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Tag: 2015

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on the treatment of Muslims and Christians in India.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I discussed religious minority rights in India with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, V K Singh, on 5 November. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) also discussed this issue with Prime Minister Modi during his visit to the UK on 12-14 November. Mr Modi assured him that his government remained committed to diversity, and to protecting the fundamental freedoms of all India’s citizens. During their joint press conference, Prime Minister Modi was clear that he upheld the Gandhian traditions of diversity and that he would not accept any signs of intolerance.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what NHS medical support is available for (1) asylum seekers, and (2) refugees.

    Lord Bates

    Only those asylum seekers (and their dependants) who receive asylum support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are entitled to access NHS medical services. They are able to access free NHS prescriptions, free dental treatment, free eye sight tests, help with the cost of glasses or contact lenses, free wigs and fabric supports and help with the cost of travel to receive treatment under the care of a consultant.

    The Home Office takes all reasonable steps to ensure the health and welfare of asylum seekers who receive asylum support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. At the inception of their claim, they are provided with an opportunity to undergo assessment by health officials and suitable steps are taken to provide them with access to appropriate medical treatment, this includes advice on how to register with a GP practice and how to access emergency treatment at a hospital or walk in centre.

    Those qualifying asylum seekers, as outlined above, are provided with a HC2 certificate which confirms to medical practitioners that they are eligible to access appropriate medical services.

    Refugees who have been granted asylum status are eligible for services from the National Health Service on the same basis as the general population.

  • 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 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans for 3D heart imaging to identify blocked arteries to be available on the NHS.

    Jane Ellison

    Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which provides three dimensional imaging, is currently available within the National Health Service in England.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applications for planning consent for national infrastructure projects have been made since responsibility for determining them passed to the Secretary of State; and whether they will list them by date, decision and the time each one took between the application being made and the decision issued.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    70 applications for development consent for nationally significant infrastructure projects have been made since responsibility for determining them passed from the Infrastructure Planning Commission to the Secretary of State in 2012. Of these, there have been 46 decisions in total. 45 were taken by the Secretary of State and 1 by the Infrastructure Planning Commission.

    Of these decisions, the Secretary of State granted development consent for 43 projects and declined 2 applications. The Infrastructure Planning Commission granted development consent for 1.

    Of the 70 applications, 4 were withdrawn before they reached the decision stage. 20 applications are currently going through the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Planning process. Details of all the applications including the time each one took between application and decision are set out in the attached table.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to senior Civil Service posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Joseph Johnson

    The estimated cost for using external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in 2014/15 was £155,000.

    Information for previous years is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage of, prison governors have worked at two or more prisons in the last five years.

    Lord Faulks

    Of the governors of public sector prisons in post at 30 September 2015, a total of 90 (85%) had worked at two or more prisons in the previous five years.

  • Nick Hurd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nick Hurd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Hurd on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assumptions her Department has made on (a) global levels of avoidable blindness and low vision and (b) projected levels of those problems in 2020 in planning its work.

    Grant Shapps

    The latest available evidence on the burden of disease is used in planning our work. Data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that 285 million people are estimated to be visually impaired worldwide: 39 million are blind and 246 million have low vision. Data on levels and trends of the burden of diseases and injuries and the risk factors that cause them are an important input to health decision-making for national governments and development partners.When making investment decisions DFID considers many factors, including the burden of disease, to ensure that we deliver value for money and that we address the health needs of the countries we support.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish his Department’s analysis of the effects of proposed changes to business rates retention and the local government grant on the income of local authorities.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government intends to move to 100% business rates retention in England by the end of this Parliament. We have confirmed that as part of the new system there will continue to be redistribution of local tax revenue between authorities and protections in place for authorities that see their business rates income fall significantly. Over the coming months we will be working with local government on the details of the scheme. Ahead of final decisions, it is too early to assess what the impact will be on local areas or authorities, but before the start of the financial year, local authorities in England estimated that the total business rates income for 2015-16 would be £23.1 billion.

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the skills of ESOL tutors are not lost following the withdrawal of ESOL Plus Mandation funding.

    Nick Boles

    The decision to withdraw the 2015/16 English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Plus (Mandation) funding was taken in the knowledge that providers could use their adult skills budget to continue to maintain their ESOL courses and therefore mitigate any adverse impact. It is the responsibility of providers to ensure they have teaching staff with the right skills and expertise to deliver the range of courses they offer.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of migrants granted leave to remain in the UK were subject to the No Recourse to Public Funds condition in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    The proportion of cases granted leave to remain in the UK who were subject to the No Recourse to Public funds condition in each of the last five years was as follows:

    2011: 95%

    2012: 97%

    2013: 94%

    2014: 92%

    2015*: 92%

    These figures have been provided by the Home Office database with figures rounded to the nearest 5, interpreting ‘migrants’ as ‘lead cases’, they exclude asylum applications and figures for 2015 are available up to 30 September 2015.