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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the most recent annual figure for the turnover of chief executives of National Health Service organisations.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    This information is not held centrally.

    However, leadership experience and stability are an important factor in running successful National Health Service organisations. This is precisely why one of the new functions of NHS Improvement, working with other organisations such as Health Education England, will be to create and support the new generation of NHS leaders.

  • Lord Patten – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the potential benefits to marine conservation and habitats of extending British territorial waters in the sea areas around Gibraltar away from Spain.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government has not made any such assessment. Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar has constitutional competence for marine conservation and habitats in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

  • Lord Willoughby de Broke – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Willoughby de Broke – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willoughby de Broke on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Rural Payments Agency will complete Basic Payment Scheme payments to eligible farmers before the end of 2015.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Rural Payments Agency are on track to start making payments for 2015 BPS Claims from December. The majority of these will be in December and the vast majority in January. The payment window runs from December to the end of June.

  • Andrew Griffiths – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Griffiths – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

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

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of (a) teenage, (b) 15 year old, (c) 16 year old and (d) 17 year old girls (i) became pregnant and (ii) gave birth in each local authority area in the most recent three-year period for which figures are available.

    Mr Rob Wilson

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

  • 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 2015-09-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons his Department determined that addressing liabilities relating to unrestored coal mines in Scotland was a devolved matter.

    Damian Hinds

    Environmental protection is a devolved matter, and outstanding land restoration liabilities lie with the relevant local authorities and ultimately with the Scottish Government. The Treasury has fully considered the two proposals put to them for addressing the shortfall of land restoration on abandoned Scottish coal mines: an exemption from the Carbon Price Support (CPS) tax and a direct grant from the Exchequer. Following discussions with Hargreaves, the UK Coal Authority, the Scotland Office, the Scottish Government and DECC, the Treasury has had to decline both proposals after thorough consideration. The reasons for this include: – Addressing the shortfall in land restoration is not the responsibility of the UK Government. Environmental protection is a devolved matter, and outstanding land restoration liabilities lie with the relevant local authorities. – The proposals are unaffordable in the current fiscal climate. They would also set a precedent that would risk discouraging companies and local authorities from making proper financial provision for the cost of site restoration and future environmental liabilities. – A CPS exemption would be an inefficient means of addressing the shortfall of land restoration, as the money would not go directly towards this aim and it would incur significant administration costs. – A CPS exemption would distort the market by making non-exempt coal less competitive, and by discouraging investment in low carbon power generation. I have written to the Scottish Government’s Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism informing him of this decision and I would be happy to consider any other options put forward.

  • Ranil Jayawardena – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Ranil Jayawardena – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ranil Jayawardena on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the regulation of broadband providers in order to ensure that customers receive the service that they pay for and are properly compensated if they do not; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    There are a number of coverage and quality measures that apply to communications providers; for example, spectrum licence conditions on mobile coverage and targets for Openreach on repair and installation times for fixed line and broadband services. Ofcom is working with the main broadband providers and mobile operators to ensure that appropriate redress is available to consumers when necessary, including when coverage and quality is unsatisfactory. Consumers can also seek redress on an individual basis, under the term implied into service contracts by the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, that the service will be carried out with reasonable care and skill. Effective from 1 October 2015, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 makes clear the rights of redress for consumers who do not receive a service that conforms to their contract; depending on circumstances, suitable remedies can include a price reduction, compensation or a right of exit.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if the Government will make it its policy to set energy efficiency targets higher than those set out in the 2015 Conservative election manifesto.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Alongside its specific manifesto commitment of insulating a million more homes over the next five years, supporting our commitment to tackle fuel poverty, this Government is also committed to keeping energy bills as low as possible as part of a long-term, coherent and affordable policy framework. We are also guided by our legally binding objectives on tackling fuel poverty and carbon, which require us to cut the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by the period 2023-2027, which we will do as cost effectively as possible, and to enable as many fuel poor homes as reasonably practicable to reach energy efficiency Band C by 2030.

  • Sarah Champion – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Sarah Champion – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect people defending women’s rights in Egypt.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We regularly raise the importance of human rights, including women’s, with the Egyptian government at both ministerial and official levels, and our Embassy in Cairo continues to monitor alleged cases of sexual and gender-based violence. In 2014 the UK sponsored a delegation of Egyptian Ministry of Justice officials to meet UK counterparts and discuss issues of gender-based violence. These discussions helped inform drafting of the new Egyptian law passed under interim President Adly Mansour, which criminalised sexual harassment in Egypt for the first time. At the UN’s Universal Periodic Review of Egypt’s human rights situation on 5 November 2014 the UK made recommendations focussing on the ability of civil society to operate freely and the protection of women’s rights, which were accepted by Egypt. We continue to discuss the issue of gender-based violence with the Government of Egypt and are seeking practical ways that we can work together in this area.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the report produced by the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration entitled Contract reform for consultants and doctors and dentists in training – supporting heathcare services seven days a week, published on 16 July 2015; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    After the British Medical Association (BMA) left negotiations in October 2014, the Government asked the independent Doctors and Dentists Review Body (DDRB) to make recommendations on a new contract for junior doctors. The DDRB report published on 16 July considered evidence from employers, Government, the British Medical Association (BMA) and other interested parties and made recommendations on a new pay structure for doctors and dentists in training.

    The Secretary of State accepted the recommendations of the DDRB as the basis for implementing a new contract and invited the BMA to re-enter negotiations to take forward the recommendations with NHS Employers. Although the DDRB accepted the principles of the reforms there remained significant work to finalise and agree the details of the contract and it was expected that these would be agreed between the parties on the basis of a negotiation. It is disappointing that on 13 August the BMA announced that it would not re-engage in negotiations based on the independent report and absented itself from participating in making important design decisions on the new contract.

    The Government cannot accept that a Trade Union should have a veto on making changes to an outdated employment contract that the BMA agreed urgently needed reform. The Department has therefore asked NHS Employers to take forward the work of developing a new employment contract without the BMA. NHS Employers are arranging to consult with junior doctors and other interested stakeholders directly and will shortly launch a series of roadshows across the country. The Government would still welcome the BMA re-entering the negotiation.

    The new contract will prioritise safe care by strengthening safeguards on doctors’ working hours and reward junior doctors more fairly for the work they do. No financial savings will be made from implementing the new contract. It will be finalised in the new year and is due to be implemented from August 2016.

  • Teresa Pearce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Teresa Pearce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any prisoners in HM Prisons have been deprived of (a) water and (b) electricity by prison officials as a disciplinary measure in the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    Neither deprivation of water nor of electricity is sanctioned as a disciplinary measure within prisons in England and Wales.