within 40 working days – well above the DBS service standard to
    issue 88% of all disclosures within this time.

    A key aspect of DBS administration is to ensure that disclosure checks are both
    accurate and completed within service standard timescales. In the small
    proportion of cases where checks have not been completed within these
    timescales, the DBS is expected to take the necessary steps to progress the
    case including, as appropriate, working with the police and other parties
    involved in the checking process.

  • Andrew Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Andrew Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, what the average daily number of letters sent from the House of Commons to Government departments was in each year since 2000.

    John Thurso

    The number of letters sent from the House of Commons to Government Departments via the Inter-Despatch Service (IDS) over the period for which records are held is listed below. No count was made of individual items before May 2012 and so no information is available prior to this date.

    Number of items
    2012 (May–Dec) 31,849
    2013 42,243
    2014 36,512
    2015 (Jan) 3,426
  • Julian Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Julian Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the frequency with which the level crossing at Junction Road, Totton, will have to be operated resulting from increased use of the railhead at Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre, following the awarding of a lease at the site to a private enterprise.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre is still under consideration for possible sale or lease by the MOD. Any subsequent use of the land would be for consideration at the local level along with an assessment of the transport implications on the surrounding network. The transport assessment would not be the responsibility for the Department for Transport but would be for the local highway authority to consider. In addition, it is a matter for Network Rail to make an assessment of the risk at the level crossing at Junction Road, Totton.

  • Nigel Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nigel Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints the Pensions Regulator has received in each year since 2010.

    Steve Webb

    The Pensions Regulator publishes all its complaints statistics in its Annual Report and Accounts.

    The figures for each year from 2010 are contained in the table.

    Category

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    Stage 1

    20

    24

    18

    16

    Stage 2

    5

    3

    5

    5

    Notes:

    1. A Stage 1 complaint is a first tier complaint which receives a response from the Corporate Secretary.

    2. Stage 2 is where the complainant is not satisfied with the first response and requests a review of the complaint by the Chairman.

    3. Further information about the Pensions Regulator’s complaints process can be found at http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/about-us/how-to-make-a-complaint.aspx

    4. The Pensions Regulator’s Accounts are published at

    http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/about-us/annual-reports.aspx

    “

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to support exports of UK textile manufacturing.

    Matthew Hancock

    UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) provides a wide range of help to businesses in all sectors – including textile manufacturers – that are seeking to export. UKTI will also continue to work with textile trade associations in organising trade missions and taking textile manufacturers to trade shows and other events around the world as it has done over the past year.

  • Lyn Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lyn Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of population growth on local government finance needs.

    Kris Hopkins

    Parliament approved the Local Government Finance Report for 2015-16 on 10 February 2015. The settlement is fair to all; councils with the highest needs have higher spending power per household than those with lower needs.

    The focus of the settlement has deliberately changed away from keeping authorities dependent on grant, to providing them with the tools they need to grow their economies. As a result, although we took into account relative needs when setting the baseline for the new system, we have frozen this to maximise the incentive effect. All councils can benefit from the incentives for growth we have put in place – the New Homes Bonus and business rates retention.

    For example Newham’s retained income from Business Rates in 2013-14 was just under £7 million above its baseline funding level; and the authority’s own forecasts suggest it will be over £10 million above its baseline funding level in 2014-15. In addition Newham’s housing stock has increased by over 8,000 units over the period of the New Homes bonus scheme, providing a further £28 million of funding to the Borough in the years to 2015-16.

  • Nigel Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nigel Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people serving in the Army Reserve left in each year since 2010.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The available data on outflow from the Territorial Army (TA) for Financial Year (FY) 2011-12 was provided in an answer given by the then Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Andrew Robathan) on 26 June 2012, (Official Report, column 196-197W) to the hon. Member for Shipley (Mr Davies). The outflow from the TA in FY 2011-12 (excluding the Officer Training Corps) was 5,720.

    Since then, outflow from the Army Reserves was 4,620 in FY 2012-13 and 3,430 in FY 2013-14.

    The year end total for FY 2014-15 will be released in the Quarterly Personnel Report which will be published in May 2015. The outflow from the Army Reserve for the first three quarters of FY 2014-15 was 2,710.