Tag: 2015

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 18162, if he will place in the Library a summary of the internal findings following his Department’s consideration of the Quality Contract Scheme Board report.

    Andrew Jones

    The Quality Contract Scheme (QCS) process is independent of the Department, and as such the Department has not formed a specific view on the merits of the proposed Tyne and Wear QCS proposal. The Quality Contract Scheme Board’s report has been considered internally with a view to informing and developing future policy and it is the Government’s intention to introduce a Buses Bill.

  • Gerald Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Gerald Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Jones on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to renew its funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit after March 2016.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government has committed to providing funding to help secure the National Wildlife Crime Unit until at least the end of March next year. Decisions on funding beyond March will be made as part of the current Spending Review process.

  • Anne Main – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Anne Main – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support parents of babies who spend time in neonatal care; if he will take steps to extend the statutory maternity pay of premature babies; and if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of such steps.

    Priti Patel

    The Government currently has no plans to extend Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for the parents of premature or sick babies who spend time in neo-natal care.

    SMP is designed to help working women during pregnancy and after childbirth by providing a measure of earnings replacement enabling them to stop work for a reasonable period around the birth to prepare for and recover from childbirth.

    Working women are generally able to choose when they want their payments to begin and this flexibility in the start date for maternity pay was introduced in response to medical opinion that the woman herself is best able to judge the point at which she should give up work. This ensures sufficient time off to allow for different situations, including instances where babies are delivered at an earlier date and where babies need hospital care following birth.

    The standard rate of SMP is part of a package of financial support to working families which includes Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay, Parental Leave and Flexible working. Tax Credits and Child Benefit are also available through HM Revenue and Customs to all families who qualify.

    Additionally, the introduction of Statutory Shared Parental Leave and Pay for babies due on or after 5 April 2015 enables eligible mothers, fathers, and partners to choose how to share time off work after their child is born, giving parents much more flexibility in how to use their leave entitlement. This flexibility will be particularly valuable to parents who have to deal with difficult or unexpected circumstances and it allows parents, for the first time, to take leave together in a way that suits them.

  • Richard Burgon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Richard Burgon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the UK’s productivity.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    SQW Consulting’s UK Broadband impact study in 2013 estimates that the availability and take-up of faster broadband speeds will add about £17 billion to the UK’s annual Gross Value Added (GVA) by 2024.

    This Government is helping increase productivity across the UK by investing in and widening access to key digital infrastructure. We are on track to deliver our commitment to provide superfast broadband coverage to 95% of the UK by the end of 2017.Our£40m Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme was taken up by over 55,000 small and medium sized businesses – who employ a million people right across the UK and are already reporting, on average, a £1,300 per year increase in profits and a new job being created for every four new connections. ThePrime Minister recentlyannounced plans to ensure that every home and business can have access to fast broadband by the end of this Parliament.

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

    Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Mental Health Taskforce report on a new five-year national strategy for mental health will be published.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Mental Health Taskforce is finalising its recommendations and supporting analysis to ensure these are robust. Their report is due to be published by NHS England in the New Year.

  • Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether 18 to 21 year olds who live in supported accommodation will be able to claim the housing element of universal credit when they move out of supported accommodation.

    Justin Tomlinson

    From April 2017 the Government will remove automatic entitlement to housing support for 18-21 year olds in Universal Credit. This rule, which will apply to new claims from those who are out of work, will ensure parity with those young adults who are in employment but are unable to afford to leave home. However, there will be circumstances where it is reasonable to support a young person in living independently. The Department is discussing this issue with key stakeholders in order to determine which groups might be exempt from the general rule. This includes many organisations that provide supported accommodation for young people. It is too early to confirm the outcome from those discussions.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UK, as one of the three guarantor powers of Cyprus, was consulted in connection with the request by Russia to the government of Cyprus for the provision of military facilities on that island.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have discussed with the Republic of Cyprus their dialogue with the Russian Federation on the provision of facilities for humanitarian and emergency purposes. The Republic of Cyprus have stated very clearly that they have no plans for a Russian military base on the island.

    The UK remains fully engaged on issues of regional security with the Republic of Cyprus, while recognising that it is for the Republic of Cyprus to decide which bilateral agreements to sign.

  • 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 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will promulgate official advice to pregnant women not to drink alcohol.

    Jane Ellison

    The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is overseeing a United Kingdom-wide review of all alcohol guidelines so that people can make informed choices about their drinking at all stages of their lives.

    The Guidelines Development Group, a group of independent experts, was tasked with developing lower-risk drinking guidelines for the UK CMOs to consider, including UK wide guidance for alcohol and pregnancy. We will be consulting on these shortly.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will confirm that stocks of air-launched weapons such as Brimstone used in Syria and Iraq will be maintained at planned levels at no cost to the agreed defence budget.

    Earl Howe

    I am withholding details of stock levels of air-launched weapons as disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our Armed Forces and allies. However, the cost of replenishing weapons used for air strikes in Syria and Iraq will be met from the HM Treasury Special Reserve.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2015 to Question 227900, how much of the £250 million additional funding that was committed has been spent; and how many children and young people with mental health problems this funding has supported.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government will be making available £1.4 billion over the course of this Parliament to transform children and young people’s mental health. £173 million of this has been allocated in 2015-16.

    It is too early to quantify how many Children and Young People have benefited from this additional investment.

    A significant proportion of the additional funding is being allocated to clinical commissioning groups upon completion of the assurance of Local Transformation Plans which every area has produced on children and young people’s mental health. These plans cover the full spectrum of mental health issues, from prevention and resilience building, to support and care for existing and emerging mental health problems, as well as transitions between services and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable. Plans are currently being assured by NHS England’s regional assurance teams. Funding is being released as individual plans receive a satisfactory assessment and expenditure will be monitored over the remainder of this financial year.

    In addition, the additional funding available this year will support continued improvement of existing services through the expansion of the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme. It will also strengthen the capacity and capability of workforce including providing training and improve data and information in order to deliver the vision set out in Future in Mind by 2020.