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Tag: 2015

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what advice and information his Department has distributed to UK nationals in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt since 28 October 2015 on staying in that resort; and if he will place copies of such documents in the Library.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    On 4 November 2015, we amended our Travel Advice to advise against all but essential travel by air to Sharm el-Sheikh. We have not changed our Travel Advice for the resort itself. The FCO’s Travel Advice, available at www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, provides objective information and advice to help individuals make better-informed decisions about their travel, and the Egypt page has been regularly updated to reflect developing events since the crash of the Russian airliner on 31 October.

    We have worked closely with airlines and tour operators, and deployed consular officials to the airport and resort to assist British nationals. As part of their work, these officials have distributed extracts from our Travel Advice for Egypt, statements from the Department for Transport, and contact details for the embassy and airlines. They have also distributed short “Frequently Asked Questions” documents at the airport and resort. As much of this information is already on www.gov.uk, we do not plan to place copies of these documents in the Library.

  • John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assistance he is providing to help defeat (a) Boko Haram in West and Central Africa, (b) al Shabab in Somalia and East Africa and (c) al Qaeda affiliates in Yemen.

    Mark Lancaster

    The UK is increasing support to the Nigerian Forces in tackling the Boko Haram threat. We have a resident British Military Advisory and Training Team (BMATT) that has grown in size since the government announced last year that the UK would increase its support to Nigeria to combat Boko Haram. UK military personnel are working with US, French and Nigerian experts in an intelligence fusion cell in Abuja, and the Coordination and Liaison Cell in N’Djamena, Chad. The Defence Secretary has announced the additional deployment of a small team of experts who will work alongside the Armed Forces of Nigeria to provide assistance in countering improvised explosive devices as well as medical training and advice.

    UK Defence is currently contributing to wider international efforts to achieve stability and security in Somalia and the wider East Africa region and defeat Al Shabaab. We are achieving this through supporting a range of UN and EU Missions to provide training, mentoring, and logistical support to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and develop the Somali National Army.

    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) continues to pose a threat to both the UK and globally. We are committed to supporting the Yemeni government in establishing a stable and secure Yemen and we continue to work with regional and international partners to tackle the threat posed by AQAP and Daesh in the Yemen. Ongoing peace talks are the top priority as a political solution is the best way to bring long-term stability to the country.

  • Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will issue a response to Early Day Motion (a) 162, Closures of abortion clinics and (b) 172, Buffer zones around abortion centres.

    Jane Ellison

    These matters are dealt with by the Home Office.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2015 to Question 12730, what steps his Department is taking to improve palliative care for children in England.

    Ben Gummer

    NHS England has continued to provide £11 million to children’s palliative care providers through the annual Children’s Hospice and Hospice-at-Home Grant.

    The Department has also provided grant funding to ‘Together for Short Lives’ to support the Transition Taskforce, which is developing improved approaches to providing care and support to young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.

    NHS England has led work on behalf of the Government in developing draft currencies for palliative care (for all ages) which are now being tested with provider organisations. The aim is to put funding for children and adult hospices on a more equitable and sustainable footing, by clearly identifying the costs of care, so that it can be commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups.

  • Richard Graham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Graham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Graham on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse of provision of (a) accommodation and (b) support services for asylum seekers was in Gloucestershire in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office does not record the cost to the public purse of provision of (a) accommodation and (b) support services for asylum seekers within individual counties.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library the impact assessment for NHS England’s consultation on proposals for a new Cancer Drugs Fund operating model from 1 April 2016 which was published on 19 November 2015.

    George Freeman

    NHS England has advised that its impact assessment will not be completed until the outcomes from the current consultation on the future of the Cancer Drugs Fund are known

  • Sue Hayman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sue Hayman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations his Department has received on manorial rights in Cumbria in the last 12 months.

    Dominic Raab

    My Department has not received any representations on manorial rights in Cumbria in the last 12 months.

  • Baroness Worthington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Worthington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Worthington on 2015-12-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much stamp duty reserve tax has been repaid following the 2012 decision of the First-Tier Tribunal (Tax) in the case of HSBC Holdings PLC and the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation v HMRC (TC/2009/165484).

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The First Tier Tribunal in the case of HSBC Holdings PLC and the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation v HMRC decided in March 2012 that the taxing of Stamp Duty Reserve Tax at 1.5% on a transfer of shares which is integral to a share capital raising exercise to a depositary receipt issuer or clearance service, infringed the Capital Duty Directive. Following that decision, HMRC has repaid a total of £168 million Stamp Duty Reserve Tax to various claimants.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to improve access to buses for blind and partially-sighted people.

    Andrew Jones

    I understand how important affordable and accessible bus services are too many visually impaired people, and Government continues to support initiatives to improve access.

    By January 2017 all local and scheduled buses designed to carry more than twenty-two passengers must comply with the Passenger Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR), which include the provision of low floor boarding facilities, colour-contrasting step edges and handholds, and priority seating. We also encourage the bus industry to increase the uptake of audio-visual systems, and have supported projects to design innovative and low-cost approaches to providing accessible on-board information.

    Further, Government remains committed to maintaining the national concession , which provides almost a million disabled people with free off-peak bus travel throughout England, helping them to remain mobile without worrying about the cost of doing so.

  • Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-12-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what funding criteria are set for small and medium-sized enterprises applying for a loan under the Funding for Lending Scheme.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Bank of England does not lend directly to small and medium sized enterprises as part of the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS). Under the FLS, the Bank of England provides funding to UK banks and building societies participating in the scheme. The amount of funding participant banks and building societies are eligible to borrow from the Bank of England is determined by their net lending to certain sectors of the economy.