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Tag: 2015

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

    Lord Rooker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rooker on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the Teratology Society recommendation regarding mandating folic acid fortification in Europe.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We have not formally reviewed the 2015 Obeid paper but officials are aware of its conclusions which are in line with information already considered by Ministers.

    The recommendation in the Teratology Society in essence repeats current advice on folic acid supplements. There are no plans to review this advice.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what safeguards his Department is putting in place to ensure the quality of university specialist mental health mentoring provision when the new single quote system is introduced.

    Joseph Johnson

    Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support students, including those with mental health conditions. It is for the HEI to determine what welfare and counselling services they need to provide to their students.

    In addition, Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) are available to meet the additional costs of study-related support needs, where the needs of the student cannot be met by the institution by way of a reasonable adjustment.

    A new quality assurance framework is being developed for support that is funded by DSAs, so as to provide assurance on both quality and financial matters. The quality assurance framework will be in place in 2016. All support workers will be required to meet quality standards in order to be funded through DSAs. Discussions with stakeholders regarding new mechanisms for the selection of non-medical help support providers are already underway.

  • Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has made through the Permanent Mission to the United Nations regarding the incitement of violence in Burma against the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government supports the Special Rapporteur, Professor Yanghee Lee, and deplores the hateful and threatening language that has been used against her by MaBaTha monk Wirathu. We have also called for Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs to take action on the matter. I was able to convey my sympathy and concern to Professor Lee in person during her visit to London in March. Last week, we publicly reiterated our support for Professor Lee and her mandate at the UN General Assembly in New York, at a dedicated session discussing her most recent report on the Human rights situation in Burma.

    Unfortunately, statements like those of Wirathu are symptomatic of a troubling rise in intolerance, discrimination and hate speech in Burma. We have repeatedly raised our concerns over this trend, both bilaterally and in company with our international partners. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), did so with senior Burmese government ministers during his visit to Burma in July and, most recently, with Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin in September in New York.

  • Bob Blackman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Bob Blackman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will undertake an analysis of the feasibility of devolving property taxes to London linked to specific infrastructure projects.

    Mr David Gauke

    By 2020, local government will retain 100% of business rates and will have the power to reduce business rates. Directly elected mayoral authorities, such as the Mayor of London, will have the power to levy a small supplement on business rates to fund new infrastructure.

    In the last Parliament, the Government gave local councils greater power over council tax support schemes and the treatment of second homes and empty properties. The Government believes there would be difficulties in devolving other property taxes, such as Stamp Duty Land Tax and Capital Gains Tax, to London as this would create a distortive effect around the border, increase administration costs and complexity and expose local government to significant fiscal risk.

  • Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs lost in the steel industry in 2015 to date; what estimate it has made of how many jobs in that industry will be lost in 2016; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of Government support packages to help people who have lost or are likely to lose their jobs in that industry.

    Anna Soubry

    Statistics from the Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau show that between 1997 to 2010, 16,300 jobs were lost in the UK steel industry.

    These statistics also show in the last parliament, UK steel jobs remained stable at 18,900.

    In 2015, 2,100 direct jobs were lost as a result of the closure of the SSI plant at Redcar on 12th October 2015. On 30th October 2015, 452 immediate redundancies were announced by the Caparo Group. In addition since 16th July Tata Steel has announced proposals for up to 1,920 job losses across its Long Products and Speciality and Bar businesses subject to consultation and business review.

    We have not made any estimate of how many jobs will be lost in the steel industry in 2016.

    The Government is committed to supporting those made redundant move quickly into new jobs, for example through Jobcentre Plus’ Rapid Response Service. In addition, in view of the exceptional circumstances surrounding SSI’s closure in Redcar, Government announced a support package, worth up to £80 million, to help those affected and invest in the future of the Tees Valley more broadly. We have also committed up to £9m, jointly with Tata, to support Scunthorpe steel workers and the local economy. In both cases, we are working closely with local Task Forces to deliver support that will have the greatest long-term impact.

  • Bob Blackman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Bob Blackman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will undertake analysis of the feasibility of devolving skills and employment powers to London.

    Greg Hands

    The Spending Review confirmed that the Mayor of London will jointly commission employment support for the long-term unemployed and will work with government on shaping delivery and provision. The government is strongly committed to devolving powers and responsibilities to the local level and will continue to assess where appropriate the opportunities for future skills and employment support devolution.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made in tackling international tax avoidance.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is committed to countering tax avoidance to ensure all tax payers pay their fair share. The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to tackle corporate tax avoidance through the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, which had the objective of ensuring profits are taxed where economic activities are performed.

    The first phase of the BEPS project was delivered in 2014, and the UK was the first adopter of the 2014 recommendations, by legislating for the internationally agreed country-by-country reporting template; and consulting on implementing the OECD agreed rules to deal with hybrid mismatch arrangements.

    In line with the objectives of the BEPS project, the Government also introduced the Diverted Profits Tax to target contrived arrangements used by large multinational companies to divert profits away from the UK.

    The final BEPS project reports were published on 5 October 2015. The UK will give full consideration to the outputs of the BEPS project and will engage with the OECD’s work on developing a framework for monitoring implementation.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what consultations he has had with the chief ministers of the UK Overseas Territories on the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR); if he will take steps to ensure that the security interests and requirements of the Overseas Territories are adequately addressed in the SDSR; and if he will make a statement.

    Michael Fallon

    The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) consulted widely with external stakeholders and internal staff. As reflected in chapter four of the SDSR, the Government takes seriously its responsibility to support communities in the Overseas Territories and their right to safety, security and determination. My hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office responsible for the Overseas Territories (James Duddridge), has written to the Chief Ministers to inform them of the SDSR’s outcome and he looks forward to discussing the conclusions further at the Joint Ministerial Council on 1 and 2 December.

  • Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had on the statutory pubs code, and the Government’s policy on pubs, with people or bodies concerned with the pubs industry.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Since I was appointed Community Pubs Minister on 20 May 2015, I have met with senior representatives from a broad range of bodies within the pubs industry. These include the British Beer and Pub Association, the Campaign for Real Ale, Punch Taverns, the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, the British Institute of Innkeeping, the Perceptions Group and the Pubs Advisory Service. I have also met with my rt Hon Friend the Member for Halesowen and Rowley Regis (James Morris), and one of his constituents, to engage with the wide range of issues affecting the pub and brewing industry.

    British pubs have always been at the heart of our local communities, and we are empowering people to preserve them, as well as other local landmarks and places of interest. On 11 September 2015, we took forward our Manifesto commitment by announcing the £1.5m Pub Loan Fund which will help community groups towards the cost of acquiring local pubs threatened with closure.

    This is in addition to local people being able to nominate any local building or land they love as an ‘asset of community value’ and then, if it comes up for sale, having 6 months to raise the funds to bid to buy it. So far more than 800 pubs have been listed.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2015 to Question 12715, what steps his Department plans to take to increase the number of (a) pupils from state-funded schools and (b) pupils from state-funded schools who receive free school meals who enter higher education.

    Joseph Johnson

    We have already taken significant steps to widen participation in higher education. In particular, from 2015/16, we have removed the cap on student numbers, enabling more people than ever before to benefit from higher education. We have also established a stronger framework with increased responsibility placed on providers to widen access. The Director of Fair Access has agreed 183 Access Agreements for 2016/17 containing an estimated £745m to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds – up from £404m in 2009/10.

    The Green Paper Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141 sets out additional steps the Government plans to take to increase the proportion of students from disadvantaged background entering higher education including through the new guidance that we plan to issue to the Director of Fair Access, and through the social mobility taskforce being set up by Universities UK.