UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2015

  • Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to disabled young people who are required to take traineeships or unpaid work experience under the Earn or Learn policy.

    Priti Patel

    Jobcentre Plus will help meet the costs of any reasonable adjustments where appropriate to enable the young person to participate in a work experience placement. Certain expenses, such as child care costs and travel can also be reimbursed.

    Young people participating in a traineeship can qualify for existing financial support, including the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund, Free Meals, and Learning and Learner Support funding for 19 to 24 year olds. Access to Work is also available for the work experience placement of their traineeship if they have a disability or health condition that affects their ability to do a job, or means they have to pay extra work-related costs.

    Any policy changes under the Youth Obligation will be set out in due course.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether there is a process to allow hon. Members to view (a) limited and (b) other classified (i) Council and (ii) other EU documents on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    My officials are liaising with the Clerks of both the Commons and Lords European Scrutiny Committees to explore the scope and methods by which this information can be shared while still preserving the confidentiality of sensitive documents.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-09-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the British Virgin Islands government’s progress towards implementing a central register of beneficial ownership; and what steps he is taking to ensure that that government publishes a timetable for that implementation by November 2015.

    Mr David Gauke

    The international standards on anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing, including transparency of legal persons, are set by the Financial Action Task Force. The British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands are members of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force and are subject to mutual evaluations of their AML/CTF regime through this body.

    At the December 2014 Joint Ministerial Council, the UK and the Overseas Territories committed to continue to work together in raising international standards to tackle money laundering, tax evasion, illicit finance and corruption, leading by example given the importance of our financial centres to the international financial system. In March, the Minister for the Overseas Territories and I wrote to the Premiers of the BVI and Cayman Islands asking them to set out plans and a timetable for the implementation of central registers of company beneficial ownership, or similarly effective systems, by the November Joint Ministerial Council.

    Any system should meet the following three criteria: UK and domestic law enforcement and tax authorities must be able to access company beneficial ownership information without restriction, subject to relevant safeguards; these competent authorities should be able to quickly identify all companies that a particular beneficial owner has a stake in, without needing to submit multiple and repeated requests; and companies or their beneficial owners must not be alerted to the fact that an investigation is under way.

    The UK Government continues to engage actively with the BVI and Cayman Islands to emphasize the importance of this agenda and to offer any technical support that might be required.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Deposit Protection Service; and what plans he has to strengthen protections for tenants’ damage deposits.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department has a governance role in ensuring that all Tenancy Deposit Protection schemes perform to high standards.

    The Deposit Protection Service is required to submit monthly key performance indicators and provide annual updates of their management and financial plans to the Department, in accordance with the Service Concession Agreement we have with them.In addition, the Department holds quarterly monitoring meetings with the scheme operators at which any performance issues can be discussed. Since the schemes began in 2007, the Deposit Protection Service’s performance against the benchmarks set by our key performance indicators has been consistently high.

    Safeguards are already in place to ensure that tenants’ deposits are protected. All landlords and agents are required to protect a deposit and provide the tenant with certain prescribed information within 30 days of taking the deposit. At the end of the tenancy, the deposit should be returned to the tenant if they have honoured the terms of the tenancy agreement. If the landlord and tenant do not agree how the deposit should be apportioned, they can use the free Alternative Dispute Resolution service offered by the schemes.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether it is her policy to allow alternatives to in-home displays to be used in the smart meter rollout.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Energy suppliers are required to offer their domestic customers an In Home Display (IHD) where they install a smart metering system, enabling consumers to visualise how much energy they use, when they use it and how much it costs them in near real time. There is strong evidence that IHDs are instrumental to energy savings, as set out in the Smart Metering Impact Assessment and the findings of the Early Learning Project published in March 2015. IHDs facilitate a significant proportion of the expected benefits of the smart metering programme (some £4.3 billion).

    Energy suppliers are able to offer their customers, where they so choose, other engagement tools in addition to the IHD. However there is a lack of evidence on the enduring consumer benefits of alternative engagement tools within Great Britain. The Government is currently consulting on proposals to allow suppliers to undertake, with the Secretary of State’s approval on a case by case basis, trials of alternative energy use engagement tools to IHDs. This will help DECC to gather evidence on the performance of other approaches, to understand if the IHD requirement remains optimised for the costs and benefits accruing to consumers.

    The consultation can be found on the following weblink:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/smart-meter-in-home-display-licence-conditions.

    “

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress he has made in reforming the Data Access Advisory Group; and what plans there are to update the Caldicott principles.

    George Freeman

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has developed proposals to establish the Independent Group Advising on the Release of Data (IGARD), which will replace the current Data Access Advisory Group (DAAG). The new group will have an expanded remit, which is designed to drive improvements in decision-making in respect of data releases, specifically through increasing transparency, accountability, participation, quality and consistency.

