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Tag: 2015

  • Kirsty Blackman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Kirsty Blackman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsty Blackman on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his Answer of 4 November 2015 to Question 14206, for what reason his Department’s quarterly report of transparency information from January to March 2015 was not ready for publication until 15 October 2015.

    David Mundell

    The Government publishes an unprecedented range of Transparency data. This is a significant task across all Departments, and Information is published as quickly as is possible.

  • Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord MacKenzie of Culkein on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions and consultations they held with the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Midwives and UNISON before deciding that future nursing and midwifery students should fund themselves through student loans.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department did not hold any formal discussions or consultations with the highlighted stakeholders prior to the Spending Review announcement.

    The Government received and considered a broad range of representations from a number of stakeholders during the Spending Review process.

    Following the Spending Review the Department is absolutely commited to working with key stakeholders in implementing these reforms.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what facilities are in place to enable staff based at the tax credit office in Preston to pay money out of their wages into the Guild Money Credit Union.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a process in place that enables serving staff to authorise a deduction of their salary, which is then paid over to third parties such as the Civil Service Benevolent Fund or HMRC’s chosen partner for Payroll Giving. As part of this process, the recipient organisation must appear on an approved list. There are no credit unions on this list and, consequently, it is not possible to make a deduction in relation to credit unions.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether LGBTI people who are at risk are included in the vulnerability criteria of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme; and if so, what steps they are taking to identify vulnerable LGBTI people in refugee camps or places of displacement, and what resources and services will be provided to LGBTI refugees resettled to the UK in order to address their specific needs.

    Lord Bates

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR’s) vulnerability criteria for identifying refugees under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme include persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, and LGBTI refugees are identified through their normal screening procedures.

    Local authorities are provided with full case details of all referrals so they can make an assessment of the needs of refugees, before deciding whether to accept them for resettlement. Whilst the Government provides funding to ensure these needs can be met, it is up to individual local authorities to decide how this should be achieved.

  • Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received about the level of junior doctor cover at weekends.

    Ben Gummer

    We have evidence that hospital leaders consider the junior doctors’ contract to be a significant barrier to delivering more seven-day services. NHS Providers’ written evidence to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) on contract reform for consultants and doctors and dentists in training[1] stated that the junior doctor contract is still a significant source of barriers to seven day working and reform of the junior doctor contract is also required to support trusts to deliver more seven-day services. In particular, the pay banding system for junior doctors needs to be reviewed. There were concerns from employers that the banding system is too complicated, can create “perverse incentives” for junior doctors, and means that providing more seven-day services is unaffordable, since more junior doctors would be working outside core hours and receive premiums under the current banding system. NHS Providers also believe that more hours in a day and more days of the week need to be defined as core hours, as the current arrangement does not support the delivery of more seven-day services or reflect the needs and expectations of today’s patients. Professor Sir Bruce Keogh has also said that premium pay rates are hindering efforts to put services on a seven-day footing.

    [1]

    http://www.nhsproviders.org/resource-library/written-evidence-ddrb-special-remit/

    “

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many civil servants in his Department are in the redeployment pool.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department does not operate a redeployment pool.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much support her Department makes available to refugees who have experienced trauma.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID provides assistance to refugees through bilateral and central funding to a number of trusted UN and non-governmental organisations.

    Many refugees experience psycho-social and psychological trauma and/or distress, and support is provided in many forms of primary and secondary health care that include training in emergency first aid for health care workers, clinical management of rape and counselling support for survivors of sexual violence, mental health care, and also assistance with shelter, legal advice and family reunification for children that have been separated from their families due to forced displacement.

  • Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much Burnley received from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund in each year from 2010 to 2015.

    James Wharton

    The European Regional Development Fund during 2010 – 2015 has provided over £5 million in funding for Burnley.

    The breakdown of European Rgional Development Fund projects in Burnley are as follows;

    • £3.8 million invested into Burnley Bridge Business Park. The Fund undertook activity to remediate the brownfield site, provide infrastructure and deliver a first phase of commercial development totalling 9,309 sqm.
    • £940,000 invested into Weavers Triangle. The funding was allocated to support high quality civic and infrastructure work in a strategic area of Burnley.
    • £500,000 invested into Princess Way Gateway for civic improvements linked to the Burnley Education and Enterprise Park.

    In addition to the above direct capital investments, small and medium enterprises in Burnley have also benefitted from a number of business support projects operating at county and regional level. Not least the £7.8 million BOOST Lancashire Growth Hub of which the Fund has invested £3.4 million.

    The European Social Fund was managed as a national programme by the Department for Work and Pensions over that period.

  • Stephen Twigg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Twigg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Twigg on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will support a UN Inquiry into human violations against the Rohingya.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UK deplores the treatment of the Rohingya community in Rakhine State, who are subject to persecution and denied the most basic rights. We welcome the work of the highly effective UN Special Rapporteur on Burma, who has shone a spotlight on violations against the Rohingya in Rakhine. She has not characterised the treatment of the Rohingya as genocide, and neither did the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide in his 4 November statement on Burma’s elections. However, any judgement on whether genocide has occurred is a matter for international judicial decision, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. A UN investigation would require high level international support for which, we assess, there is little prospect of agreement at this stage. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations, irrespective of whether or not they fit the definition of specific international crimes. I and other British Government Ministers take every appropriate opportunity, both publicly and in private, to press the Burmese authorities to take urgent steps to address the situation of the Rohingya. I did this with senior Burmese Ministers during my visit to Burma in July, when I travelled to Rakhine State for the second time. Most recently, I raised the issue with the Burmese Foreign Minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, in September in New York. After the 8 November elections, the UK will continue our efforts to address the serious ongoing human rights violations against the Rohingya in Rakhine State.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servants in his Department are in the redeployment pool.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    As at 31 October 2015 the number of Ministry of Defence civil servants in the redeployment pool was 240 (rounded to the nearest 10).