UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2015

  • Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on (a) temporary agency staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising in real terms in each year since 2010-11.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office publishes monthly spending data for temporary agency staff, consultants and non-payroll staff. This information is available online, and can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workforce-management-information-2015 >

    Transparency Data was introduced by the coalition government in 2010, to enable the public to hold the Government to account, with the aim of reducing administration costs. The information available online through Transparency Data includes departmental spending on temporary staff, consultants and non-payroll staff. The previous administration did not compile or collate that information, and it is therefore not possible to provide comparative figures, or to establish what was previously spent, on the same basis.

    The Home Office has reduced administration expenditure budgets by 50 per cent since 2010-11 in real terms. The Home Office is committed to a further 30 per cent reduction by 2019-20 over Spending Review 2015 period.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which NHS trusts make Docetaxel chemotherapy treatment available.

    George Freeman

    Information on which treatments are provided by different National Health Service trusts is not collected centrally.

    Commissioners are legally required to fund docetaxel for the treatment of hormone-refractory metastatic prostate cancer (where the disease becomes unresponsive to hormone treatment) as recommended in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s technology appraisal guidance.

    NHS England has advised that it does not routinely commission docetaxel chemotherapy for the treatment of hormone sensitive prostate cancer. However, an associated policy statement is currently being developed and NHS England expects this to be published in the early part of 2016, subject to appropriate approvals and governance arrangements.

  • Gerald Kaufman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gerald Kaufman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when she intends to answer the letter of the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, dated 28 September 2015, on John Rooke.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    I responded to the Rt Hon Gentleman’s letter on 6 November 2015.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Syrian refugees will qualify for (a) indefinite leave to remain and (b) UK citizenship after five years of residence.

    Richard Harrington

    Syrians who are resettled under the Syrian Resettlement Scheme are given a five year humanitarian protection visa. At the end of the 5 years they can apply for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) and if granted they can apply for UK citizenship 12 months later. Each application for settlement and citizenship is decided in accordance with our guidance for these routes.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the type approval regime is for (a) aircraft used at UK airports and (b) ships used at UK ports; and whether there are any emissions standard components to either of those regimes.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The certification of aircraft and aero-engines is primarily the responsibility of the certification authority for the state of manufacture. In Europe this is the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) who also have oversight of aircraft and engines certified in other regions that expect to be registered in the UK or any other European country.

    The certification requirement for Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), Carbon Monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbon is based on operating the engine on a test bed at different thrust settings to simulate the landing and take-off phases of flight below 3000 feet. The visible smoke test identifies the worst case condition for smoke. A new standard for CO2 emissions from aircraft is being developed and is expected to assess the cruise emissions as this phase dominates total fuel burn. EASA certification Engineers would verify the fuel burn on tightly controlled test flights.

    Ships are primarily regulated through the United Nations International Maritime Organization and are subject to a range of technical and operational requirements set down in international law.

    Emissions from shipping are subject to controls under Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) and a related European regime with performance standards in place for both pollutant emissions and energy efficiency. Where these requirements refer to the type approval of specific equipment, an approval process is carried out against the agreed standard to ensure the equipment is fit for purpose. The type approval of equipment on ships is normally carried out by a certification authority on behalf of a State.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislation to encourage the greater use of non-custodial sentencing options for driving offences where danger was caused but with no evidence of intent or wilful risk-taking on the part of the driver.

    Andrew Selous

    Parliament sets the maximum penalties for driving offences and it is for the courts to decide what sentence to impose, taking into account aggravating and mitigating factors of the offence and the offender, and in line with the sentencing guidelines. The previous Secretary of State established a review into these issues. We are considering how to take this forward. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State is meeting colleagues to discuss this issue in the new year.

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

    Baroness Coussins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will extend the current additional financial incentives for modern foreign language teachers in secondary schools to language specialists entering the teaching profession in primary schools.

    Lord Nash

    Financial incentives for initial teacher training (ITT) are designed to attract applicants to certain subjects. We have increased bursaries for secondary languages ITT trainees for 2016/17 in response to growing demand.

    We have no current plans to extend these generous financial incentives for secondary language trainees to primary trainees. Primary ITT courses continue to be popular with applicants, and we are confident that we can recruit enough trainees nationally to meet need at the bursary rates announced for 2016/17.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the scale of the change of his Department’s workforce arising from the departmental settlement announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    As set out in Table 1.B of the Spending Review document, the Department’s Spending Review settlement includes a real terms reduction to its administration budget of 12%. The Department’s workforce will need to reduce broadly in line with this settlement.

  • Lord Judd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Judd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their criteria for identifying countries of concern in the FCO annual report on human rights and democracy.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In the 2014 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy, we continued to use the criteria published in the 2012 report to determine whether a country should feature as a country of concern:

    • the gravity of the human rights situation in the country, including both the severity of particular abuses and the range of human rights affected;

    • whether a deterioration or improvement in the human rights situation in the country would have a wider impact in the region;

    • whether the human rights situation in the country has an impact on wider UK interests; and

    • whether we are able to influence the human rights situation there.

  • Graham Stuart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Graham Stuart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Stuart on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what trade missions to Latin America the Government has organised in the last 12 months; and what such trade missions are planned in the next 12 months.

    Anna Soubry

    In the last 12 months, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has organised the following trade missions to Latin America;

    Multi-Sector Mission to Colombia and Peru – November 2014

    Multi-Sector Mission to Mexico and Colombia – November/December 2014

    Automotive Mission to Mexico – December 2014

    Oil & Gas Mission to Colombia – March 2015

    Trade Mission to Mexico – March 2015

    Trade Mission to Brazil – March 2015

    Global Sports Mission to Brazil – August 2015

    Northern PowerHouse Mission to Mexico/Colombia – September/October 2015

    Water Mission to Brazil (visiting FITABES Trade Show) – October 2015

    MSB (Medium Size Business) to Brazil (led by Lord Maude) – November 2015

    Broadcast Mission to Mexico – November 2015

    Multi- Sector Mission to Colombia and Peru – November 2015

    Information relating to planned missions from April 2016 onwards is not available at this time. UKTI is currently undertaking business planning for the period in question. The 2016-2017 Events Programme will be available by end of March 2016.