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Tag: 2015

  • Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the effects of the recent fires in Indonesia and neighbouring countries; and what steps he he has taken to ascertain whether any UK companies are responsible for those fires.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We maintain a regular dialogue with the government of Indonesia, governments of affected neighbouring countries and environmental experts about the fires and their impact. While experts agree the fires are man-made, we are not aware of the involvement of any UK companies. We are working with Indonesian NGOs and the government to help them monitor, prevent and take action on fires, whether they occur on land owned by Indonesian or foreign entities.

    The UK’s Forest Land-use And Governance (FLAG) programme in Indonesia is funding longer-term fire prevention work through civil society, private sector and government, focusing on transparency, accountability and spatial planning to resolve the land governance issues that lead to fires.

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Oral Statement of 26 November 2015, Official Report, columns 1489-94, what additional humanitarian support the Government plans to provide to countries that border Syria to assist with the likely increased displacement of people as a result of the coordinated international response to Daesh in Syria.

    Mr David Cameron

    Coalition airstrikes have been on-going since September 2014. Airstrikes may cause some local level internal displacement and disruption; but it is the conflict that is the main cause of suffering of civilians in Syria. In Syria, the UN carries out regular humanitarian contingency planning exercises including preparing for the impact of military operations.

    To date, the UK has allocated £559 million to support refugees in the region and vulnerable host communities, including £304 million in Lebanon, £193 million in Jordan and the remainder across the region.

    The UK is very concerned about the plight of the Syrian people. This is why the Prime Minister announced on 16 November that the UK, Kuwait, Norway, Germany and the UN will co-host an international conference on the Syria crisis in London on 4 February 2016. The Conference aims to raise significant new funding to meet the needs of all those affected by crisis within Syria and to support neighbouring countries, who have shown enormous generosity in hosting refugees, to cope with the impact of the crisis. The Conference will aim to raise both emergency and long-term funding for 2016 and subsequent years.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he has taken to boost exports to (a) Indonesia, (b) Vietnam, (c) Thailand, (d) Malaysia, (e) the Philippines and (f) other countries in South East Asia.

    Anna Soubry

    UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has established a regional network to support UK trade and investment across South East Asia. This helps provide UK companies with access to the fast-growing markets of the region. The network is on target to assist nearly 10,000 businesses this year. UKTI has directly assisted in export deals with the region worth £2bn in the first six months of this financial year, putting us on track to deliver the UK’s best ever trade figures for the region. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister urged the European Union to accelerate negotiations on the EU-ASEAN FTA, a deal that is worth an additional £3 billion a year to the UK economy.

    Closer collaboration across the region, supported by continued investment from government, has enabled UKTI to operate ever more efficiently, working with more British businesses and securing a higher value of business wins. Six regional priority sectors have been identified- reflecting UK strengths as well as the scale of opportunities in the region – enabling a more strategic approach to trade delivery in Infrastructure, Education, Energy, Financial & Professional Services, Consumer Retail and Healthcare.

    Significant investment is also being made in the development of additional trade service capacity, being delivered by industry partners in the region, principally through Chambers of Commerce. This represents the government’s growing focus on the region as a global growth engine, and is indicative of the continuing importance that this government places in seeking out global opportunities to boost the UK economy.

    In July of this year my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister led a trade mission to Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. The mission was made up of 30 British businesses, and included the signing of trade deals worth over £750 million. Concurrently, my right hon. Friend the Secretary for State for Business, Innovation and Skills led the inaugural Northern Powerhouse delegation, comprising over 50 UK companies, to Singapore and Malaysia.

    During his visit to Indonesia, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that the Government will make available up to £1 billion to finance infrastructure projects involving UK business, in Indonesia through its export guarantee scheme. The UK welcomes the recent commitments made by President Joko Widodo’s government on deregulation and improving the business and investment environment in Indonesia, as well as the talks between Indonesia and the EU on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which will benefit both Indonesia and the UK. Richard Graham MP, the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Indonesia and the Asian Economic Community (AEC) has paid two visits this year to Indonesia, pushing forward trade priorities and promoting work on second-tier cities within Indonesia.

    Two-way trade with Vietnam more than doubled between 2009 and 2014, reaching £2.81 billion, with the UK being amongst Vietnam’s largest trading partners within the EU. During my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s visit in July, the first by a serving British Prime Minister, Rolls Royce and Vietnam Airlines signed an agreement totalling £340 million, Prudential announced a £100 million investment and ZincOx agreed a £75 million investment for hazardous waste recycling.

    In the past year, over 1000 UK businesses have been helped to trade with Thailand. Notable improvements to the business environment include: British beef and lamb now being allowed to be imported into the Thai market after a 20-year hiatus, which will bring business of some £9m over the next five years; the British Embassy Bangkok, with other embassies and Chambers, encouraged the Thai authorities not to proceed with new regulations which would have directly impacted foreign ownership of over 5000 companies, many British, as well as deter further UK investment opportunities; finally the Government has encouraged the Thai authorities, with strong support from the Thai Prime Minister, to sign up to the Construction Transparency Initiative, which should improve public procurement practice for major infrastructure projects.

    Exports to Malaysia (the UK’s second largest export market in ASEAN) have risen by almost 25% between 2010 and 2014. Over the past four years, there have been more UK Ministerial and VIP visits to Malaysia promoting trade and investment than ever before, including two visits by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. Recent successes include a £4.2bn supply and maintenance deal between Rolls Royce and Air Asia. Posts have successfully worked to tackle market access barriers, for example, helping to open up engineering and legal services in Malaysia.

