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Tag: 2015

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department gives to ensure that the implications of missing national insurance contributions are made clear to those concerned at the time they are missed.

    Mr David Gauke

    There is a range of guidance available to help a person understand the implications of not paying national insurance. A person’s record can be made up of national insurance contributions and credits from a variety of sources. When these are posted to the individual’s contributions record after the end of the tax year the individual may have insufficient contributions on their account for that year to qualify for certain benefits. These gaps in a person’s national insurance contributions record may be filled by the payment of voluntary Class 3 contributions.
    HM Revenue and Customs has published guidance on GOV.UK that explains when the payment of voluntary Class 3 contributions may be beneficial, eligibility, rates and how and when to pay. This is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions

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  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will direct the College of Policing to disclose the content of each of the training courses it has provided to Saudi police officers.

    Mike Penning

    The College of Policing in common with other organisations, does not routinely publish details of commercial agreements and has no plans to do so. The Home Secretary has no plans to direct the College of Policing to disclose this information.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust paid in relation to the 33 patients admitted to Cygnet, Harrogate in 2014.

    Ben Gummer

    This information is not collected centrally.

    We have written to Derek Brown, Chair of the Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust informing him of the hon. Member’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to distribute a proportion of the frozen assets of the Muammar Gaddafi administration in the UK to the families of people killed (a) by Libyan-supplied semtex and weapons and (b) on flight LW1103.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    There is no legal basis upon which the UK could re-direct frozen Libyan assets or the interest accrued to individuals for the purposes of compensation. Regarding assets which belonged to Qadhafi or other regime figures, the UN Security Council has stipulated that when these are unfrozen, they will be made available to, and for the benefit of the Libyan people. For the duration of time that these assets are frozen, they and any interest they accrue will be governed in accordance with the specific sanctions in place over the individuals or entities to which the assets belong. In this case, the asset freezing measures are set out under EU Regulation 204/2011 which prohibits the release of frozen funds and the interest accrued belonging to listed individuals or entities except in very specific circumstances, which do not apply here.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of cattle have been tested for bovine TB in each of the last three years.

    George Eustice

    Bovine TB is a devolved matter. The figures presented below are for England only.

    Year

    Number of cattle tested during year (millions)

    Cattle population at June 1 (millions)

    2012

    3.4

    5.4

    2013

    3.7

    5.4

    2014

    4.0

    5.3

    Figures for the number of cattle tested for bovine TB represent all cattle tested during a calendar year. Cattle population estimates are as at a single point in time (1 June 2015). It is not, therefore, possible to determine the proportion of the cattle population which was tested in each of these years. All herds in the designated High Risk and Edge Areas of England are subject to annual surveillance testing for bovine TB, except for herds in the part of Cheshire falling within the Edge Area, which is currently subject to six-monthly testing. In the designated Low Risk Area all herds are subject to four yearly surveillance testing for bovine TB, except for certain higher risk herds which are subject to annual testing. Herds in all risk areas may also be subject to additional TB testing as a result of TB breakdowns.

  • Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Harriet Harman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on court hearings which have taken place in respect of Rebecca Prosser in Indonesia; and which such hearings have been attended by Consular officials.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    It is not our general policy to send consular officials, who are not legally trained, to attend court hearings. Consular officials have not therefore attended the court hearings. Consular staff remain in regular contact with Ms Prosser’s employer’s representatives, her legal team and her family.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to improve out-of-hour services for palliative care.

    Ben Gummer

    This Government is committed to improving the quality of palliative care. Earlier this year, the Review of Choice in End of Life Care made a number of recommendations on how to enable greater choice and improve quality in palliative and end of life care nationally, including on the provision of out-of-hour palliative care services.

    We agree with the vision set out by the Review and are working with NHS England and others to see how this can best be achieved. We intend to respond to the Review recommendations in due course.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department monitors whether NHS England is appropriately assuring itself of clinical commissioning groups’ performance on autism diagnosis for (a) children and (b) adults.

    Alistair Burt

    In general NHS England is required to assess the performance of each clinical commissioning group (CCG) to ensure that CCGs are commissioning safe, high quality and cost effective services, to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients. Under the Health and Social Care Act (2012), NHS England makes an annual assessment of CCGs each financial year and publishes a summary report. The Secretary of State for Health keeps NHS England’s performance in discharging its functions under review, which includes NHS England’s assurance of CCGs. The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to CCGs where there is good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism, and to those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. The National Autism Programme Board will monitor reported progress from NHS England against the commitments in the Autism strategy including the implementation of NICE guidance.

    Newcastle Gateshead CCG is investing in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust to provide improved services for adults with autism with an initial focus to reduce waiting times in line with NICE guidelines and then for further improvement to be made in the core service. Within 18-24 months the intention is for the autism pathway to be embedded in mainstream services with the addition of a specialist autism service which will provide training, support, liaison and assess more complex cases. By the end of this year, it is expected that all children’s services will have reached a 95% target for all referralsto be assessed and in treatment within 12 weeks and for 70% of referrals to be assessed and in treatment within six weeks.

  • Fabian Hamilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fabian Hamilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Chinese nationals currently have refugee status.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office does not hold figures on the total number of people with refugee status.

    The Home Office publishes annual and quarterly statistics on grants of asylum and other forms of protection, and those resettled under the Gateway Protection Programme, Mandate and Vulnerable Persons Relocation Schemes.

    These statistics are published quarterly in tables as_01 and as_19_q of the Immigration Statistics release, which is available online via the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2015/asylum#data-tables

  • Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support access of humanitarian supplies and access by aid workers to Taiz City, Yemen.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Taiz city continues to experience intense fighting, which is making it extremely difficult for aid agencies to deliver humanitarian assistance. Their efforts to access the city and provide relief have been consistently blocked by parties to the conflict over the past month.

    The UK continues to call on all parties to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered access to all people in need in Yemen. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and support UN and NGO partners’ efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance to Taiz city.