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Tag: 2015

  • Joanna Cherry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Joanna Cherry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joanna Cherry on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on single tier pensions on people contracted out of the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Contracting out of additional State Pension for Defined Benefit schemes will end on the introduction of the new State Pension from 6 April 2016. The impact on individuals is set out in the Updated impact of the single-tier pension reforms (July 2014) and can be found at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/332996/single-tier-pension-impact-assessment-update-july-2014.pdf

    “

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when the decision was made to connect the monitoring and control of the National Grid to the internet; and what risk analysis was undertaken prior to that decision being made.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Cyber security is one of the Government’s top national security priorities. Whilst National Grid is a private company, DECC is working with them on cyber security, as well as broader issues of security and resilience. We are also working with other industry partners, government departments and agencies, to ensure that the risks to the energy sector are understood and that appropriate mitigations are established.

    National Grid has provided the following additional information:

    “National Grid’s Information Security programme has, among other steps, advocated a defence in depth strategy by instituting rigid network segmentation and isolation between our business and SCADA [Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition] systems. Further, National Grid policy does not allow for direct connection between external networks and SCADA systems.”

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last reviewed the evidence base relating to dietary sodium intake as part of a balanced diet.

    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.

    The 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.

    The 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 2.4 grammes per day of sodium.

    The SACN ‘Salt and Health’ report is attached and can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-salt-and-health-report

    “

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2015 to Question 2798, what recent steps he has taken to support Christians who are being persecuted in Middle Eastern countries.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government remains deeply concerned about the plight of Christians and other minorities across the Middle East and North Africa. We continue to urge all governments in the region to ensure the protection of all minorities and encourage them to develop inclusive political systems that represent all of their citizens. In Iraq, Syria and Lebanon we are working with religious leaders to support inter-communal cohesion and ensure vulnerable communities have a voice. We have recently launched a project promoting legal and social protection for Freedom of Religion or Belief in Iraq. On 19 November, The Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns and I convened a workshop at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with Non-Governmental Organisations and experts in the field to examine what more Her Majesty’s Government might do to practically support Christians and other minorities in the Middle East and protect Freedom of Religion or Belief. Officials are now examining how we might put emerging ideas into practice.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to encourage start-ups and boost company growth in Romford.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    We are supporting small businesses in many ways and are committed to making sure the UK is the best place in Europe to start and grow a business. Businesses in Romford are benefitting from Government support.

    68 Start Up Loans, worth £362,000, have been issued across Romford. And 34 businesses have secured loans worth £3.14 million under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme.

    Through the South East Growth Deal the Government is investing £488 million over six years (2015-2021) to projects which will support economic growth across Essex, including in Romford. And across Romford, six ambitious high growth businesses are benefitting from the advice and support provided by the Business Growth Service.

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

    David Nuttall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the grants awarded by the tobacco policy team in his Department are so awarded only after competitive bids have been invited.

    Jane Ellison

    Grants made under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 can be made in a number of ways. Grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health have been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support is in place to help local authorities to resettle Syrian refugees.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Under the expanded Vulnerable Persons scheme, local authorities costs for the first year of a Syrian refugee’s resettlement are funded from the Official Development Assistance budget. To ensure that local authorities can plan ahead we will also provide additional funding to assist with costs incurred in future years (2 to 5). The Government is working closely with the Local Government Association and individual councils on the details of how funding arrangements for years 2 to 5 will operate.

  • 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, how many refugees from Syrian have been accepted into the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme to date.

    Richard Harrington

    The Government has committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees in the lifetime of this Parliament. The Prime Minister has said that we want to see 1,000 refugees brought to the UK by Christmas.

    The first charter flights arrived earlier this month and represent a significant upscaling of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme. We will not be giving a running commentary on numbers. Details are published in the regular quarterly immigration statistics. The statistics published on 26 November include the number of arrivals from July to the end of September 2015.

  • Matt Warman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Matt Warman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matt Warman on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to improve the provision of work in prisons; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Selous

    We want prisons to be places of hard work, rigorous education and high ambition, with incentives for prisoners to learn and for prison staff to prioritise education and work. Improvements have been made to increase work but we want to go further. We are looking at the ways in which this might be achieved.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the effect of potential reforms of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the Good Friday Agreement; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Government was elected in May with a clear mandate to implement its manifesto commitment to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights.

    We believe that it is entirely possible to do that in ways that are consistent with the Belfast Agreement.