UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2015

  • Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount received by his Department in VAT payments from further education and sixth form colleges in (a) the UK, (b) the North West and (c) Warrington in each of the last five years.

    Mr David Gauke

    No estimate has been made. Data is not available on the VAT received from further education and sixth form colleges in the United Kingdom, the North West or Warrington in the last five years.

  • Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord MacKenzie of Culkein on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have received advice from the Council of Deans of Health about the future funding of nursing and midwifery students.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department of Health (DH) received joint correspondence from the Council of Deans of Health and Universities UK about a number of issues relating to healthcare education funding in England.

    The Council of Deans of Health and Universities UK also wrote a joint letter to DH and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Ministers on 7 August 2015 requesting a meeting to discuss a redesigned system. DH and BIS Ministers agreed to a joint meeting, which took place on the 2 December.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he or Ministers in his Department will attend the heats and further stages of the Bar National Mock Trials Competition.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    I am aware of this valuable initiative for school students organised by the Citizenship Foundation and funded by the Bar. While Ministers have no current plans to attend any of the stages, I wish this competition continuing success.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Upper Tribunal’s decision in MSM (journalists; political opinion; risk) Somalia [2015] UKUT 00413 (IAC), what plans they have immediately to revise their country-specific bulletins, and how they will now apply their discretion to asylum and immigration cases.

    Lord Bates

    We do not believe our country specific bulletins are at odds with the Upper Tribunal’s decision in MSM (Somalia) such that they require urgent revision. However, we are constantly reviewing our country information and guidance to ensure we reflect the most up-to-date situation and caselaw.

    A fundamental principle of the 1951 Refugee Convention is that each case is considered on its own merits. That is the approach taken by the Home Office.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rehman Chishti – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how he plans to assess whether clinical commissioning groups in England have met the NHS England planning guidance requirement to give real terms spending increases to mental health services in 2015-16.

    Alistair Burt

    In total, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have set plans for 2015/16 which reflect an increase in mental health care expenditure in excess of their increase in allocation for the year. NHS England is tracking actual expenditure against those plans and it will report to the Secretary of State at the end of the year on whether those plans have been met.

    Departmental Ministers meet the Chief Executives of NHS England and Monitor regularly and discuss a wide range of issues, including funding for mental health services.

    NHS England was formally established on 1 April 2013.Expenditure by NHS England on Specialist Mental Health Services for 2013/14 was £1.780 billion and £1.795 billion in 2014/15. NHS England’s planned expenditure on Specialist Mental Health Services for 2015/16 is £1.859 billion.

    NHS England has published CCG level expenditure on mental health for 2013/14, which was estimated to be £8.1 billion. CCGs are currently in the process of preparing estimates of expenditure for mental health services in 2014/15. Estimates for 2015/16 are not available.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what provision the Government made in the conditions of the sale of Royal Mail for suitable local alternatives to be provided in the event that local sorting or collection offices were closed.

    Anna Soubry

    Decisions on whether to close and re-locate local collection offices have always been operational matters for Royal Mail. The Government played no role in such decisions prior to the sale of Royal Mail.

    Regardless of ownership, Royal Mail, as the United Kingdom’s designated universal service provider, is required to provide a universal postal service that meets the minimum requirements as set out under the Postal Services Act 2011.

    It is the responsibility of the postal regulator, Ofcom, to ensure that Royal Mail provides sufficient access points to meet its universal postal service obligations.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of slaughterhouses have CCTV.

    George Eustice

    The latest estimates from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are that 57% of red meat slaughterhouses and 69% of white meat slaughterhouses have some form of CCTV in use for animal welfare purposes. FSA estimate that 94% of cattle, 96% of pigs, 90% of sheep and 99% of poultry throughput now comes from premises with CCTV.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many civil servants in his Department are in the redeployment pool.

    Brandon Lewis

    A redeployment pool is one of the steps DCLG would take if staff were at the risk of redundancy. DCLG is currently not in a redundancy situation, therefore, we do not have a redeployment pool or staff in it.

  • David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what impact assessment she has made of the proposed closure of the Visa and Entry Clearance Office in Dhaka; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    Decision making on UK visa applications lodged in Bangladesh was moved from Dhaka to New Delhi in September 2014. An internal assessment of the potential impact was completed in early 2014 which covered various aspects including decision quality and customer service. UKVI retains a small team in the British High Commission, Dhaka to carry out the remote printing of visas and local checks.

    There has been, and will be, no change to the process for customers in Bangladesh. Customers are still able to apply in the same Visa Application Centres with applications being processed under the same global customer service standards of 15 working days.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, from where the Royal Navy will attain the remaining personnel necessary to crew the two new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Royal Navy has attracted significant investment as a result of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, including an increase in personnel to 30,600 by 2025. This level of investment continues to ensure delivery of Continuous Carrier Capability from both Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.