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Tag: 2015

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether (1) medical personnel, (2) ambulance crews, and (3) journalists, have been unlawfully attacked in the last year in Israel and Palestine, and how many of each group have been injured in that period.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not made an assessment specifically on this matter, we are clear that both medical staff and journalists should have the protection that allows them to do their jobs in safety. Freedom of the media is an important human rights principle. We are aware of several concerning incidents involving journalists and ambulance crews in the West Bank and Gaza over the past year. We regularly raise our concerns with both the Palestinian Authority and Israeli government, and have urged all sides to de-escalate the current tensions.

  • Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contribution the Local Pinch Point Fund has made towards increasing the housing supply.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department is providing £263 million through the Local Pinch Point Fund, targeted at traffic congestion hot-spots, which when combined with local authority and developer contributions is funding schemes costing around £500 million.

    Based on estimates from the promoting authorities, many of the schemes awarded funding encourage housing and commercial development around them, with the potential to support around 150,000 new homes and 200,000 jobs.

  • Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an invitation was extended to the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina to participate in the European Union leaders’ meeting of 25 October to discuss the Western Balkans migratory route, and whether it is their policy that the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina should be invited to participate in future EU meetings on this subject.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The decision on which parties attended the Summit on 25 October to discuss the refugee flows along the Western Balkans route was taken by Commission President Juncker. The British Government supports the inclusion of affected countries in such meetings and considers it important that decisions which affect all Member States are taken by all 28 Member States.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the new rules for free prescriptions for Universal Credit claimants on incentives for work and progression; and if he will make a statement.

    Priti Patel

    No such assessment has been made.

  • Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Attorney General, whether the Serious Fraud Office is undertaking an investigation into defeat devices used by Volkswagen in emissions tests.

    Jeremy Wright

    As and when matters are brought to the attention of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) they are assessed in the context of the SFO’s remit to investigate fraud, bribery and corruption. If appropriate, relevant matters will be considered for criminal investigation in line with SFO internal procedures. The SFO does not comment on its assessments or their status at any one time but does publish on its website details of those cases formally adopted for criminal investigation, when this is possible without prejudice to the investigation.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether local healthwatches are meeting Healthwatch England’s mission to be a consumer champion, in the light of reports that some contractors and local authorities refuse to engage with the public in their area.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department currently has no plans to undertake an investigation in to the performance of local Healthwatch organisations. In March 2015 the Department published a report commissioned from the King’s Fund – Local Healthwatch: Progress and promise – which set out the progress that local Healthwatch have made since being established in 2013. Transparency about the performance of local Healthwatch organisations is provided through the annual reports which they are required to publish. Reports on how the local Healthwatch network as a whole is operating and the nature of the support needed to deliver their activities effectively are discussed at quarterly public meetings of the Healthwatch England Committee.

    Arrangements for ensuring local Healthwatch statutory activities are delivered in each area are a matter for local authorities. The Local Government Association has published guidance to support local Healthwatch and local commissioners in putting in place good governance arrangements, which includes clarity about the roles of all parties involved.

    Neither the Department nor Healthwatch England are aware of local Healthwatch contractors refusing to engage with the public in their area. Where Healthwatch England is made aware of concerns in relation to local Healthwatch around governance or local relationships with specific individuals or organisations, it seeks to provide support to resolve these where appropriate. Members of the public are able to raise concerns though the complaints process of the local Healthwatch or the commissioning local authority.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 12401, if he will publish the socio-economic data collected for the 2015 intake of the Future Leaders Scheme and Senior Leaders Scheme.

    Matthew Hancock

    There is an ongoing review into the most effective and appropriate definition for social mobility which we will align with in future years. This work is being led by The Bridge Group, a charitable policy association promoting social mobility, as part of research they are undertaking on social mobility in the Fast Stream.This research is the largest quantitative analysis of its kind and will help to inform how we define and measure social mobility across all Civil Service talent schemes, including the Future Leaders Scheme and Senior Leaders Scheme. The research will also help us to determine what information we collate and publish on these schemes in a meaningful and accessible way.

    We are also working towards a position where we collate and publish diversity data in a single format on the gov.ukwebsite to improve transparency and accountability on overall progress towards diversity and inclusion in the Civil Service.

    “

  • Lord Palmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Palmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the link between rates of smoking prevalence and the level of tobacco control, as measured by the OECD.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government considers international comparisons of tobacco control produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and other organisations, such as Joossens and Raw’s Tobacco Control Scale in Europe, which ranks the United Kingdom as number one in tobacco control activity of 34 European countries.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many existing tax credit claimants have been in continuous receipt of tax credits for (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four years or more.

    Damian Hinds

    This information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the draft bill setting up the Historical Investigations Unit and other legacy bodies that was presented to political parties at the recent negotiations held under the Belfast Agreement 1998.

    Lord Dunlop

    The recent negotiations established substantial common ground between the parties on how to establish the legacy bodies identified in the Stormont House Agreement.

    The Government is currently reflecting on how we can move forward and achieve broad consensus in support of legislation to establish these legacy bodies.