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Tag: 2015

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what role the National Wildlife Crime Unit will play as part of the UK’s commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade from March 2016.

    Rory Stewart

    In the UK’s Commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT), published in February 2014, the Government committed to “take a national strategic approach to domestic action on IWT through . . . . funding the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) until 2016”. Defra and the Home Office together have provided £544,000 for the NWCU over 2014-15 and 2015-16.

    Decisions on future funding of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit beyond March 2016 will be made as part of the current Spending Review process.

  • Will Quince – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Will Quince – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department has allocated to support resettlement of Syrian refugees.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID has agreed to fund the ODA-eligible costs of the Syria refugee resettlement scheme for this financial year – discussions are ongoing to determine the precise amount necessary. From next year ODA funding for the scheme will be transferred directly from Treasury to the Home Office.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise the issue of minority rights during the visit of Prime Minister Modi of India; and if he will specifically raise (a) Sikh political prisoners in India and (b) the case of Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Human rights were discussed during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the United Kingdom. We welcome his reaffirmation that he governs for all Indians. The British High Commission in India regularly discusses the treatment of minorities, including the Sikh community, with the Indian National Commission for Minorities and with state governments across India. I also personally raised the issue of religious minorities with the Indian Minister of External Affairs, General V K Singh on 5 November. Relations between the Sikh community in India and the Indian government are ultimately an internal matter, but we encourage both parties to resolve their differences through dialogue.

    Although India’s Supreme Court partially lifted its suspension on the premature release of life prisoners by state governments on 23 July, the Court ruled that this would not apply to those cases which were investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI); central agencies or under federal law. This ruling applies to all cases regardless of the perpetrator’s ethnic identity. Specific issues of sentencing are a matter for the Indian authorities and we cannot interfere in their judicial system.

    We are aware of Surat Singh Khalsa’s hunger strike and continue to monitor developments, including Mr Singh Khalsa’s health.

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

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is a requirement of the new Northern Rail franchise that the Pacer trains that will be withdrawn from service in the North of England will be scrapped or whether they can be redeployed elsewhere.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    There is no such requirement in the new Northern Franchise Agreement. As the Pacers are owned by two Rolling Stock Companies, any future use is for them to decide.

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

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce and prevent incidences of pneumococcal pneumonia.

    Jane Ellison

    A national pneumococcal vaccination programme is in place to protect individuals for whom pneumococcal infection is likely to be more common and/or serious. Vaccination is provided to children as part of the routine childhood immunisation programme; those aged 65 years or over; and those aged between 2 and 64 years of age who are at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease.

    There is an increased risk of getting pneumococcal pneumonia following influenza infection. Therefore people aged 65 years and older and those under 65 years of age in clinical risk groups are offered influenza vaccination each year to lower their risk of flu and also pneumococcal disease.

    There has been a significant reduction in pneumococcal pneumonia in the United Kingdom, in all ages, this has mainly been the result of the impact of the UK childhood pneumococcal conjugate vaccination programme.

  • Lord Myners – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Myners – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Commissioners of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact receive funding to cover travel and hotel expenses ahead of visits, or whether they are reimbursed for meeting those costs personally.

    Baroness Verma

    The majority of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) commissioners’ air and rail journeys and hotels are booked in advance by the ICAI secretariat through DFID’s internal travel system to ensure value for money in line with DFID/ICAI guidance. These invoices are then verified and settled by the Secretariat. In the minority of cases where travel cannot be booked in advance, commissioners pay up-front and their submitted expense claims with receipts are then verified by the Head of the Secretariat and reimbursed.

  • Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the likely annual cost to the NHS of treating age-related macular degeneration by 2050.

    Alistair Burt

    From the data collected it is not possible to identify how much was spent specifically on treating patients with age-related macular degeneration.

    No estimate has been made of the annual cost of treating age related macular degeneration by 2050.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any assessment of the cost of energy bills to people served by District Heating Networks.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    In March 2015 DECC published a report by AECOM titled ‘An Assessment of the Costs, Performance, and Characteristics of UK Heat Networks’. The report included a review of the prices charged to final customers by a representative sample of heat networks (7 in total). The average heat price was found to be 6.43p/kWh but with a wide range of 4.64 to 9.88 p/kWh reflecting differences in network design, construction, commissioning and operation. On average this is less than the modelled cost of gas central heating in flats and terraced houses when boiler ownership costs are included (7.22 to 10.24p/kWh).

    The Government is aware that costs to the consumer can vary and achieving cost savings is dependent on the quality of the individual network. DECC has supported industry development of a technical code of practice for heat networks, and worked closely with industry and consumer groups on the development of Heat Trust, an independent consumer protection scheme that launched in November 2015. There are also plans to launch an on-line cost comparator tool in 2016 to allow a consumer to assess their charges against gas central heating. This greater transparency of heat charges is complemented by the billing information requirements in the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) amount and (b) proportion of the grants awarded by the National Institute for Health Research have been related to mental health in each of the last five years.

    George Freeman

    The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) awards funding of varying durations through a wide range of research programmes, research training and career development schemes, and funding streams for research infrastructure, systems and support services.

    Spend on research funded directly by the NIHR has been categorised by Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health categories. NIHR expenditure on research infrastructure, systems and support services where spend cannot be attributed to health categories is excluded. The following table shows NIHR spend in the ‘mental health’ category, and this spend as a proportion of total categorised spend and as a proportion of total revenue expenditure.

    NIHR spend in ‘mental health’ HRCS health category

    £ million

    Proportion of total categorised NIHR spend %

    Proportion of total NIHR revenue spend %

    2010/11

    49.8

    9.0

    5.4

    2011/12

    53.2

    9.0

    5.8

    2012/13

    70.0

    9.5

    7.3

    2013/14

    71.7

    9.5

    7.3

    2014/15

    72.6

    9.0

    7.4

    “

  • Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to procure the replacement for the HM Revenue and Customs IT Aspire contract; what consultation there will be with HM Revenue and Customs staff and their representatives; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is making significant progress in preparing for the end of the Aspire IT contract in 2017. In August, HMRC announced that the changes it has planned will ultimately enable the Department to make savings of up to 24 per cent on its £800m annual IT budget by 2020-21, while maintaining consistent delivery of services to customers.

    Through its Building Our Future programme, HMRC is continuing to engage with its people and trade unions about the way in which it is transforming, including the way in which it is equipping operations with the modern IT services and platforms they need to run effectively. Currently, there are no plans to hold a formal consultation on the end of the Aspire contract.