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Tag: 2015

  • Stuart Blair Donaldson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Stuart Blair Donaldson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Blair Donaldson on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government has taken to make property ownership by foreign companies more transparent.

    Anna Soubry

    The Prime Minister stated during a speech made in Singapore on 28 July that he will consult on the best way forward to extending what we ask of UK companies to foreign companies.

    He has also asked Land Registry from this autumn to publish data on which foreign companies own which land and property titles in England and Wales.

  • George Kerevan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    George Kerevan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Kerevan on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of where the compensating permanent deficit or deficits will appear in the national income accounts as a result of his Department sustaining a permanent budget surplus.

    Harriett Baldwin

    In the UK National Accounts, the income and expenditure of different sectors (household, corporate, public sector, and the rest of the world) imply paths for each sector’s net lending or borrowing. By identity, these must sum to zero as for each borrower there must be a lender.

    If the public sector were to run a budget surplus, there would be an offsetting change in the net lending position of one of the household, corporate and the rest of the world sectors. More information is available in the latest OBR Economic and Fiscal Forecast (July 2015). A link to the information is provided below:

    http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/economic-fiscal-outlook-july-2015/

    “

  • Bob Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Bob Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the benefits to the taxpayer, and to the electorate, of combining the dates of the proposed new mayoral elections and the local elections.

    James Wharton

    Both combining the dates for the new mayoral elections and local elections, and holding free-standing mayoral elections, can benefit the taxpayers and the electorate. Combining mayoral and local elections gives savings in electoral administration, up to 30% of the cost of each poll, is more convenient for voters and encourages turnout. Holding free-standing mayoral elections enhances mayoral accountability, encouraging value for money in a Mayor’s decisions, and may also allow mayoral governance to be introduced earlier than otherwise.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2015 to Question 4551, if she will request that Ofgem consider whether, given that SSE’s cost of generating hydro power is comparatively lower than the cost of a gas-fired plant the additional charges being levied by SSE to maintain supply in the Highlands and Islands is appropriate.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Electricity supplied to consumers in the Highlands and Islands region is produced by a range of generation types traded in a competitive market across GB. The electricity retail price paid by consumers in the Highlands and Islands, or any other given region, is not therefore determined by the predominant generation type in that region.

    The particular challenges of electricity supply in the Highlands and Islands – primarily related to the relatively large and sparsely populated terrain – mean that it costs more to distribute electricity here than elsewhere. There are two UK Government schemes which ensure consumers in this region do not bear an unreasonable burden of these costs. The Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme is providing an assistance amount of £57m in 2015/16 to all consumers in the North of Scotland, which is funded through charges on all licensed electricity suppliers across GB. The Common Tariff Obligation ensures electricity suppliers in the North of Scotland are not able to charge comparable domestic consumers different prices solely on the basis of their location within the region and protects consumers in remote rural areas from the relatively high costs of supplying electricity in these areas.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Valerie Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to announce her decision on the designation of the 23 marine conservation zones proposed in tranche 2.

    George Eustice

    Decisions on the marine conservation zones being designated in the second tranche will be announced by the end of January 2016.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of delayed transfers in West Sussex; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    Action taken to address delayed transfers in West Sussex is a matter for the local health and social care community.

    We understand that Crawley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG are monitoring any delays on a daily basis, and working closely with colleagues in social care and community health teams. Coordinated actions between health and social care include dedicated meetings focusing on delayed transfers of care held each week; proactive management of patient flow via daily ward rounds; implementation of a daily “SITREP” and escalation process for patients who are significantly delayed; and ward sponsorship by local managers to support change.

    Sussex Community NHS Trust is undertaking a detailed review of these issues, and has put an action plan in place to address them.

    The CCGs are also working in partnership with West Sussex County Council to develop an integrated hospital discharge model, and have already established a Hospital Rapid Discharge Team at Princess Royal Hospital which is reducing the number of patients that go on to the wards by between 25% – 30%.

    We are advised that these efforts have resulted in a steady reduction in average length of stay over recent months.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that health facilities in countries affected by ebola are strengthened to ensure that they can prevent or contain a future outbreak.

    Grant Shapps

    The UK has committed £240m over two years in support of the Government of Sierra Leone’s Ebola Recovery Strategy, including major investment in health. Our interventions will aim to increase the capacity of district and national structures to identify and respond swiftly to future outbreaks of Ebola or other communicable diseases. We will build on the surveillance, command and control systems established during the response.

    In Liberia, DFID has committed £6 million to the Health Sector Pool Fund over two years, to support access to safe, quality health services. The UK indirectly supports Guinea’s recovery through its contributions to WHO and other multilateral organisations. Globally, DFID and the Department of Health are seeking greater commitment from countries to implement the International Health Regulations, the internationally-agreed framework for national systems to prevent and respond to public health crises.

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many jobs his Department expects to be created by the HS2 project in (a) Bradford, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) the UK.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    HS2 will support up to 100,000 jobs around HS2 stations when operational.The balance of benefits will be in the Midlands and North; seventy per cent of jobs supported by HS2 are expected to be outside London, including an estimated 13,000 – 20,000 jobs around Leeds station. HS2 will support nearly 25,000 jobs during construction and 3,100 permanent jobs in operations and maintenance once it is open.

  • Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what role she has in authorising interception of hon. Members’ communications.

    Mrs Theresa May

    All warrants for the interception of communications are authorised by a Secretary of State. I am not going to comment on any individual instances of interception.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support UKTI is giving to British firms wishing to invest in Sri Lanka.

    Anna Soubry

    UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) team in the High Commission in Colombo (who cover Sri Lanka and the Maldives) provide advice to and support actual and potential UK investors. This can include advice on market opportunities, local partners and legal and regulatory requirements. They also offer the full range of UKTI services and support to British companies selling or looking for opportunities to sell goods and services in Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner regularly supports British companies, including by hosting and speaking at events and lobbying for them. The High Commission team works closely with the independent Council for Business with Britain, a trade grouping that many British investors in Sri Lanka are members of, to encourage and support continuing growth in business relations between the UK and Sri Lanka.

    The UK is consistently a top ten investor in Sri Lanka, ranking 7th in 2013, the latest year for which official figures are available. These investments range widely, from financial services to education, from traditional industries to cutting edge IT development.