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Tag: 2015

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ruth Smeeth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress the Infrastructure Commission has made in its work as it relates to Northern Ireland.

    Greg Hands

    The National Infrastructure Commission has been established to provide expert impartial analysis of the UK’s long-term infrastructure needs. To do this the commission will conduct an infrastructure needs assessment every five years, with its findings articulated in the National Infrastructure Assessment. As part of the infrastructure needs assessment the commission will review areas of Northern Irish infrastructure that are the responsibility of the UK government, and its findings will be made public once the report is completed.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that reductions in energy prices are passed on to consumers by energy companies.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The government expects and has regular discussions with suppliers to make sure any reductions in the costs of supplying energy are passed to consumers.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a comparative assessment of the potential economic benefit of High Speed 2 plans and the proposals by Transport for the North.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    HS2 will dramatically improve connectivity from north to south. Northern Powerhouse Rail will do the same from east to west. These two ambitious programmes, developed side-by-side, will help to rebalance the economy by transforming rail travel to, from, and within the North.

    The Department and Transport for the North (TfN) are currently developing options for delivering the transformational rail connectivity in the north of England set out in the Northern Transport Strategy, and aim to have an understanding of the relative scale of costs and benefits of these options in autumn 2016.

    As outlined in the recent HS2 Economic Case published in November 2015, the benefits of the full HS2 Y-Network are estimated to be £72.8bn (2011 prices, PV). This analysis calculated that the benefit cost ratio (BCR) of HS2 is 2.2 for the full Y-network, including wider economic impacts. Therefore, over £2 worth of benefits are expected for every £1 spent which represents high value for money.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in other European countries on the imposition of tighter border controls across Europe and the effective screening of Syrian refugees for connections to ISIS.

    James Brokenshire

    Effective management of European external borders is vital as part of a comprehensive response to the migrant situation and the UK continues to engage with European partners on measures to improve the security of borders and to identify those who may a pose a threat to our countries.

    As set out in the response to PQ11691 answered on 19th October 2015, security is taken extremely seriously in cases referred to us for resettlement. We work closely with the UNHCR who have their own robust identification processes in place. When Syrian cases are referred by the UNHCR for our consideration under the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement scheme they are screened and considered by the Home Office for suitability for entry to the UK: we retain the right to reject individuals on security, war crimes or other grounds. For reasons of national security, we cannot provide further on the details of the screening process itself.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what qualifications are required of case managers employed by the Fit for Work service.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Fit for Work is delivered by health professionals who have an occupational health qualification; occupational health experience; or are able to demonstrate experience and skills appropriate to working in an occupational health context. Health professionals must be registered with the relevant regulatory and/or professional body on the appropriate part(s) of its registers. Fit for Work has an accredited Specialist in Occupational Medicine to provide clinical supervision of the service and provides appropriate supervision from more experienced professionals from whom they can seek advice.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his official engagements were on (a) Monday 12 October and (b) Friday 20 November 2015.

    Jane Ellison

    On 12 October and 20 November my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State was fully focused on his priorities for the health service, which included securing a Spending Review settlement that backs the NHS’s own Five Year Forward View with an additional £10 billion a year above inflation by 2020.

  • Lord Ahmed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Ahmed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the rate of allegations against a spouse of domestic violence or rape by women who have entered the UK on a spousal visa in each of the last five years.

    Lord Bates

    Allegations of rape or domestic violence are a matter for individual police forces and not recorded in statistics relating to immigration control.

    Information on grants of settlement due to domestic violence after leave to remain granted as a spouse, is given in the link below, table se_04, Immigration Statistics July-September 2015) and are available from the library of the House: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2015/list-of-tables#settlement

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on a link between social media and mental health problems.

    Alistair Burt

    Departmental Ministers meet with representatives from the Royal Colleges regularly and discuss a wide range of issues, including mental health. We know that social media may have an effect of the behaviour and attitudes of people in relation to mental health issues and we are specifically aware of its influence in relation to suicide and self-harm. We are working with the Samaritans and the National Suicide Prevention Alliance to better understand the effect of social media on suicide and self-harm prevention.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether opposition to the death penalty remains a key human rights priority for them, in the light of the UK’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Our UN pledges renew our enduring commitment to promoting universal human rights. This includes work to abolish the death penalty. As I have said repeatedly in this House, this Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and we continue to call on all states to abolish it.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what campaigns he plans to implement over the Christmas period in 2015 to draw public attention to the dangers of drinking and driving.

    Andrew Jones

    On 1st December the Department for Transport’s THINK! campaign will launch a new Drink Drive campaign in England and Wales. The campaign will use paid-for advertising (including TV and radio) alongside social media and PR activities. We are also working with commercial partners including Coca-Cola, Johnnie Walker and Budweiser who provide incentives to help drivers make the right choice not to drink and drive.

    Targeted at men aged 17-34, the campaign aims to contribute to a reduction in the number of people killed and seriously injured as a result of drink driving by highlighting the potential danger of driving after drinking lower levels of alcohol. The campaign also aims to maintain the social unacceptability of drink driving amongst a wider ‘all adult’ audience who will see some of the advertising.