Tag: 2015

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

    Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to require district councils in Northern Ireland to conduct election counts other than those for district council elections.

    Lord Dunlop

    The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is currently considering a range of options for reforming his Office. This includes capitalising on new technology by introducing on-line registration.

    The Chief Electoral Officer will have regard to the continued effective delivery of elections in Northern Ireland and ensuring that his Office remains on a sustainable financial footing. The Northern Ireland Office fully supports him in this approach. I understand that work on some options is at an early stage.

    The Representation of the People Act 1983 makes provision for the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland to delegate returning officer functions to the clerk of a district council.

    Detailed questions on headcount and budget are operational matters for the Chief Electoral Officer who is independent of Government. The Chief Electoral Officer publishes all such information in his annual report which is presented to Parliament and copies are made available in the Library of the House.

    The headline budgets allocated to the Chief Electoral Office are:

    Financial Year

    Operational Funding

    Capital Funding

    2013/14

    £5.452m *

    £100k

    2014/15

    £2.336m

    £56.2k

    2015/16

    £2.296m

    £25k

    * includes £3m for the 2013 canvass

    The Northern Ireland Office has not agreed any budgets with the Chief Electoral Officer for future years pending receipt of the Department’s detailed Spending Review 2015 settlement letter from HM Treasury.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take other than airstrikes to respond to the threat posed by ISIS.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (David Cameron) said last week, the UK has a full spectrum approach to defeating ISIL – covering military power, counter-terrorism expertise and defeating its poisonous narrative.

    The UK is playing a leading role in the Global Coalition of 65 members, through which we are squeezing ISIL’s finances and the flow of fighters, challenging its ideology and stabilising liberated areas.

    The UK leads the effort to undermine ISIL’s narrative, co-chairing the Coalitions’ Strategic Communications Working Group and hosting the Coalition Communications Cell.

  • Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of driverless car technology.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government recognises the transformative potential that Connected and Automated Vehicles technologies have for mobility and our transport system, and the significant opportunities that exist for UK industry in their development and commercialisation. The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles was established in July 2015 between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Transport, to lead on this agenda.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of doctors working in hospitals are from non-UK countries.

    Ben Gummer

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre collects data on the number of doctors working in National Health Service hospital and community health services in England.

    Nationality is a self-reported field within the electronic staff record system and of the 98,894 full time equivalent number of doctors (not including locums) who declared their nationality 25,607 (25.6%) are non-United Kingdom nationals.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether there are sufficient data to create an accurate baseline of soil quality in the UK from which to measure improvement or degradation.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The 2007 Countryside Survey measured changes in soil organic matter content of soils in Great Britain. It also measured bulk density and a number of other physical and chemical characteristics of soil. A new baseline survey for soil carbon was carried out in 2009 as part of the EU Land Cover and Land Use Statistics (LUCAS) exercise. The 2015 LUCAS soil samples are currently being analysed.

    Defra does not routinely monitor national rates of soil loss (erosion), but we are funding research to pilot a national soil erosion monitoring framework for monitoring soil erosion in England and Wales.

    Defra also funded a survey of soil compaction levels in grasslands in England and Wales in 2011.

    No formal assessment has been made of the sufficiency of the baseline data from which to measure changes in soil quality.

    The Government recognises that soil is essential for underpinning a range of benefits, including food production, but also biodiversity, carbon storage and flood protection.

    While the future direction of soils policy will be considered as part of the development of the 25 year plans for Food and Farming, and Environment, government is already taking action to improve soil quality.

    This includes new rules underpinning cross compliance which anyone claiming Common Agricultural Policy payments must comply with. The rules require a minimum level of soil cover, prevention of erosion and measures to protect the organic matter levels of soil. The new rules take an outcome based approach, instead of the previous paper-based system, thereby focussing on environmental improvements while reducing burdens for farmers. The Government will continue to monitor the implementation of the new rules.

    No single body or institution has responsibility for measuring and analysing soils in the UK. Soil testing is carried out by a mix of commercial laboratories and Public Analyst labs. Typically laboratories are accredited and adhere to British Standards on testing procedures. However, there are no regulations governing soil testing procedures themselves.

    There are existing soil maps for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which use different soil classifications. There are currently no plans to produce a new UK soil map, and we have not explored options for private sector investment.

  • Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the extent to which Northern Ireland’s land border with another EU member state creates a challenge in protecting Northern Ireland from terrorist threats.

    Mr John Hayes

    The UK and the Republic of Ireland have long enjoyed a Common Travel Area (CTA) free of routine border controls. However, there are long-established and effective working relationships between the police and intelligence agencies in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to mitigate threats. The Government takes protecting our border security very seriously, and there is a high level of collaboration on work with the Republic of Ireland to also strengthen the CTA’s external border.

  • Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which countries in the Middle East have never received a formal visit from a member of the Royal Family.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    I can confirm that every country in the Middle East has received a visit from a member of the Royal Family.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Leader of the House, what steps his Office has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.

    Chris Grayling

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for West Suffolk (Matt Hancock) on 16 November 2015, to Question UIN 15373.

    “

  • Lord Wigley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Wigley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wigley on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to discuss with the Office for National Statistics the possibility of including in the 2021 Census a provision for respondents to give details about family relationships, marriages and children, similar to information collected in the 1911 Census.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what estimate he has made of his Department’s expected underspend against Departmental Expenditure Limits in 2015-16; what his Department’s forecast is of total Annually Managed Expenditure in 2015-16; and what that forecast was at the time of the (a) Summer Budget 2015 and (b) March Budget 2015.

    Alun Cairns

    As recommended by the Treasury, Departments are encouraged to maintain a reserve. The Wales Office maintains a reserve of around 5% of its annual Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL), which represents our forecast underspend. This underspend can increase or decrease if planned expenditure is higher or lower than expected. In 2015-16, our DEL is £4.432m which includes the Departmental reserve of £0.222m. Our forecast of Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) is £-0.020m.

    The reserve stated above was also our forecast underspend at the time of the summer budget in 2015. The Department does not forecast underspends for the following financial year at the March budget. Each March, the Wales Office focuses on completing the financial transactions and processes of that current financial year.