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Tag: 2015

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to promote a sustainable approach to resourcing timber in the UK.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra implements the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which makes it an offence to place illegally logged timber on the EU market for the first time, and the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation, which aims to combat illegal logging and improve the supply of legal timber to the EU. The EU FLEGT Regulation establishes Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) between the EU and timber producing countries. Once VPAs have been agreed, timber producing countries will issue exports with a ‘FLEGT licence’ which verifies the timber’s legality.

    Defra is also responsible for the Government’s Timber Procurement Policy, which requires central government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies to procure timber and timber products that are both legal and sustainable.

    Domestic forests provide about 20% of the UK’s timber needs. They are managed in accordance with the UK Forestry Standard, the reference standard for sustainable forest management in the UK. Moreover, about 85% of UK timber production is independently certified, providing additional assurances of sustainability.

  • 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 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate he has made of the cost of delayed discharges to the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has made no formal estimate of the costs of delayed discharge to the National Health Service. It is recognised that such delayed discharges do use resource which could be deployed elsewhere, and all parts of the NHS and those with responsibility outside it, are continually looking for ways in which to reduce the number of delays.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seeker applications were received in each of the last five years; and how many such applicants were (a) refused, (b) granted refugee status, (c) granted humanitarian protection and (d) granted discretionary leave to remain.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office publishes an analysis of applications for whole-year cohorts of asylum seekers to establish the overall success rates following appeal; this is available in Table as_06 (Asylum data table Volume 2) of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release. For the latest years, some cases will still be outstanding. This cohort analysis is therefore not able to provide a complete picture for the latest applications but for most years will provide the most complete description of the outcome for asylum seekers. The analysis of the outcomes of asylum applications are the recorded outcomes of the group (or cohort) of applicants in any one year, at a particular time. This dataset is updated, in full, annually and is currently available up to 2014.

    Insert Table

    A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics April – June 2015, is available from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release.

  • Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that remittances are delivered to their intended recipients.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Remittances are a vital lifeline for many poor people in developing countries. DFID works through the World Bank Group and a network of Financial Sector Deepening entities across Africa to support the delivery of remittances to poor people and strengthen regulations that govern the operation of secure and legitimate payment channels.

    As a member of the Action Group on Cross Border Remittances, we work with regulators and the industry bodies for banking and Money Service Businesses (MSBs) to: increase supervision of MSBs, improve industry guidance and training, clarify regulatory requirements, monitor market risk and support a safer corridor for UK-Somalia remittances.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure that taxi drivers are aware of their legal obligation to take guide and other assistance dogs.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport has issued guidance to the licensed trade on the provisions in the Equality Act that require taxis and private hire vehicles to carry guide and other assistance dogs.

    In addition to their ability to take appropriate action in the event that licensed drivers fail to comply with this duty, local licensing authorities can inform taxi and private hire drivers of all their responsibilities as licensed drivers.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 9 February (HL4678), whether the rise in suicides on the railway has been analysed by area, age group, sex and ethnicity of those who died.

    Baroness Kramer

    Details of suicides by area (route), age group and sex are recorded by the rail industry but not ethnicity.

    The relevant information is held by RSSB (formerly the Rail Safety & Standards Board) and is analysed to provide evidence to support the development and implementation of the industry’s suicide reduction programme.

  • Lord Myners – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they still consider it appropriate to allow Chinese banks to open branches in the United Kingdom.

    Lord Deighton

    The decision-making on applications from Chinese banks to establish branches in the United Kingdom is a matter for the independent Prudential Regulation Authority, consistent with its broader policy on the regulation of non-European Economic Area banks.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the Future of News report published by the BBC on 28 January.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    No formal assessment has been made of the report, but we welcome the BBC’s insight into the future of news.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the consequences for the UK economy of a Greek exit from the Eurozone.

    Andrea Leadsom

    As the Chancellor stated on 2 February “…it is clear that the stand-off between Greece and the euro zone is the greatest risk to the global economy”.

  • Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department provides tax relief to encourage multinational mining corporations to maintain their headquarters in the UK.

    Mr David Gauke

    Since 2010 the Government has delivered a range of reforms to encourage investment in the UK, including the establishment of headquarter operations by multinational companies. The Government has cut the main rate of corporation tax from 28% to 21% and it will fall further to 20% this April, the lowest rate in the G20. In addition, the Government has introduced the Patent Box, increased the generosity of Research & Development tax credits and modernised the UK’s Controlled Foreign Company regime.