Tag: 2015

  • Lord Stevenson of Balmacara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Stevenson of Balmacara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevenson of Balmacara on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will support the proposal by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead to invite the Sir William Borlase Grammar School to open a new grammar school in Maidenhead in the near future.

    Lord Nash

    Current legislation prohibits the introduction of a new grammar school. The government has been clear that we have not changed the law in this area.

    The government is supportive of all good and outstanding schools that seek to expand, in order to deliver more school places and greater choice to parents. Any school proposing such an expansion would need to demonstrate that it was a genuine continuation of an existing school. Schools that have successfully proposed an expansion have met a high threshold and other schools would need to do the same.

  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the costs to the NHS of the £200 million reduction in the Public Health Grant to local authorities for 2015–16.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Local authorities are best placed to make an assessment of local public health needs, and to prioritise and deploy their available resources accordingly, in partnership with the National Health Service. The NHS will continue to provide a vital role in the delivery of public health services.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he is making to large businesses on paying the living wage.

    Nick Boles

    The National Living Wage (NLW) will be introduced in April 2016. It will be mandatory for employers of all sizes to pay their workers the new NLW if those workers are over 25 and are not in the first year of an apprenticeship. The Government encourages all employers to pay more than the statutory minimum rates when they can afford it.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of those responding to the 2012 consultation Measuring Child Poverty supported the exclusion of any income measure; and whether they will name those organisations that supported the exclusion.

    Lord Freud

    The Government’s response to the consultation on new measures of child poverty can be found in Annex E of the attached document. The analysis of the results in 2013 recorded that two respondents to the consultation said income should not be included in a measure of child poverty.

    We cannot give the names of the respondents due to Data Protection Act requirements. However, one was from an academic organisation and the other was from a frontline service.

    The Government wants to focus future effort on tackling the root causes of child poverty. That is why the life chances provisions in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill will introduce new measures of worklessness and educational attainment, and why we have committed ourselves to introducing a set of non-statutory indicators including ones on family breakdown, problem debt and addiction. These measures will focus action on the areas which the evidence indicates will make a sustainable difference to children’s lives – now and in the future.

  • Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of households in receipt of tax credits in each of the last five tax years for which data are available did not make a claim in the following tax year.

    Damian Hinds

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

  • 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 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are being taken in the UK to safeguard moderate Muslims from Islamophobic crime, in the light of the recent terrorist attacks around the world.

    Lord Bates

    The Government takes the safety of the Muslim and all other communities extremely seriously, and deplores all forms of hate crime. We are concerned by reports of increased attacks against Muslims in recent weeks, and we are working with the police and community groups on monitoring the situation and taking appropriate action where required.

    The police constantly review events and potential threats to ensure everything is being done to protect our communities from terrorism, hate crime and the impact of public protest.

    After the attacks in Paris the police have increased their presence on some streets and at some locations, and they will be intensifying their approach at events in big cities. Officers are working closely with London’s communities and businesses to provide advice and reassurance. Government officials are also speaking to community organisations such as Tell MAMA to ensure that we are aware of the current issues around anti-Muslim hatred and to ensure that we increase reporting of it.

    The Government is committed to tackling hate crime. That is why we have announced a new cross-Government Hate Crime Action Plan. This will be taken forward in partnership with the communities that it seeks to protect, and will include a range of actions across Government. We have also announced that from 2016, police forces will be expected to record data on hate crimes against Muslims and members of other religious groups, to allow us to properly assess the scale of the problem we are facing.

    Our Counter-Extremism Strategy, published in October, outlines how we will further protect British Muslims, including communities worried about Neo-Nazi groups who may be planning crimes such as attacks on Muslims.

  • Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the financial effect on the average working household of welfare and tax credit changes proposed since May 2015.

    Damian Hinds

    This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor made clear on [Monday / 26 October], the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.

    The Summer Budget offered a new deal for working people. A new National Living Wage for workers aged 25 and above, initially set at £7.20 per hour from April 2016, will directly benefit 2.7 million low wage workers, and up to 6 million could see a pay rise as a result of a ripple effect up the earnings distribution. The new National Living Wage will boost pay for those currently earning the National Minimum Wage by £4,800 a year by 2020 when the National Living Wage is expected to rise to over £9 per hour.

    To help working families keep more of what they earn, the personal allowance will increase to £11,000 in 2016-17 and £11,200 in 2017-18. The government has committed to increase the personal allowance to £12,500 by 2020 which will mean that a typical basic rate taxpayer will see their income tax cut by £1,205 a year compared to 2010.

    The government set out its assessment of the impacts of the Summer Budget policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July 2015.

  • Lord Birt – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Birt – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 2 November (HL2691), when they expect to be able to collect reliable data on the incidence and cost of internet fraud; and whether they will publish that information.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

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

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the army’s (a) Junior Entrants and (b) Standard Entrants were medically discharged due to an injury during initial training in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    The proportion of Junior and Standard Entrant Regular Army Personnel, Medically Discharged during initial training for 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15 is shown below:

    Entry Type

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    Junior Entry

    6.3%

    8.6%

    6.8%

    Standard Entry

    4.2%

    5.1%

    5.1%

    Initial training has been defined as all personnel either in Phase 1 or Phase 2 training.

    Junior Entry is defined as trainees under 18 years old at the Army Foundation College (Harrogate) on Junior Entry courses. Figures for under 18s who follow the standard entry route are recorded with the standard entry total and cannot be separated out.

    Officer Designates have been excluded from this response as they do not enter the UK Army via Junior or Standard Entry.

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the evidence on which the current emphasis by NHS Choices on low-fat products or unsaturated fats in dietary advice for people with diabetes, or who are pre-diabetic, is based.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England (PHE) advocates a healthy balanced diet for all based on the eatwell plate; the national healthy eating guide. The eatwell plate shows for a healthy balanced diet people should try to eat plenty of starchy foods, fruit and vegetables, some milk, dairy, meat, fish and other non-dairy sources of protein and only small amounts of food and drinks high in fat and/or sugar.

    The Government takes a whole population approach to healthy eating, and therefore does not provide specific dietary advice to individuals with medical needs. It is recommended for anyone with a medical condition who is in search of dietary advice to consult their local general practitioner or a dietician.

    In July 2015, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published its report on Carbohydrates and Health, a review of the latest evidence on dietary carbohydrates and health. SACN recommended reducing sugar consumption, increasing fibre consumption and minimising consumption of sugars-sweetened drinks. A copy of Carbohydrates and Health is attached.

    Following publication, advice on what constitutes a healthy balanced diet, for the general population, which includes those with diabetes, was updated to reflect SACN’s recommendations. As part of this, PHE is undertaking a review of the eatwell plate; the refreshed resource will be launched in early 2016.