Tag: 2015

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken that children who have experienced abuse wait to receive support from therapeutic services.

    Jane Ellison

    In line with guidance published by NHS England in August, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have produced Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) for children and young people’s mental health with their local partners as proposed in Future in mind. These include plans for how CCGs will ensure that the needs of vulnerable groups, including children who have been sexually abused or assaulted, are met and will address the need for improvements and reduced waiting times, which will make it easier for children and young people to access high quality mental health care when they need it. All LTPs were received by 16 October 2015 and they are now being considered by NHS England. In addition, standard waiting times for mental health are being introduced for the first time, starting with standards on Early Intervention in Psychosis (came into force April 2015) and on Eating Disorders in Children and Young People (published in August 2015 and included in the local transformation plans produced by CCGs and now being assessed by NHS England).

    NHS England also published a Commissioning Framework for Adult and Paediatric Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) Services in August 2015 which outlines the core services in SARCs and referral pathways to other services. These are now being rolled out throughout England.

  • John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when a Government Minister last visited (a) Burundi, (b) Democratic Republic of Congo and (c) Central African Republic.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) (Mark Simmonds) visited Burundi in April 2014. My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (James Duddridge) visited Burundi in December 2015.

    Ministers from both DFID and the FCO have visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at DFID (Lynne Featherstone) in April 2013, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the FCO (Mark Simmonds) in April 2014, and the Minister of State at the FCO (Baroness Anelay) in October 2015.

    Ministers have not visited the Central African Republic (CAR) in recent years.

  • David Davis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Davis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has provided the Intelligence and Security Committee with copies of any national security directions made under section 94 of the Telecommunications Act 1984.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament has been briefed on the use of directions under section 94 of the Telecommunications Act 1984.

    In accordance with section 94 subsection (6) of the Telecommunications Act 1984, money may be provided for the purpose of compensating for any losses that are sustained by reason of compliance with directions.

    On 13 January 2015, the Prime Minister asked the Interception of Communications Commissioner to oversee directions issued under section 94 of the Telecommunications Act. The Commissioner will report on his findings, including on the statistics and wider information that can be published about the use of the power without damage to national security, in his next report.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what income his Department received in connection with its holding in NATS Holdings Ltd in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15; and what his Department’s projected income is from its holding in NATS Holdings Ltd in each year from 2015-16 to 2020-21.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    NATS is a private company and HMG owns a 49% stake in this entity.

    In each of the years 2010-11 to 2014-15, the Department received the following income in connection with its stake in NATS:

    Year

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    Income (£m)

    19.547

    24.775

    19.547

    30.298

    37.628

    Future dividend distribution will be determined by the board of NATS as appropriate.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s current service standard is for the time taken to process further submissions related to an asylum claim.

    James Brokenshire

    There is not a formal service standard for deciding further submissions from failed asylum seekers. The Home Office is balancing resource between those failed asylum seekers with no leave to remain who have made further submissions on the one hand and, on the other, those who were granted a limited period of leave following the refusal of their application who have outstanding applications for Further Leave.

    With regard to further submissions lodged by failed asylum seekers, there is dedicated resource in place to decide cases in the existing stock of further submissions and to also decide new submissions quickly, wherever possible within 5 days of their being lodged. With regard to cases in the stock of further submissions, the Home Office is prioritising cases where applicants are in receipt of asylum support and cases where the applicant may be removed from the United Kingdom in the eventuality their submission is refused. The Home Office will also give priority to further submissions case that have been outstanding for the longest period of time.

    The figures in the below table relate to failed asylum seekers who had outstanding further submissions as of 30 June 2015:

    Timescale (Years) Total

    1 – 2 2383

    2 – 3 1426

    3 or more 1267

    Total 5076

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 10 December (HL4243), whether the specific power of the Mayor to veto a vote by not voting for a motion, as set out in paragraph 4 of the Sheffield City Region Devolution Agreement, remains negotiable.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    All deals are agreed in principle, and we are therefore open to extending or amending existing devolution deals. However, it is vital that any alternative arrangement offered by Sheffield City Region would ensure that the Mayor will retain the same or stronger powers as the currently agreed arrangements.

  • Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons the matters within his Department’s responsibility in Schedule 1 of the draft Wales Bill have been designated as reserved.

    Dominic Raab

    The reservations listed in Schedule 1 to the draft Wales Bill reflects the Government’s view of where the Welsh devolution boundary lies following the devolution of further powers to the Assembly provided for in the draft Bill.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether support for energy-intensive industries is part of the Northern Powerhouse agenda; and what assessment the Government has made of the importance of carbon capture and storage for the future of those industries.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The provision of ring-fenced capital support for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) was judged against other Government funding priorities as part of the Spending Review. Government has not taken the Spending Review decision lightly. The Government continues to view CCS as having a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors. Neither CCS Competition project proposed to capture CO2 from energy intensive industries.

    The detailed design and implementation of CCS policy changes have yet to be determined. The Industrial 2050 Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency Roadmaps reports published in March 2015 identified a potential role for industrial CCS technologies in decarbonising the steel, oil refining, chemicals and cement sectors. DECC and BIS continue to engage with the energy intensive industries and academics to develop decarbonisation Action Plans by the end of 2016 as the second phase of this process.

    The Government remains committed to working with energy intensive industries including those in the Northern Powerhouse area. DECC provided £1million funding to Tees Valley Unlimited as part of the 2013 City Deal agreement to undertake an Industrial CCS feasibility study based on the chemicals and steel industry in the Teesside cluster and we continue to support that work. The devolution deal for Tees Valley, published in October this year, also included a commitment to explore how it can continue to develop its industrial CCS proposals.

  • Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, by what process his Department identified the areas of policy within its responsibility proposed for reservation in Annex B of the publication Powers for a Purpose: Towards a lasting devolution settlement for Wales, published on 27 February 2015.

    Priti Patel

    Annex B to the Powers for a Purpose Command Paper provided an illustrative list of the main areas in which reservations would be needed in a reserved powers model. The list described the Government’s emerging thinking as the new reserved powers model was being developed. The Government published its full proposals in the draft Wales Bill on 20 October. .

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on consumer energy bills of using daylight saving time all year.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We are constantly reviewing consumer energy bills, however an assessment on the effect of using daylight saving time all year could have on consumer energy bills has not been carried out.