Tag: 2015

  • Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian refugees have been admitted to the UK since September 2015 in each region; and how many she plans to admit by the end of 2016.

    Richard Harrington

    We will not be giving a running commentary on numbers. The refugees that we are bringing to the United Kingdom are very vulnerable people. Our prime concern is their safety and protection as they arrive in this country. We believe that one way to protect their privacy and ensure their recovery and integration is to limit the amount of information about them that we make publicly available. We want to ensure the understandable public interest in the scheme is not based on a running commentary on the numbers that have arrived.

    Notwithstanding this, the Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The next set of figures will be in the quarterly release on 26 November 2015 and will cover the period July-September 2015.

    The programme is driven by need, and the number resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors. This includes the number of referrals we have received from UNHCR and the number of confirmed places we have received from local authorities that are suitable for the specific needs of those who have been accepted for resettlement. Rather than a monthly or yearly target we acknowledge that some months we will resettle more or less than others because it is based on the need in the region at that time and the progress of those people through the system. We cannot, therefore, state at this time how many confirmed places will be made available by the end of 2016.

  • Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to assist unemployed people over the age of 50 back in to work; and if he will make a statement.

    Priti Patel

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 November 2015 to Question UIN16531.

  • Stuart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Stuart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart McDonald on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department has considered the potential contribution that sustainable fuels can make to supporting the decarbonisation of the UK economy.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Sustainable fuels already form an important part of our energy mix and are contributing to the decarbonisation of the UK economy.

    During 2014 just under a fifth of renewable electricity generation came from bioenergy; bioenergy also forms about 94% of our total renewable heat generation; and in transport the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) ensures that just under 5% of transport fuel comes from sustainable biofuels.

    The 2011 Carbon Plan set out a range of scenarios for how the UK could reduce emissions. This considered the role of renewable technologies under the different scenarios. The Government is due to set out next year the level of the fifth carbon budget, covering the years 2028-2032, and following this, a new emissions reduction plan will be published.

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department is giving to seasonal workers who have been affected by recent flooding.

    Priti Patel

    Jobcentres in areas affected by the recent flooding have ensured staff and work coaches are available to support any increase in immediate claims. Work coaches will provide an individually tailored service to help and support their return to work as quickly as possible. Those workers affected by the recent flooding are referred to employers who are still recruiting.

    We would urge those affected, who have not already done so, to contact their local Jobcentre at their earliest opportunity.

  • Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value was of child maintenance payments made to receiving parents under each scheme and each type of payment arrangement in each year since 2010.

    Priti Patel

    Information on the value of payments made to receiving parents, on the 2012 scheme, or Parents with Care under the 1993/2003 Schemes are included in the Client Fund Accounts. Previous publications can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/child-maintenance-client-funds-accounts

    The Client Funds Account 2014/15 is planned for publication by the end of 2015.

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  • Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the number of (a) cats and (b) dogs killed by accidental ingestion of poisonous antifreeze in each of the last five years.

    George Eustice

    We have no estimates of the numbers of cats or dogs killed by antifreeze.

    However there are periodically reported cases where antifreeze may have contributed to the death of pet animals. This issue was most recently debated in Parliament on the 2 December 2014.

    www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm141202/halltext/141202h0002.htm#14120263000003

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  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information she holds on the likely publication date for the independent review of Yarl’s Wood, commissioned by Serco.

    James Brokenshire

    Serco intend to publish the main findings of the report by the end of the year.

  • 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 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of (a) CRE and (b) other superbugs which are persistent to antibiotics.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government has already taken significant action to address carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae and other organisms that are resistant to antibiotics.

    The UK 5 Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy set out key steps for tackling organisms that are resistant to a range of antibiotics. As part of our strategy to reduce the incidence of such infections, we have tightened the regulatory aspects in England by revising the Health and Social Care Act Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections in July 2015. The revised Code strengthens links and references to antimicrobial resistance within primary and secondary care. Furthermore, the NHS Standard Contract published in March 2015 included amendments to require compliance with the Code of Practice. This enables regulators such as the Care Quality Commission to look at compliance with the Code within its inspection programme.

    At the same time, we have ensured that a range of guidance and tool kits have been produced to support healthcare staff to manage carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae and other resistant bacteria. Public Health England has published updated standards in June 2015 covering additional training on infection and control, which includes a carbapenemese-resistant Enterobacteriaceae toolkit for the non-acute and community sector.

    In terms of surveillance of carbapenemase-resistant organisms, Public Health England has rolled out the second generation surveillance system for the reporting of notifiable infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance in December 2014. It has also developed an electronic system for reporting carbapenemase-producing organisms, to allow demographic and clinical risk information to be captured and analysed.

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to encourage the growth of stakeholder banks within the UK.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government has taken significant steps to support stakeholder banks. We more commonly refer to stakeholder banks as mutually-owned financial service firms such as credit unions, building societies and mutual savings banks.

    The Government has encouraged the growth of the credit union sector by increasing the maximum interest rate that credit unions can charge on loans from 2% to 3% per month; investing £38m in the sector through the Department of Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Credit Union Expansion Project; ensuring that universal credit and pensions payments can be paid into any credit union account; and launching a Call for Evidence which allowed all credit unions, regardless of size or influence, the opportunity to contribute their vision for the future of the sector to the wider debate.

    This Government has supported the building societies sector through a number of initiatives including: carving out building societies from the Independent Commission on Banking’s ring-fencing regulations; extending ISA eligibility to Core Capital Deferred Shares; allowing building societies to create floating charges for the first time; and applying a £25m sector-specific allowance to carried-forward losses for Corporation Tax.

    The Airdrie Savings Bank is the only remaining example of a mutual savings bank in the UK. At the Summer Budget the government announced that savings banks established under the Savings Bank (Scotland) Act 1819 will benefit from the same £25m carried-forward loss allowance for Corporation Tax as the building society sector. This will be backdated to 1 April 2015 and is being actioned through the Finance Bill 2015.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Type (a) 45 Destroyers and (b) 23 Frigates will be used to host training programmes for Royal Navy personnel in 2015-16.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Training programmes for Royal Navy personnel are delivered on all Royal Navy ships and submarines as part of the unit’s generation and operation cycles, throughout individuals’ careers. We currently have six Type 45 Destroyers and 13 Type 23 Frigates in service.