Tag: 2015

  • Chris Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Chris Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of greyhounds which retired from racing in each of the last five years.

    George Eustice

    Under the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010, there is no statutory requirement on any greyhound organisation or individual track to report any figures to Defra. The Regulations have now been in force for five years and Defra is currently undertaking a review of their effectiveness. The review is looking at the requirement on tracks to collect injury statistics and how they are then used; and the traceability of greyhounds after they have left the sport. Defra intends to consult on the initial findings of the review.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of his Department’s (a) running and (b) maintenance costs for Sentinel aircraft in each of the next five years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review announced the extended life of the Sentinel into the next decade. Detailed cost estimates are currently being finalised.

  • Maggie Throup – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Maggie Throup – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maggie Throup on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will assess the (a) potential effect on the number of antibiotic and (b) potential change in annual prescription and dispensing costs prescriptions of using C-reactive protein testing for patients presenting with respiratory tract infections in primary care.

    George Freeman

    We have no plans to do so.

    The UK Government is committed to tackling antimicrobial resistance. The UK Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy, published in September 2013, proposed strong, cross-government action to manage this problem. The UK strategy recognises the central part diagnostics, like C-reactive protein tests, play in getting the right antibiotic drug to the right patient at the right time. A working group is actively looking at what can be done to improve diagnostic services.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the proposed in-service date for the Successor class of submarines has been postponed.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Designing and building submarines is one of the largest programmes and one of the most complex activities that the Ministry of Defence and UK Industry has ever undertaken. It is the purpose of a design phase to improve our understanding of costs and timescales, which we have now done. The current estimates reflect what we have learned since the design phase began.

    As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2015 (Cm9161), our latest estimate of the total cost to manufacture the four Successor submarines reflects greater maturity of the design and understanding of the supply chain, amounts to £31 billion; we will also set a contingency of £10 billion. This level of contingency represents about 35% of the costs to completion and is a prudent estimate based on past experience of large, complex projects.

  • Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2015 to Question 12246, how many criminal operations have been smashed by the Organised Immigration Crime Task Force to date.

    James Brokenshire

    It would not be appropriate to comment on ongoing operations.

    The Organised Immigration Crime Taskforce is designed to increase the resources required to build on existing extensive law enforcement capability in the UK and overseas to tackle OIC and target criminal networks in source and transit countries.

    The UK has been successfully disrupting the gangs behind all forms of organised immigration crime for a number of years. UK law enforcement disrupted over 170 organised crime groups involved in organised immigration crime last year (April 14 – March 15).

  • Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on that organisation’s pension scheme; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 October 2015 to Question 13202 to the hon. Member for Gedling (Mr Coaker).

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to increase the frequency of train services to north-east Essex along the Great Eastern Main Line.

    Claire Perry

    As with all competitions, after running a public consultation to help specify services, we have published the Invitation To Tender which sets out the minimum service specifications for the next East Anglia franchise. This asks bidders to set out detailed proposals on what improvements for passengers they will deliver. This approach allowsbidders the flexibility to design the best way of delivering or exceeding the specifications.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the cost of broadband access for primary and secondary schools.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    £1.7 billion of public funding has been committed to support improvements in broadband services across the UK. The Superfast Broadband Programme aims to make superfast broadband available to 95 per cent of UK premises by 2017.

    Costs will vary from school to school depending on location and how much they use the internet. The type of connectivity that the government funded broadband programme needs will not be suitable for secondary schools. They will need a dedicated connection because of their high bandwidth demands. The Department for Education does not hold information about the cost of broadband access for schools.

  • Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how many people were granted release on temporary licence, and (2) what type of licence was granted in each prison establishment, in each month since January 2013.

    Lord Faulks

    The Ministry of Justice collates data on incidences of release on temporary licence (ROTL) rather than on decisions to grant ROTL. A decision to grant ROTL can relate to a single incidence of release, or to more than one incidence of release where, for example, an offender is regularly working in the community on day release. Annual statistics on the numbers of individuals granted ROTL is published on the gov.uk website.

    The attached tables provide the following information:

    Table 1: The number of individuals released on temporary licence per quarter between January 2013 and June 2015 by prison;

    Table 2: Incidences of release on temporary licence per month between January 2013 and June 2015 by prison and by type of licence;

    Table 3: The number of individuals aged 50 to 59, and 60 and over released on temporary licence per quarter between January 2013 and June 2015.

    The Ministry of Justice collates data relating to the number of individuals released on temporary licence on a quarterly basis: it would only be possible to provide monthly data at disproportionate cost.

    Following changes to ROTL in 2013, there has been a 39% reduction in recorded instances of ROTL failure. This is the lowest failure rate since 2002.

    ROTL can be an important tool to help rehabilitate prisoners. ROTL is not automatic, but is only granted following rigorous assessment and with public protection as a primary consideration. The Government supports prisoners using temporary release to take work, training and educational opportunities that cannot be provided in prison, as well as for maintaining ties with their families.

  • Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what training her Department has provided to staff on the family test; what other steps she has taken to raise awareness of the family test among staff of her Department; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Family Test was announced by my rt. hon. Friendthe Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. The Department for Work and Pensions published guidance on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and the Department follows that guidance.1 In order to augment this guidance, the Department is preparing specific guidance on how to apply the Family Test within DECC, which will form part of the Department’s refresh of our approach to collecting and using evidence on the impacts of policies.

    The Department is focused on understanding consumers when developing policies, and have implemented an internal project which has delivered a number of consumer-focused tools which will enhance our understanding of consumers. This includes a Consumer Panel and training for senior officials on open policy making where the Family Test will specifically be referenced. Analytical tools have also been developed to analyse the impacts of policies on energy bills for different types of households and also the implications for fuel poverty.

    [1] Available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf.

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