    HSCIC has recentlyconcluded a consultation with the public and key stakeholders on the draft Terms of Reference for IGARD.The consultationran from 16 June to 31 August 2015. Forty-three organisations and individuals responded via the online web form, by electronic document and by letter. These responses will inform the process of managing the transition from DAAG to IGARD.

    Revised Caldicott principles were outlined in the Government’s response to the Caldicott Review Information: To Share or Not to Share published in September 2013. This document is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/caldicott-information-governance-review-department-of-health-response

    There are no plans to update these principles.

    “

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department’s policy is for the handling and release of patient data over the next five years; and what principles have informed that policy.

    George Freeman

    The Personalised Heath and Care 2020 National Information Board Framework for Action published in November 2014 outlined the Governments policy for handling and release of patient data over the next five years. The document is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personalised-health-and-care-2020

    The principles supporting this policy were outlined in Dame Fiona Caldecott’s Information Governance Review published in March 2013. The document is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-information-governance-review

    “

  • David Burrowes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Burrowes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 8 September 2015 to Question 47 by the Minister of Immigration to the Home Affairs Committee, how many Syrian refugees will be accommodated in order to meet the UNHCR requirement for 130,000 vulnerable Syrian refugees by 2016.

    Richard Harrington

    As the Prime Minister announced on 7 September, the Government will expand existing resettlement schemes to resettle 20,000 Syrians in need of protection during this Parliament. This is in addition to the thousands who receive protection in the UK under normal asylum procedures and through the refugee family reunion route. The UK is making a serious and substantial contribution to resettling vulnerable Syrian refugees. We will continue to work with the UNHCR and play our full part in helping these vulnerable people.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reasons were for which each emergency protection order was granted to a local authority in England and Wales in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) January to March 2015.

    Caroline Dinenage

    This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Queen Elizabeth II – 2015 Christmas Broadcast

    Queen Elizabeth II – 2015 Christmas Broadcast

    The Christmas Broadcast made by HM Queen Elizabeth II on 25 December 2015.

    At this time of year, few sights evoke more feelings of cheer and goodwill than the twinkling lights of a Christmas tree.

    The popularity of a tree at Christmas is due in part to my great-great grandparents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. After this touching picture was published, many families wanted a Christmas tree of their own, and the custom soon spread.

    In 1949, I spent Christmas in Malta as a newly-married naval wife. We have returned to that island over the years, including last month for a meeting of Commonwealth leaders; and this year I met another group of leaders: The Queen’s Young Leaders, an inspirational group, each of them a symbol of hope in their own Commonwealth communities.

    Gathering round the tree gives us a chance to think about the year ahead — I am looking forward to a busy 2016, though I have been warned I may have Happy Birthday sung to me more than once or twice. It also allows us to reflect on the year that has passed, as we think of those who are far away or no longer with us. Many people say the first Christmas after losing a loved one is particularly hard. But it’s also a time to remember all that we have to be thankful for.

    It is true that the world has had to confront moments of darkness this year, but the Gospel of John contains a verse of great hope, often read at Christmas carol services: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

    One cause for thankfulness this summer was marking seventy years since the end of the Second World War. On VJ Day, we honoured the remaining veterans of that terrible conflict in the Far East, as well as remembering the thousands who never returned. The procession from Horse Guards Parade to Westminster Abbey must have been one of the slowest ever, because so many people wanted to say ‘thank you’ to them.

    At the end of that War, the people of Oslo began sending an annual gift of a Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square. It has five hundred lightbulbs and is enjoyed not just by Christians but by people of all faiths, and of none. At the very top sits a bright star, to represent the Star of Bethlehem.

    The custom of topping a tree also goes back to Prince Albert’s time. For his family’s tree, he chose an angel, helping to remind us that the focus of the Christmas story is on one particular family.
    For Joseph and Mary, the circumstances of Jesus’s birth — in a stable – were far from ideal, but worse was to come as the family was forced to flee the country. It’s no surprise that such a human story still captures our imagination and continues to inspire all of us who are Christians, the world over.

    Despite being displaced and persecuted throughout his short life, Christ’s unchanging message was not one of revenge or violence but simply that we should love one another. Although it is not an easy message to follow, we shouldn’t be discouraged; rather, it inspires us to try harder: to be thankful for the people who bring love and happiness into our own lives, and to look for ways of spreading that love to others, whenever and wherever we can.

    One of the joys of living a long life is watching one’s children, then grandchildren, then great grandchildren, help decorate the Christmas tree. And this year my family has a new member to join in the fun!

    The customary decorations have changed little in the years since that picture of Victoria and Albert’s tree first appeared, although of course electric lights have replaced the candles.

    There’s an old saying that “it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness”.

    There are millions of people lighting candles of hope in our world today. Christmas is a good time to be thankful for them, and for all that brings light to our lives.

    I wish you a very happy Christmas.