    In the first half of this year UK exports to the Philippines grew by 44%, the third highest growth in exports to any country worldwide. Major deals include a £90m contract for the supply of electronic voting machines, a £70m deal for a British solar company and the appointment of Arup as the lead designer on the country’s second largest airport.

    Lord Puttnam, UK Trade and Cultural Envoy to Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam has also made two visits to the region this year, strengthening important business and governmental links and working on campaigns ranging from infrastructure to education.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking, and advocating to others, in order to boost Palestinian economic activity in Zones B and C of the occupied West Bank.

    Earl of Courtown

    DFID is promoting economic development which is vital for Palestinian development. We are providing £15 million (2013-2019) through the Palestinian Market Development Programme (PMDP) which seeks to improve the competitiveness of 570 Palestinian businesses and address market failures. So far 190 firms in the West Bank including Areas A, B, and C have been assisted and were able to develop 117 products and enter 63 new markets. Through the UN FAO, DFID has helped vulnerable rural farmers in Area C support their families through increased incomes from agricultural production. We also continue to fund the development of Palestinian outline plans to improve Palestinian communities’ access to services in Area C.

    The UK remains deeply concerned about the impact of Israeli restrictions on the movement of people and goods, which continue to be the main impediment to sustainable economic growth in the Occupied Palestinian Territories including Area B and C. We have consistently called on Israel to improve movement and access in the OPTs, including in visits by the Minister of State for International Development and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We fund advisers to support the work of the Office of the Quartet (OQ) on easing movement and access restrictions in the OPTs and to improve the environment for businesses operating there.

  • Edward Argar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Edward Argar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Argar on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the benefits of psychological support for (a) patients who have received and (b) the families of patients who have received a stem cell transplant.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government recognises the importance of supporting cancer survivors and is committed to working with the National Health Service, charities and patient groups to deliver the new Cancer Taskforce strategy.

    The report of the independent Cancer Taskforce, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A Strategy for England 2015-2020 (July 2015), states that we need to transform our approach to support people living with and beyond cancer. The strategy notes that depression in cancer patients can be treated by medication and by psychological treatment. These treatments are most effectively and efficiently delivered using a systematic collaborative care model, such as Depression Care for People with Cancer. Cancer Taskforce strategy recommends accelerating the roll-out of the Recovery Package that includes a needs assessment that may lead to a patient being referred to support services that include psychological support. The Cancer Taskforce report says that the aim should be that by 2020 every person with cancer will have access to elements of the Recovery Package.

    We are working with the NHS, charities and patient groups to implement the independent Cancer Taskforce’s recommendations.

  • 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 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, for each local authority in the Yorkshire and Humber region, of the net financial impact of moving to grant reduction and 100 per cent business rate retention as outlined in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015; which local authorities will see (1) a net increase, and (2) a net decrease; and what the increase and decrease will be in each case.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government intends to move to 100% business rates retention in England by the end of this Parliament. We have confirmed that, as part of the new system, there will continue to be redistribution of local tax revenue between authorities and protections in place for authorities that see their business rates income fall significantly. Over the coming months we will be working with local government on the details of the scheme.

    Ahead of final decisions, it is too early to assess what the impact will be on individual areas or authorities but, before the start of the financial year, local authorities in Yorkshire and Humber estimated that their total business rates income for 2015-16 would be £1.9 billion.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether any patients in Hove constituency were put at risk as a result of the South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust’s project relating to the prioritisation of NHS 111 calls in winter 2014-15.

    Jane Ellison

    Departmental officials were first notified of a project which was run between December 2014 and February 2015 in the south of England on 23 October 2015 by Monitor, the independent health sector regulator.

    We are advised that Monitor is taking action with South East Coast Ambulance Service Foundation Trust regarding concerns about the project and the regulator is working with the Trust now to identify the negative impact this project could have had on patients. It is Monitor’s function to undertaken such investigations independently of the Department where there are no immediate patient safety issues. Monitor and Departmental officials regularly discuss such issues on a routine basis.

    As part of regulatory action, Monitor advises it has asked the trust to carry out a detailed independent review of the impact the project had on patients. Monitor has asked the Trust to do this with the help of an external expert, who the regulator will select. The full details of what the review will look at and how long it will take are being worked on by the trust and Monitor, including consideration of publication of the review finding.

    In March, NHS England convened a risk summit meeting involving all partners following the suspension by South East Coast Ambulance Service of their unofficial call-handling project. It was agreed that NHS England would undertake an external investigation. The report of the investigation was published by NHS England today and is attached.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have made no assessment of the number of people experiencing food insecurity.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    There is no single definition of food insecurity. The factors that impact on household food security are complex. There are multiple indicators such as quality, variety and desirability of diet as well as total intake, not all of which are measured consistently. It is therefore very difficult and potentially misleading to attempt to develop a single classification of food insecurity.

    Defra publishes statistics annually to show the proportion of household income spent on food by (a) all households and (b) the lowest income 20% of households.The most recent statistics are in the Food Statistics Pocketbook 2015 on the GOV.UK website.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alistair Carmichael – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect on students in Orkney and Shetland of reducing the accredited English language courses available to students in the highlands and islands of Scotland.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office has not reduced accredited English language courses in the highlands and islands of Scotland, including Orkney & Shetland.

    Following a procurement exercise, the Home Office has reduced the number of test centres in the UK that are able to provide Secure English Language Testing for immigration purposes, but this should not affect the availability of English language courses in Scotland or in any other part of the UK.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Attorney General, how much of the Law Officers’ Departments funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Robert Buckland

    Spending Review 2015 set out settlements for departments and showed how the government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.

    Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.