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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Crisp – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Crisp – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review their current immigration policies so that international students, qualified researchers, and experts across the health and science sectors can more easily enter the UK and participate in training, run courses, and attend meetings and conferences.

    Lord Bates

    We keep all categories of entry and the application process under regular review. The Home Office recently concluded a wide ranging review and consultation that led to the changes to the Immigration Rules for visitors in April this year. The changes included consolidation and simplification of all visitor categories from fifteen into four routes to provide flexibility on the activities a visitor can do, as well as some expansion of the permitted activities. These included business related activities such as participating in or running training courses, meetings and conferences.

    Under the Immigration Rules, visitors are allowed to teach one-off classroom sessions in the UK without pay and their sponsors are welcome to provide funding for flights and accommodation.

    More details on what people can do when visiting the UK and how to apply can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa and the detailed Immigration Rules for Visitors can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-v-visitor-rules

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received on the appointment of two community board members to the Dover Harbour Board; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Three representations have been received on this matter over the past 4 months. I and officials from the Department are working with Dover Harbour Board and other stakeholders to take forward a Harbour Revision Order (HRO) that would allow two community directors to be appointed to the Board as well as other changes to the Board’s constitution. This includes matters raised in response to a consultation on the draft HRO earlier in 2015. I fully support the appointment of the community directors and I hope this work can be completed shortly to allow progress to be made.

  • Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of job opportunities created so far by Enterprise Zones, including how many of those opportunities are full-time, part-time, work experience or apprenticeship opportunities, both within each zone and in the surrounding area.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The job opportunities which Enterprise Zones have attracted are published quarterly on a national and regional performance basis. The most recently published data covers the period up until the end of June 2015 and shows that the 24 Enterprise Zones established since 2012 have already attracted 20,676 jobs and that this number had increased by 9 per cent between March and June 2015.

    Information on the type of jobs or the number of jobs within individual zones or surrounding areas is not available.

  • Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of the welfare budget was spent on the state pension in 2014-15.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Total State Pension expenditure in 2014/15 was £86,516m.

    Detailed information on benefit expenditure is available in our Benefit Expenditure tables which can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015

    “

  • 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 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to building a further Astute-class submarine after HMS Anson to fill the gap in the building programme at Barrow.

    Earl Howe

    None. Strategic Defence and Security Review 10 established a coherent build programme through Astute hulls 1-7 (Anson is hull 5) into Successor hulls 1-4. That remains the plan. There is no gap in the build programme.

  • Lord Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lucas on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of recent reports about VAT fraud by online traders operating from abroad, what action they are taking to reduce the extent of such tax evasion, and whether that action will be completed before Christmas in order to protect UK businesses.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs is actively targeting operational and intelligence activity, as well as a range of other options, to tackle this issue.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government from which sources they derive their claim that there are 70,000 Syrian ground troops available to fight ISIL; what assessment they have made of whether that figure is correct; and what is their assessment of the statement by General Sir Richard Shirreff that that force would be incapable of liberating a city of 350,000, such as Raqqa.

    Earl Howe

    I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, in the House of Commons on 1 December 2015 to Question 17826 and have nothing further to add.

  • Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in encouraging small pension funds in the United Kingdom to amalgamate or co-operate in order to be able to compete with larger international pension funds in the purchase of suitable assets.

    Baroness Altmann

    Automatic enrolment is driving scale in pension provision and the clear trend is towards larger schemes which are better able to take advantage of the economies of scale including better access to a wider range of investment vehicles.

    The Government fully supports the concrete steps the pensions industry has taken to cooperate on investment strategies – for example, the Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PIP) launched in February last year, and the London Collective Investment Vehicle (CIV) currently under development by a number of local authorities’ pension schemes in London.

    Moreover, the Government will also work with the Local Government Pension Scheme Administering Authorities more widely to ensure that they pool investments to reduce costs significantly, while maintaining overall investment performance.

    Trustees and managers are ultimately responsible for making investment decisions in the best interests of scheme members, and the Government recognises the challenges of the current economic environment for scheme funding. The Pensions Regulator sets out on an annual basis its key messages on current market conditions and how trustees and employers can agree appropriate funding plans that protect members’ benefits without undermining the sustainable growth of the employer.

    Ministers continue to meet regularly with key stakeholders from the pensions industry to understand better the range of challenges facing schemes and employers and will consider whether there are further steps the Government could take.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the statements made by representatives of the UN about breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen by the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition, and other parties to the fighting, have been reflected in risk assessments for licences for military aircraft, bombs and other equipment issued for sales to Saudi Arabia since their operations began in Yemen in March.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition. We have received assurances from the Saudi Arabian authorities that they are complying with IHL and we continue to engage with them on those assurances. The Saudi Arabian authorities have their own internal procedures for investigations and we encourage them to be open and transparent in this. We have also raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with IHL and international human rights law.

    The UK takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. We rigorously examine every application on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.

    The Ministry of Defence monitors the reports of alleged IHL violations which informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. We consider a range of evidence from Government sources, foreign governments, the media and international non-governmental organisations. We are also offering advice and training to Saudi Arabia to demonstrate best practice and to help ensure continued compliance with IHL.

  • 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 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation will take place with MPs and Peers on the proposals to increase fees set out in the consultation paper published by the Care Quality Commission on 2 November.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Care Quality Commission(CQC) has no plan to hold a separate consultation with Members and Peers. The CQC encourages anyone who wishes to contribute to the consultation, including Members of Parliament, to do so through the public consultation process.

    The consultation sets out the CQC’s proposals in relation to fees for the 2016-17 fee scheme, and the pace at which it intends to achieve full cost recovery.