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Tag: 2015

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to improve the broadband speed in the Bristol West area.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Over 1,450 businesses in Bristol and the surrounding area have taken a broadband connection voucher to improve their broadband connectivity. In addition, through the Super Connected Cities Programme, my Department has provided £1.56m to Bristol City Council to install general purpose ducting which will provide broadband connectivity to businesses in the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone. This funding has also enabled over 70km of ducting to be made available to two commercial suppliers to provide ultra-fast broadband across the city.

  • Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the schemes recommended for prioritisation in the report of the Rail North Electrification Task Force, published in March 2015; and if he will prioritise electrification of the Calder Valley rail line.

    Andrew Jones

    The North of England Electrification Task Force placed the Calder Valley Line in the top tier of lines it recommended for future electrification. Network Rail is currently updating its national electrification strategy, which will include the Calder Valley line, and will take the Task Force’s recommendations into account. The updated strategy will be subject to public consultation during 2016 and inform the Government’s strategy for Rail for 2019-2024.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answers of 6 July 2015 to Question 4551 and 12 October 2015 to Question 10567, if she will request that Ofgem estimates what the cost is to SSE of generating conventional hydro-electric power.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Detailed operating cost information per generation type of each energy company is not available publicly. Some information is available through supplier’s Consolidated Segmental Statements, which shows the annual operating costs of the largest suppliers generation businesses split into conventional and renewable generation.

  • Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the number of personal assistants who provide care to people formerly in receipt of the Independent Living Fund who will be entitled to pension scheme auto-enrolment; and what guidance his Department has issued to employers of such employees on that matter.

    Justin Tomlinson

    All personal care assistants that meet the eligibility criteria for automatic enrolment will be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme by their employer. In order to be eligible, staff must be between 22 and State Pension age and must earn more than £10,000 per year (which is £192 per week).

    We are working with The Pensions Regulator to ensure that employers of personal care assistants are supported with their automatic enrolment duties. The Regulator has tailored its online Step by Step guide and offline communications specifically to employers of personal care assistants. Furthermore, the Regulator provides information that will help employers of personal care assistants to choose a pension scheme. Finally, the Regulator has a dedicated Industry Liaison team who engage with providers, employers, intermediaries, charities and user-led organisations to raise awareness and understanding of automatic enrolment.

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

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from mental health charities on the adequacy of mental health provision in NHS services; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    Ministers and Departmental officials regularly meet with various stakeholders, including charities, to discuss how to improve mental health services in the NHS. We will continue to seek opportunities to enhance the charitable sector’s valuable role in providing support to people with mental illness and their carers and families.

    The independent Mental Health Taskforce, which is chaired by the Chief Executive of Mind, brings together health and care leaders and experts in the field, including people using services, to lead a programme of work to create a mental health Five Year Forward View for the NHS in England.

  • 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 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what mechanisms are in place to ensure transparency of the ownership of limited partnerships; what plans he has to (a) improve such transparency and (b) ensure that such partnerships are not set up for money laundering purposes; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    To improve transparency, the Department has established a publicly accessible central register of people with significant control (PSC register) through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015.

    The PSC register will be an easily accessible single source of information about the ultimate owners and controllers of UK companies, Limited Liability Partnerships and Societas Europeae. From June 2016, these corporate entities will be required to make their beneficial ownership information publically available through the UK register of companies.

    It is already a legal requirement that the name of each of the partners of limited partnerships be submitted to Companies House on registration. This information is available to the public free of charge through the new Companies House beta service. Companies House also works collaboratively with other government departments and agencies to tackle crime and fraud, including money laundering.

    We are currently considering the scope of the UK register to ensure we comply with the European Union’s Fourth Money Laundering Directive, which requires corporate and other legal entities to obtain and hold beneficial ownership information.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the suitability of individual funding requests for preventive treatments and the criteria to demonstrate exceptional clinical circumstances in relation to such requests.

    George Freeman

    NHS England has advised that if there is a commissioning policy in place for a treatment, and the patient fulfils the treatment criteria contained within this, then an individual funding request (IFR) is not required, as the treatment will be routinely funded. It is only if the patient’s treatment falls outside of the criteria that an IFR would be appropriate or if there is no policy in place for the treatment/indication.

    Neither the Department nor NHS England has made any assessment of the suitability of IFRs for preventative treatments.

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people from each constituent part of the UK used the Welsh Language Unit of HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    The details of the numbers of people from each constituent part of the UK who use the Welsh Language Unit of HM Revenue and Customs are not recorded.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11080, on Deportation: Appeals, how many of the 426 cases referred to have been heard in court.

    James Brokenshire

    Such data is not aggregated in national reporting systems, which would mean this question could only be answered through a disproportionately expensive manual case search to collate the data.

  • Tim Farron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tim Farron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, from what date his Department has been advertising the Right to Buy scheme for housing association tenants; and how much has been spent on (a) television, (b) radio, (c) print and (d) social media advertisements for the scheme.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department has not undertaken any advertisement for the extension of the Right to Buy to housing association tenants not currently eligible and as such has incurred no costs. The Department recently set up a ‘register of interest’ so we could keep these tenants up to date with any developments. This is run on our existing Right to Buy website at no additional cost and we also signpost the register through other owned channels.