Tag: 2015

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for the introduction of a 50 mile per hour speed limit on single-carriageway rural roads, and whether they plan to consult on such a proposal.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    There are no plans to decrease the speed limit to 50 mph on single carriageway rural roads.

    The Department for Transport has provided guidance to traffic authorities in the Speed Limit Circular 01/2013 – Setting Local Speed Limits. This encourages traffic authorities to keep speed limits under review, and to consider lower speed limits than the default, especially where there may be a relatively high number of bends, junctions or accesses.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department plans to spend on specialist kidnap negotiation and hostage rescue capabilities in British consulates in the next 12 months.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government’s response to overseas hostage taking brings together skills and capabilities across a range of Departments. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the lead Department where British nationals are kidnapped by a terrorist group. Expenditure can be dependent on factors including the number of incidents. In the current Financial Year the FCO will spend around £253,000 on specialist hostage negotiation capability, and on training for the staff in the FCO and our global network who coordinate the Government’s response to the kidnap of British nationals overseas. This training programme ensures our overseas network is prepared to respond effectively when British nationals are taken hostage by terrorists. The FCO’s exact expenditure on kidnap response in the year ahead will depend in part on the number of live cases, but is likely to be of a similar magnitude.

  • Lord Trefgarne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Trefgarne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Trefgarne on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the Criminal Cases Review Commission to conclude its investigation and report on the case of Sergeant Alexander Blackman.

    Lord Faulks

    The Criminal Cases Review Commission has not received an application from Sergeant Alexander Blackman.

  • 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 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many attendances at emergency departments for self-harm per 100,000 people there were in each year since that data has been collected; and how many people received a psychological assessment.

    Alistair Burt

    The table below shows the number of people who attended emergency departments for self-harm between 2007/08 and 2013/14. Data is not available for the number of people who received a psychosocial assessment after presenting at emergency departments for self-harm.

    Rate of Accident and Emergency (A&E) attendances where patient group was recorded as ‘self-harm’ per 100,000 population, from 2007/08 to 2013/14

    Year

    Number of attendances

    Rate per 100,000 population

    2007/08

    94,488

    184

    2008/09

    101,670

    196

    2009/10

    108,312

    208

    2010/11

    112,669

    214

    2011/12

    118,935

    224

    2012/13

    111,544

    209

    2013/14

    117,719

    219

    Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

  • Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he, his ministers and his officials have had with the European Commission on the situation in the steel industry.

    Anna Soubry

    My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills has engaged with the European Commission and our European partners. He has spoken with a number of European Commissioners in Brussels; Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom (Trade), Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska (Internal Market) and Vice President Jyrki Katainen (Jobs and Competitiveness), and stressed the importance of this issue. He has had positive talks with the Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on progressing the approval of the UK’s Energy Intensive Industries compensation scheme.

    I raised the issue with Matthias Machnig, State Secretary for the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy. In addition, the Secretary of State hasraised the issue with his EU counterparts, including those in Luxembourg, France, Italy and Spain. ​Hecalled for an urgent EU Council meeting on steel, and I am pleased that the Luxembourg Presidency has scheduled a Competitiveness Council on9 November specifically to discuss the EU steel industry.

  • Sammy Wilson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sammy Wilson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sammy Wilson on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of animals that had been used in experiments and were classed as re-homed in government statistics in the last three years were sent to laboratories outside the UK.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not collect data regarding the number of animals, used in scientific procedures, which are subsequently re-homed. Establishments are required to keep information of the source, use and final disposal of protected animals, bred kept or used at the establishment for any regulated activities, which would include whether an animal used was re-homed.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to increase participation in all-employee tax-advantaged share plans; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    The tax-advantaged Save As You Earn (SAYE) and Share Incentive Plan (SIP) limits were significantly increased from April 2014. The increases the Government have made are reasonable, given the average monthly SAYE savings and the value of awards currently made to employees under SIP, and they represent the best use of resources. The Government will continue to keep the SAYE and SIP limits under review.

    In addition to increasing the SAYE and SIP limits, the rules of the schemes were substantially reviewed and simplified following the recommendations made by the Office of Tax Simplification in March 2012. Last year, the requirement that these schemes must be approved by HM Revenue and Customs to qualify for favourable tax treatment was replaced by self-certification. Coupled with other changes to simplify some technical aspects of the rules, this will make these schemes more attractive to businesses and employees.

    No data is collected and no estimates are made of the income levels of the participants in SAYE schemes.

    Permitting private equity backed companies to offer all-employee tax advantaged schemes would be likely to involve significant changes to the rules of the schemes, and there would be a number of other factors to consider carefully, including the increased cost and complexity of any extension.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many requests under section 42 of the Data Protection Act have been made in respect of (a) Google Commerce Limited, (b) Google Inc., (c) Google Payment Limited and (d) Google UK Limited.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Information relating to the number of requests under section 42 of the Data Protection Act that have been made in respect of (a) Google Commerce Limited, (b) Google Inc, (c) Google Payment Limited and (d) Google UK Limited is outlined below:

    Year

    Google Inc

    Google UK Ltd

    Google Payment Limited

    2012/2013

    4

    16

    0

    2013/2014

    1

    4

    0

    2014/2015

    3

    0

    3

    2015/2016

    1

    0

    0

  • Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the change in the number of firefighter posts was in Dorset Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14.

    Greg Clark

    Information on the number of full time equivalent firefighter posts for each fire and rescue service and for each year, together with greater detail, is available in the Department’s Fire and Rescue Operational Statistics publication (Table 2 for full time equivalent posts) at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-and-rescue-authorities-operational-statistics

    “

  • Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of signage for the Dart Charge in effectively informing users about that charge.

    Andrew Jones

    Work was undertaken to assess the signage before the launch of Dart Charge in November 2014, with fifty new signs unveiled ahead of its introduction.

    The initial compliance rate is 92.6% which compares favourably with other similar schemes and indicates strong awareness levels among drivers. However Highways England continue to monitor feedback from customers to see if any enhancements can be made.