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Tag: 2015

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funding has been received by organisations in Northern Ireland from the Community Covenant Grant Scheme.

    Mark Lancaster

    All of the applications from Northern Ireland under the first round of the 2015-16 Small Grant Covenant Grant Scheme were successful, amounting to just over £35,000. This is in addition to the £80,000 already awarded under the now closed Community Covenant Grant Scheme.

    This funding is in addition to the £35 million of Libor money which the Chancellor agreed to transfer to support the Armed Forces community. The fund has supported 96 charities and good causes in a variety of ways across the UK. We anticipate that the Armed Forces community in Northern Ireland will benefit from a number of UK-wide projects which have received funding.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland executive about (a) the licensing of road hauliers and (b) tackling transportation of illicit fuel.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office have not had any direct discussions with the NI Executive about (a) licensing of road hauliers and (b) tackling transportation of illicit fuel. Matters relating to (a) the road hauliers and (b) tackling transportation of illicit fuel are for the DVA and HMRC respectively.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions her Department has had with the Arctic Methane Emergency Group on ways to mitigate methane emissions from disruption of methane hydrates caused by climate change in the Arctic.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department has had no such direct discussions with the Arctic Methane Emergency Group. The best practical way to limit methane emissions due to the destabilisation of methane hydrates is to keep the rise in global temperatures as low as possible. The UK government’s recent push to secure an ambitious global climate deal was rewarded on 12 December in Paris, where the world witnessed a historic step forward to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. A global agreement of 195 countries, including the world’s largest emitters, have now committed to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of disability living allowance applications for children diagnosed with ADHD have been rejected in each of the last five financial years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The requested data is not available.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on bilateral relations of recent decisions by China to construct new islands on coral reefs in disputed waters.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Whilst the UK takes no position on the underlying sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, we are concerned about the impact of any unilateral actions, such as large scale land reclamation, and the risk these may pose to freedom of navigation and regional stability.

    We have raised these issues with China through our regular bilateral dialogue. We have also called on all parties to exercise restraint and pursue the settlement of disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and to refrain from activity likely to raise tensions.

  • Lord Harris of Haringey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Harris of Haringey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the last three years, how many cases of individuals imprisoned for defaulting on their council tax were appealed to the High Court, and in how many of those cases the appeals were upheld.

    Lord Faulks

    Data showing how many people were imprisoned for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014 are presented in the table below:

    Year

    Total

    2012

    107

    2013

    108

    2014

    89

    Notes:

    These data are sourced from the Libra Management Information System (MIS). As such this data set is not subject to the same levels of quality assurance as national statistics

    In extracting this data only offences of complaint for council tax committal application have been included where the court hearing date occurred within each year reported (i.e. between 1 January and 31 December).

    It should also be noted that, although committals to prison are reported as occurring within a particular financial year, the non-payment of council tax itself may relate to a previous financial year or even a period covering more than one financial year.

    Committal to prison for non-payment of council tax can be challenged through a judicial review in the High Court. The table below shows the number of judicial reviews relating to imprisonment for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and the outcomes.

    Year

    Number of Judicial Reviews

    Upheld

    Refused

    2012

    0

    0

    0

    2013

    0

    0

    0

    2014

    2

    0

    2

    Notes:

    These data were obtained from a manual check of judicial reviews carried out specifically to answer this question.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to develop a strategy for tackling and treating TB throughout the UK.

    Jane Ellison

    The Collaborative Tuberculosis (TB) Strategy for England 2015-20201 was launched in January 2015. It lays out 10 key ‘areas for actions’ needed to achieve a year on year decrease in TB incidence, a reduction in health inequalities and, ultimately, the elimination of TB as a public health problem in England.

    Since the strategy was launched Public Health England, together with NHS England, have formed a TB Strategy implementation team and established seven TB control boards across England. These boards are leading the local delivery of the 10 key ‘areas for action’.

    As health is a devolved matter, Ministers do not regularly discuss these issues, however research and evidence of best practice is made available throughout the United Kingdom.

    1Public Health England. Collaborative Tuberculosis Strategy for England 2015 to 2020 [Internet]. 2015. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/collaborative-tuberculosis-strategy-for-england

  • Baroness Jolly – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Baroness Jolly – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jolly on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government with how many Iraqi interpreters the armed forces contracted during military operations in Iraq in each year between 2003 and 2009.

    Earl Howe

    The total number of Iraqi interpreters recruited by the Armed Forces during Military operations in Iraq from 2003 to 2009 is 1,628. The following table shows this figure broken down by each year:

    Year

    No. of Interpreters

    2003

    347

    2004

    426

    2005

    499

    2006

    209

    2007

    78

    2008

    69

    2009

    0

  • Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, in what ways his Department recognises and supports innovation on medical nutrition.

    Jane Ellison

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has developed a range of care pathways covering the management of long term conditions, such as diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which are based on its best practice guidance for management of these diseases. Where appropriate to the management of a condition, nutritional assessment and advice are included. In addition to this, there are specific care pathways covering nutrition support in adults and maternal and child nutrition which can be found at the following links:

    http://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/nutrition-support-in-adults

    http://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/maternal-and-child-nutrition

    NICE is the independent body responsible for developing best practice guidance for the NHS and its guidance is based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and is developed through wide consultation with stakeholders. NICE has issued guidance on a broad range of medical conditions, treatments and interventions and periodically reviews and updates its guidance to ensure that it reflects new evidence and other developments.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the decision was taken not to grant entry to Britain to a group of medical experts from Gaza and a psychologist from Bethlehem who had been invited to contribute to a conference at Kingston University.

    Lord Bates

    In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide the information requested.

    All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules.