UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2015

  • Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they define the term very significant obstacles”

    Lord Bates

    Paragraph 276ADE(1) of the Immigration Rules sets out the requirements for leave to remain on the basis of the applicant’s private life in the UK. Under paragraph 276ADE(1)(vi), where the applicant is aged 18 or over and has lived continuously in the UK for less than 20 years (and whether or not they have done so for more than half their life), there must be “very significant obstacles” to the applicant’s integration into the country to which they would have to go if required to leave the UK. Guidance for caseworkers on this is contained in section 8.2.3.4 of the Immigration Directorate Instruction Appendix FM 1.0b Family Life (as a Partner or Parent) and Private Life: 10-Year Routes, published on GOV.UK.

  • Lord Sharkey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Sharkey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, before withdrawing supplementary funding for the highly specialist work carried out at tertiary and teaching hospitals in England, they carried out an impact assessment of the effects of such a withdrawal on medical research; if not, why they did not do so; and if so, whether they will publish that assessment.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The supplementary funding, known as Project Diamond funding, was provided by the former London Strategic Health Authority in recognition of arguments made by providers about the higher costs of tertiary and teaching hospitals both for research and service provision. The research component was subsequently taken on by the Department, and the service component was taken on by NHS England.

    In the case of research funding, the Department’s view is that the approach to funding already recognises the higher costs of providing services. For example, a large part of funding is bids based. In bidding for research funding, providers will have taken into account all the costs they face. Any supplementary funding would be double-counting costs. Consequently the Department does not expect an impact on medical research from withdrawing funding as existing funding streams should meet all costs.

    In the case of funding for specialised services to patients, 2014/15 was the final year of supplementary funding provided by NHS England. Refinements to the National Tariff are being made, including the introduction of HRG4+, that make a significant improvement in recognising the additional costs associated with patient complexity. However no payment system can perfectly reflect patient complexity and other local issues. Monitor have a published process for providers who wish to seek an amendment to tariff prices, known as the local modification process.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of progress in combating Boko Haram in Nigeria; what assessment they have made of how many deaths and acts of terror that group has been responsible for over the past year; and how many of the girls who have been abducted by Boko Haram have been rescued to date.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we welcome progress made by Nigeria and its neighbours, Boko Haram remains a threat to security in North East Nigeria and the wider region. Due to the nature of Boko Haram attacks, which often take place in remote areas, it is difficult to provide accurate and reliable figures relating to their activities, including the numbers of people killed and abducted. However we estimate that over 20,000 people have been killed, 2.2 million internally displaced and 4.6 million affected by the insurgency.

    We are aware of several hundred women and children being released by Boko Haram this year. We have stressed to the Nigerian authorities the importance that they are provided with appropriate support.

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

    Lord German – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the annual cost of maintaining the first and second Severn crossings in each of the last 10 years.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Severn River Crossing Plc (SRC) is required to maintain and repair both Severn Crossings. This includes performing regular maintenance and inspections work and carrying out any necessary repairs.

    Separate maintenance costs are not available. The figures below for both crossings show all of SRC’s operational expenditure including maintenance on both crossings.

    Year

    Operational expenditure (including maintenance) £m

    2005

    8.75

    2006

    9.90

    2007

    10.62

    2008

    10.65

    2009

    10.71

    2010

    10.70

    2011

    13.03

    2012

    13.05

    2013

    14.37

    2014

    13.16

  • 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 assessment they have made of whether not automatically inviting those aged 75 or over for a bowel screening test complies with their duties under the Equalities Act 2010.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation based on the best available evidence.

    Bowel cancer screening by Faecal Occult Blood testing for men and women aged 50-74 was recommended by the UK NSC in July 2003. Following this recommendation, the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in England initially invited men and women aged 60-69 years old as the programme was rolled out across the country. This has now been extended to men and women aged up to 74, as recommended in the Cancer Reform Strategy (2007). The programme offers screening up to the age of 74 based on the original English1 and Danish2 trials along with evidence published in 2010 (Cairns et al, 2010) which recommended that surveillance seizes at the age of 75.

    No assessment has been made regarding automatically inviting those over 75 years for bowel screening. Men and women aged above the eligible age limit have been able to self-refer for screening every two years since the programme began, and so far over 150,000 have done so.

    1Hardcastle JD, Chamberlain JO, Robinson MH, Moss SM, Amar SS, Balfour TW, James PD, Mangham CM. Randomised controlled trial of faecal-occult-blood screening for colorectal cancer.

    Lancet. 1996:348(9040);1472-7

    2Kronborg O, Fenger C, Olsen J, Jorgensen OD, Sondergaard O. Randomised study of screening for colorectal cancer with faecal-occult-blood test.

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

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

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they plan to make to the government of Hungary about the use of tear gas and water cannon on those seeking asylum.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK expects all EU Member States to meet their obligations to comply with international standards including with regards to the fundamental values of respect for human dignity, freedom and respect for human rights, in the same way they have this expectation of us. The British Government recognises that Hungary has received the second highest number of asylum claims of any EU Member State this year to June, reaching unprecedented levels. We continue to follow closely the situation in Hungary and other Central European countries regarding the arrival of unprecedented numbers of people seeking entry and, often, passage onwards. Staff at our Embassy in Budapest have visited the border with Serbia and reception centres and have also met with Hungarian officials. More broadly as the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has stated, the UK and its EU partners must pursue a comprehensive approach which addresses the causes of the migration problem as well as the consequences.

  • Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the cost of a twin-bored A303 road tunnel at Stonehenge of length (1) 2.9 kilometres, (2) 4.5 kilometres, and (3) at least 7 kilometres, in order to avoid the entire surface area of the Stonehenge part of the World Heritage Site and its setting.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Road Investment Strategy is clear that the A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down scheme involves a tunnel of at least 1.8 miles (2.9 kilometres). Highways England is in the early stage of scheme development, looking at options, including the length of tunnel. Consultation on options will take place in 2017 and will involve stakeholders, local residents, businesses, road users and interested parties.

    Highways England does not yet have reliable cost estimates for a 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometres), or 4.3 miles (7 kilometres) tunnel. This information would become available during the consideration of options. The A303/A30/A358 Corridor Feasibility Study indicated that the cost estimate for a 1.8 miles (2.9 kilometres) tunnel is in the range of £864m to £1321m.

    To date, Highways England has not sought funding outside of their own resources to fund a solution for the A303 past Stonehenge although this does not preclude them from considering other funding sources in the future.

  • 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, how much has accrued to the public purse in tax receipts from the extraction of coal from open cast mines over the period 1995 to 2015.

    Damian Hinds

    There are no taxes levied specifically on open cast coal mining. This activity is subject to the UK’s general taxation regimes such as VAT and Corporation Tax. However it is not possible to say how much revenue these taxes raise from open cast mines, as the number of companies involved is below the Government’s threshold for disclosing tax liabilities.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of how many people will lose their working tax credits as a result of being paid the national living wage.

    Damian Hinds

    The information requested is not available.

    The government’s target is for the National Living Wage to reach over £9 by 2020, which means that a full-time worker currently on the National Minimum Wage will be earning over £5,200 more per year.

  • George Kerevan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    George Kerevan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the legal basis is for RAF aircraft entering and transiting Syrian airspace when flying from Akrotiri to bombing missions in Iraq.

    Michael Fallon

    RAF aircraft do not enter Syrian airspace when flying from Akrotiri to conduct strike missions in Iraq.