Tag: 2015

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to ensure that, when planning permissions are granted for new residential developments that do not provide on-site parking spaces, those developments provide adequate power supplies and public charging points to enable residents to use electric cars.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government supports the use of ultra-low emission or plug-in vehicles and would encourage local authorities, wherever possible, to make provision for them. The provision of power supplies and public charging points in connection with the granting of planning permission is a matter for local planning authorities to consider.

  • Rushanara Ali – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rushanara Ali – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the Syrian resettlement scheme is funded through (a) Official Development Assistance and (b) funds from the EU.

    Richard Harrington

    All of the first year costs of the Syrian Resettlement Scheme are funded through Official Development Assistance. None of the costs are currently met using EU funding.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to reduce the number of false personal injury claims.

    Dominic Raab

    This Government is building on the significant reforms of the coalition Government to tackle fraudulent and unnecessary personal injury claims. We are looking forward to receiving the recommendations of the Insurance Fraud Taskforce later this year and will announce further reform in this important area in due course.

  • Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much of the Stormont Agreement’s financial package of £2 billion in extra spending power to the Northern Ireland Executive is a loan to be paid back to the Government by the Executive.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    Through the Stormont House Agreement the Government committed to allow the Executive to use £700 million of Reinvestment and Reform Initiative (RRI) capital borrowing to fund Voluntary Exit Schemes (VES). The Executive expect full implementation of VES to deliver around £500 million in annual savings, which can be deployed to other public services.

    The Government also agreed to allow the Executive increased access to RRI borrowing to fund £350 million of capital projects, over four years. This funding is for economic projects.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to amend section 3(5A) of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 to remove the requirement on the Secretary of State to lay the draft of an Order in Council for giving effect to the recommendations contained in the Boundary Commissions’ reports.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Government will outline its plans for constituency boundaries when it responds to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee’s report, What next on the redrawing of parliamentary constituency boundaries?, in due course.

  • Rebecca Pow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Rebecca Pow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Pow on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the benefits of extending rail electrification from Bristol to Taunton.

    Claire Perry

    No such assessment has been made. Network Rail is currently assessing the case for further electrification of the rail network. It plans to publish a draft update to the industry electrification strategy in early 2016, taking into account the outcome of the review by Sir Peter Hendy of Network Rail’s programme of rail investment.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Turnberg on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what approaches they have made to the President of the Palestinian Authority about his comments that Israel intends to take over the Temple Mount and the mosque situated there.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), emphasised the importance of calming the current tensions when he spoke to President Abbas on 9 October. On 26 October, our Consul General in Jerusalem raised our concerns with Prime Minister and Minister for Interior, Rami Hamdallah.

    Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli Government on the need to de-escalate tensions, avoid any words or actions that could incite further violence, and maintain the status quo at the holy site of Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount.

  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reform the legislation regarding health professional regulation, and whether they will publish a timetable for the implementation of any reform bill.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    This Government is grateful for the work of the Law Commissions of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in reviewing the regulation of health and (in England) social care professionals.

    The Law Commissions made 125 recommendations to reform the existing complex and burdensome regulatory system. The joint four United Kingdom country response to the Law Commissions was published on 29 January 2015 which accepted wholly or in part the vast majority of its recommendations.

    The Department is currently reviewing how best to take forward the work of the Law Commissions. We hope to be able to provide an update on this work soon.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect on small and medium-sized businesses of the recent ruling of the European Court of Justice on time spent travelling to work.

    Nick Boles

    This Government wants to ensure that the Working Time Directive promotes long-term, sustainable growth and labour market flexibility, and does not impose significant burdens on business. The recent ruling of the European Court of Justice means that journeys made by workers without a fixed or habitual place of work between their homes and the first and last customer of the day constitute working time under the Working Time Directive.

    All employers, regardless of size, of workers without a fixed or habitual place of work need to ensure that this time is taken into account for the calculation of working hours. The ruling has no general consequences for pay.

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

    Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the possible advantages and disadvantages of licensing bicyclists.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    We consider that the costs of a formal testing and licensing system for cyclists would significantly outweigh the benefits cycling has to the country’s economy, health and environment. Evidence suggests that increased cycling could create significant savings for the NHS, less pollution and congestion, and a happier and healthier population. It is likely that a licensing system will discourage many existing and potential cyclists, leading to a dramatic fall in the numbers of people cycling.

    Around 80% of adult cyclists also hold driving licenses, meaning that the majority of cyclists on the road have already been tested on operating safely in different road and traffic conditions. Furthermore, the safety case for a testing/licensing system is not as strong as that for drivers since, by contrast with motorised vehicles, bicycles involved in collisions on the highway are highly unlikely to cause serious injury to other road users.

    Cyclists as well as all road users must obey the Highway Code, and the Government has provided funding for training schemes such as Bikeability which provides practical training and teaches the Highway Code to the next generation of cyclists. The Bikeability programme currently trains approximately 50% of primary schoolchildren in England and more than 1.5million children have received training since the programme’s inception.

    The recent Spending Review committed £300m to cycling investment between 2015-16 and 2020-21, this includes delivering in full the £114 million Cycle Ambition City scheme, with construction of segregated cycle lanes including 115 kilometres in Birmingham and 56 kilometres in Manchester.