Tag: 2015

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 42 of the North East Devolution Agreement, what the composition of the proposed Steering Group will be; what the process of escalation referred to will be; and what plans he has to report on the activities of the Steering Group to Parliament on an annual or quarterly basis.

    James Wharton

    My officials are working closely with representatives of the North East Combined Authority to ensure that robust implementation arrangements for the North East Devolution Deal are in place. Aspects of monitoring, including a steering group, are still subject to ongoing discussions, and once agreed will form part of the North East Combined Authority’s Implementation Plan.

    The Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill includes provision for the Secretary of State to provide an Annual Report to both Houses of Parliament on areas of the country where agreements have been reached, as soon as practicable after 31 March each year.

  • Baroness Pinnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Pinnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding has been allocated via the academy conversion grant in each of the last five financial years.

    Lord Nash

    There have been 3,327 converter academies opened during the current and preceding four financial years, each receiving the standard conversion support grant of £25,000 to spend on the conversion process.

    Further details are in the table below:

    Financial Year

    Converter academies opened

    2014-15

    608

    2013-14

    573

    2012-13

    786

    2011-12

    1,100

    Total

    3,327

    Figures for 2015-16 are not available at this stage.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department will publish its consultation on verification mechanisms to restrict under 18 access to pornographic websites.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is currently preparing a consultation on the Government’s manifesto commitment requiring age verification for access to all sites containing pornographic material. This will be published in due course.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the difficulties associated with the insulation of external walls of traditional terraced housing and other older properties with solid walls rather than cavity walls, and whether they are supporting, or will support, research into practical solutions for insulating such walls.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Government has a number of ongoing projects to investigate issues surrounding solid wall insulation, including monitoring current installation practices (DECC), modelling the risks of unintended moisture-related problems (DCLG and DECC), preparing practical guidance for industry to reduce the risks of such problems (DECC) and a wider high-level study of solid wall insulation issues (BIS – the Hansford report, to be published on 12 November).

    The Government recognises that it is important that we do more and that is why we have commissioned Dr Peter Bonfield to undertake an Independent Review into Consumer Advice, Protection, Standards and Enforcement for both energy efficiency and renewable energy. The Review is due to report in March 2016 and represents a real opportunity to put energy efficiency on a more consumer-focussed and sustainable long-term path for the future.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance she has given to schools on including internet safety awareness in PSHE lessons for primary school children.

    Edward Timpson

    Internet safety has been a statutory requirement within the new computing programme of study since September 2014. The national curriculum sets the expectation that children in primary schools are taught how to use technology safely and respectfully; how to keep personal information private; and where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content on the internet.

    The introduction of internet safety content in key stages 1 and 2 reflects the fact that children are increasingly accessing the internet from a young age, and is intended to inform pupils of good practice in staying safe online from an early age.

    Schools are also able to teach pupils about internet safety in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) lessons. The PSHE Association’s non-statutory programme of study for health and well-being includes ways of keeping physically and emotionally safe, including online.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of Bermuda’s progress in introducing a public register of beneficial ownership since June 2013.

    James Duddridge

    We have asked the Bermudian authorities to meet the following criteria: a) UK law enforcement and tax authorities must be able to access company beneficial ownership information without restriction, subject to relevant safeguards; b) These competent authorities should be able to quickly identify all companies that a particular beneficial owner has a stake in without needing to submit multiple and repeated requests; and c) Companies or their beneficial owners must not be alerted to the fact that an investigation is underway. We are continuing our dialogue with the Bermudan authorities on this and have offered any technical support that might be required as they develop their proposals My Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond MP), Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, met with Premier Dunkley on 26 August in London.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research her Department has recently commissioned on the effects of pesticides on UK ecosystems.

    George Eustice

    Defra has funded a number of projects over recent years to develop its understanding of the effects of pesticides. This includes work to examine the fate and behaviour of pesticides in the environment, their effects on non-target organisms and measures to reduce adverse effects. A list of all Defra-commissioned Research and Development (R&D) projects is available from the Defra R&D website.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many delayed discharges in West Sussex related to people with brain injuries in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Alistair Burt

    The information requested is not collected centrally.

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

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS England is responsible for implementation of (a) the option in the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation guidance, Immunisation against infectious disease, that allows clinicians to use their clinical judgement where patient circumstances strongly suggest that prophylaxis with palivizumab would prevent serious respiratory syncytial virus infection in infants who are at a particular risk of complications and (b) other options in that guidance.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England has responsibility under the Section 7A Agreement to commission specific NHS Public Health programmes on behalf of Secretary of State. This responsibility includes implementation of the service specification for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) which includes both options described in the question.

    RSV is a common cause of respiratory tract infections. It usually causes a mild self-limiting respiratory infection in adults and children, but it can be severe in infants who are at increased risk of acute lower respiratory tract infection.

    There is no licensed vaccine available for RSV. Preventative treatment for RSV is available by passive immunisation with protective antibodies to protect at risk infants.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many nationals aged (a) between 15 and 64 and (b) over 65 from each non-EEA country were granted British citizenship in each year from 1997-98 to 2014-15.

    James Brokenshire

    The latest available Home Office immigration statistics on grants of British citizenship by age, sex, geographical region and year of grant are published in ‘Immigration Statistics, April-June 2015’ table cz_05 for 2002 to 2014, available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office website at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics

    Corresponding data for 2015 will be published on 26 May 2016. Information is not available for periods prior to 2002.