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Tag: 2015

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people had British citizenship revoked in each year from 1997-98 to 2014-15.

    James Brokenshire

    Section 40 of the British Nationality Act 1981 allows the Secretary of State to make an order to deprive a person of their British citizenship where it is conducive to the public good to do so, or where a naturalised British citizen has used fraud, false representation or concealment of material fact to obtain British citizenship.

    Between 1997 and 2006 no person was deprived of British citizenship by the Secretary of State. The number of people who have been deprived of citizenship under section 40 of the British Nationality Act 1981 since 2006 is set out in the table below:

    Year

    Number of Deprivation Orders Made

    2006

    1

    2007

    1

    2008

    0

    2009

    2

    2010

    5

    2011

    6

    2012

    6

    2013

    18

    2014

    19

    2015 Jan – Oct

    16

    This information has been provided from local management information and is not a national statistic. As such it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department provides to people with inflammatory arthritis to help them to stay in work.

    Jane Ellison

    We are aware that a high proportion of people with inflammatory arthritis are of working age. Inflammatory arthritis is a major cause of sickness absence.

    Treatment for inflammatory arthritis has improved dramatically with the development of new drugs. It is essential for people with relevant symptoms to present early to their general practitioner and for the condition to be diagnosed promptly. Ensuring that people have access to the best possible treatment and support provides the greatest scope to enable people with inflammatory arthritis to stay in work.

    The newly formed Work and Health Unit is a joint endeavour between Department of Health and Department for Work and Pensions. The Unit has been established to lead the drive for improving work and health outcomes for people with health conditions and disabilities, as well as improving prevention and support for people absent from work through ill health and those at risk of leaving the workforce.

    In the Spending Review the Government has provided at least £115 million of funding for the Unit including a Work and Health Innovation Fund.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) the amount of any underspend expected against departmental expenditure limits in the current fiscal year and (b) his Department’s latest forecast of total AME spend for this year are; and what the forecasts were for those two sums at the time of the Summer Budget 2015 and March Budget 2015.

    Mike Penning

    The Department is not forecasting an underspend against departmental expenditure limits. At the time of the Summer Budget and the March Budget 2015, the Department was also not forecasting an underspend.

    Totals for Annually Managed Expenditure are published twice a year at Main and Supplementary Estimates. The latest figures for 2015-16 were published in the Main Estimates, presented to the House of Commons on 2 July 2015. A link is provided below. Updated totals will be published in the Supplementary Estimates later in the financial year.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/main-supply-estimates-2015-to-2016

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to publish the report on overseas domestic worker visas by James Ewins before 17 December 2015.

    James Brokenshire

    Mr Ewins’s report has been submitted to the Home Office and will be published shortly.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) men and (b) women were affected by the changes made in the Pension Act 2011.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Estimates of the number (a) men and (b) women affected by the changes made to State Pension age are presented in Table 5 of the Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment, published in November 2011, available at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181462/pensions-bill-2011-ia-annexa.pdf

    This shows that an estimated 2.34 million men and 2.64 million women would have an increase in the State Pension age under the Pensions Act 2011 compared to the legislated position prior to the passing of the Pensions Act 2011.

    The Impact Assessment examines the fiscal costs and benefits of increasing women’s State Pension age from 63 to 65 between April 2016 to November 2018; and increasing men’s and women’s State Pension age from 65 to 66 between December 2018 and October 2020. A Gender Impact assessment is provided in the Annex of the Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment.

    Women born in 1952 were not affected by the changes to State Pension age in the Pensions Act 2011.

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  • Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether staff working in his Department that were employed through an agency earned the London Living Wage or more in each of the last two years.

    David Mundell

    All London based staff employed by the Scotland Office through an agency earned more than the London Living Wage in each of the last two years.

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

    Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions are taking place between the Department for Transport and HM Treasury about the disposal of land owned by (1) Network Rail, and (2) London and Continental Railways.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Summer Budget stated “the government will introduce a new approach to station redevelopment and commercial land sales on the rail network, building on the experience of regenerating land around Kings Cross Station and Stratford in East London – the government will establish a dedicated body to focus on pursuing opportunities to realise value from public land and property assets in the rail network to both maximise the benefit to local communities and reduce the burden of public debt”. Discussions are taking place to develop an approach that maximises value for the taxpayer and supports the safe and efficient operation of the rail network.

    The disposal of Network Rail’s assets must be in accordance with its network licence, which is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road. London and Continental Railways’ asset disposals are approved by the company’s board and the Department for Transport.

    Sale contracts for land will not impose conditions on the seller in relation to noise and vibration. Proximity to the railway and related issues such as noise and vibration are generally considered as part of the planning process, which is regulated by the relevant planning authority in accordance with environmental legislation.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had on the steps necessary to ensure driverless cars are safe before they are permitted on the road.

    Andrew Jones

    Officials in the Department for Transport, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles are engaging on this issue at a national and international level. In July 2015 the Department for Transport published a Code of Practice for driverless cars to help make the UK the best place for testing without placing additional regulatory burden on industry and ensuring safety and security.

  • Lord Oates – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Oates – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Oates on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of climate change on the food security situation in the Horn of Africa.

    Baroness Verma

    DFID is committed to supporting vulnerable people affected by food insecurity in the Horn of Africa and to supporting governments in the region to anticipate and mitigate the impacts of the climate on food security.

    Making a robust assessment of the impact of climate change in the horn of Africa is challenging due to data limitations., The UK is undertaking a range of research that seeks to strengthen our understanding of climate in the region which will in turn assist with improving our assessment of likely impacts and working to help improve the early warning tools. For instance in Ethiopia through our support to ClimDev, DFID has supported the strengthening of Ethiopia’s hydro-meteorological network enabling more accurate measurement and prediction of extreme weather and flooding.

    However, we know that the Horn of Africa is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and disaster resilience work is crucial in mitigating effects. In Ethiopia, DFID’s Productive Safety Nets Programme (PSNP) has helped turn desert land into land that can be farmed again. In Kenya, the Hunger Safety Net Programme has helped to protect household assets of the poorest people in Northern Kenya and can scale up to protect those at risk from droughts and floods. This helps families recover more quickly and get back on their feet. DFID is at the forefront of resilience work to prevent and reduce the impact of crises in developing countries.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what conditionality is attached to disbursements from the Joint Security Fund; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Hands

    The Spending Review set out the allocation of the Joint Security Fund for the Ministry of Defence and the Intelligence Agencies totalling £3.5bn over 5 years.

    The Joint Security Fund will be used to deliver the investments set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review. The allocation of funding is conditional on annual spending limits that were agreed at the Spending Review. As with all public expenditure, Managing Public Money sets out how public funds must be spent, including the principles of regularity and propriety.