Tag: 2015

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the new Israel Defence Forces rules of engagement with Palestinian stone-throwers, and the Israeli sentencing policy towards those individuals.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of press reports of changes to Israel Defence Forces Rules of Engagement. We are also aware of changes to sentencing policy. Like all countries, Israel has a right to defend its citizens from attack and to hold perpetrators of attacks to account. We nevertheless regularly raise with Israel concerns over the use of force, including lethal force, by Israeli security authorities. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv did this most recently on 4 November with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Envoy on the Peace Process, Isaac Molho, stressing the need for proportionality and proper accountability.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of (a) (i) men, (ii) women and (iii) people aged 16 to 24 and (b) people aged (i) 16 to 24, (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 20, (iv) 21 to 22 and (v) 23 to 24 had been unemployed for more than 12 months on the last date for which figures are available.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to emerging evidence relating to the appropriate level of dietary sodium intake; what meetings Ministers have had with scientists and others about that issue; and what representations they have received regarding dietary sodium intake.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The evidence base relating to dietary sodium intake was extensively reviewed in the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s (SACN) report ‘Salt and Health’, published in 2003. In reviewing the evidence, SACN noted that the greatest benefits were likely to be achieved by taking a population approach to reducing salt intakes rather than through individual targeted advice. SACN continues to monitor average salt intakes through a programme of dietary survey work.

    New voluntary salt reduction targets have been developed for 76 specific food groups that contribute most to people’s salt intakes and major retailers, manufacturers and caterers are working to meet these targets by December 2017.

    SACN has also reviewed the evidence around the impact of low sodium intakes. It found no basis for changing the existing recommendation for a target reduction in average salt intake to 6 grammes per day for the adult population, equivalent to an average reduction of 2.4 grammes per day of sodium.

    SACN’s ‘Salt and Health’ report is attached and can be found at:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-salt-and-health-report

    Baroness Masham of Ilton has recently asked three questions about dietary sodium intake. Further representations have been received from the Salt Association. Ministers have not met with scientists and others about this issue.

    “

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward plans to monitor the effectiveness of how the Homelessness Protection Grant is spent.

    Greg Hands

    Since 2010, local councils have had more flexibility over how they spend the money they receive from central government. It is up to individual authorities to decide how grant funding should be spent in order to deliver local services. To ensure that councils have the necessary skills to do this, the Government supported the establishment of the National Practitioner Support Service’s ‘Gold Standard’ programme to help improve the effectiveness of local authority homelessness prevention services.

  • Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent estimate he has made of the predicted default rate of university maintenance loans.

    Joseph Johnson

    Student loans are not like a bank loan or credit card. Repayments do not have to made if the borrower’s income is below £21k. There is, therefore, no default rate as such, but a borrower who moves overseas and fails to repay even though they are earning over the threshold would be in default.

    Maintenance loans are either repaid during the loan term, or written off after 30 years, or if the borrower dies or becomes permanently unable to work as a result of disability. Provision for the cost of future write offs is made in BIS accounts each year. This is known as the RAB charge.

  • Jake Berry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jake Berry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many sites were available for residential development in each year from 2009 to 2015.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not hold information centrally on the number of sites that are available for residential development. Local planning authorities are required to identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years’ worth of housing against their housing requirements.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount of money saved for the public purse as a result of the Government’s policies on tackling international tax avoidance.

    Mr David Gauke

    The UK has been at the forefront of international action to tackle corporate tax avoidance through the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. The first phase of the BEPS project was delivered in 2014 and the UK committed to introduce country-by-country reporting from 1 January 2016 and rules to deal with hybrid mismatch arrangements from 1 January 2017.

    In line with the objectives of the BEPS project, the Government also introduced the Diverted Profits Tax from 1 April 2015 to target contrived arrangements used by large multinational companies to divert profits away from the UK.

    As set out in Autumn Statement 2014, together these measures addressing are estimated to yield around £1.6 billion over the next five years. The policy costings were certified by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.

    The final BEPS project reports were published by the OECD on 5 October 2015 and endorsed by the G20 Finance Ministers at their meeting in Lima on 8 October. The UK welcomes the outcomes of the BEPS project and will give full consideration to the OECD’s recommendations.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the (a) quantity and (b) quality of mental health services available to children and young people in the care system.

    Edward Timpson

    The Ofsted Single Inspection Framework provides the basis for the inspection of services for children in need of help and protection, looked-after children, and care leavers in England. The Framework includes judgments on whether child and adolescent mental health services are available when needed. The evidence from inspection reports indicates that local provision to meet the mental health needs of looked-after children is variable.

    In May 2015, NHS England asked all Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to work with other local agencies to develop Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) for children’s mental health services. LTPs are expected to cover the full spectrum of mental health issues and address the needs of the most vulnerable children and young people, including looked-after children and care leavers. All CCGs have now submitted plans and these are currently being assured by NHS England. The plans will be published once that assurance process is complete and, taken together, will provide a comprehensive picture of how mental health services for looked-after children are being improved across the country.

  • Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the running costs of the British naval base in Bahrain in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18; and what proportion of those costs will be borne by the Government.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    Currently the UK has a Maritime Component Command (MCC) HQ and collocated Fleet Support Unit (FSU), which is a warehouse,in Bahrain. These were constructed on our behalf by the United States, at a cost to the UK Government of $10million. The Government expects to pay the United States for the ongoing running costs of these facilities, the precise costs of which are yet to be determined. The Kingdom of Bahrain (KoB) has no involvement in these arrangements.

    The construction of the new UK Mina Salman Support Facility (MSSF) in Bahrain will consist of accommodation, life support facilities and further storage and will enhance the support to UK forces in the Gulf Region. Construction of the UK MSSF is being funded primarily by the KoB. To date in 2014 and 2015 the UK Government has expended £277,000 on engineering consultancy costs for the UK MSSF. We expect to contribute around £9 million towards the construction of the new UK MSSF. This will include costs of bespoke UK technical facilities and the additional cost of ensuring compliance with UK regulations.The balance of the costs, will fall to the KoB.

    There are no running costs forecast in the current year or 2016-17, from 2017-18 the running costs for the UK MSSF are forecast to be £12 million per annum.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to bring forward new regulations or guidance on divestment or boycott policies pursued by local authorities.

    Matthew Hancock

    Cabinet Office will shortly issue guidance that reminds public authorities of their international obligations when letting public contracts. It will make clear that boycotts in public procurement are inappropriate and may be illegal, outside where formal legal sanctions, embargoes and restrictions have been put in place by the Government.

    The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is currently working to give effect to the recent announcement on Local Government Pension Scheme funds’ investment allocations, specifically the extent to which administering authorities should have regard to non-financial factors. Guidance will be issued to local authorities in the new year.