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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 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage other nations to make a greater contribution to humanitarian aid for people affected by the situation in Syria.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The UK has pledged over £1.1 billion aid in response to the crisis in Syria and the region, making us the second biggest bilateral donor. The UK continues to play a leading role in encouraging the international community to make generous pledges in response to the humanitarian crisis. We lobbied hard to mobilise funding from other donors ahead of the third Kuwait Pledging Conference on 31 March 2015 which raised $3.8 billion. The UK is committed to working with the UN and other major donors to ensure that the momentum on fund-raising is maintained over the longer term, including to respond to the 2016 Appeals, once these have been issued.
  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if NHS England will take steps to terminate contracts for 0844 numbers entered into by GP surgeries.

    Alistair Burt

    Regulations introduced in 2010 prevented general practitioner practices from entering into, renewing or extending a contract for telephone services unless it was satisfied that, looking at the arrangements as a whole, patients would not pay more to make calls to the practice than they would to make calls to a geographical number.

    The number of practices using premium rate numbers is reducing as contracts come to an end, and a large number of practices using 084 numbers also have a local alternative. NHS England continues to work with practices that have premium rate numbers and will review progress periodically.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to place Syrian refugees in Northumberland; and if she will make a statement.

    Richard Harrington

    Resettlement under the government schemes is voluntary on the part of local authorities. We are grateful to those who take on this role and will continue to work in partnership with them.

    We do not disclose the details of where refugees will be resettled upon their arrival in the UK under the Government resettlement schemes as this may undermine the privacy and recovery of this vulnerable group of people.

  • Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Wiggin on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase the number of appointments available for premium passport applications in London.

    James Brokenshire

    Her Majesty’s Passport Office continues to review services to ensure they meet customer expectations and needs. During 2015, the London Passport Office has consistently offered customers a premium service appointment the next day and has always remained within the target of 3 working days.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what risk assessments his Department has conducted on changes to court provision in Calder Valley.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    An impact assessment was published alongside the consultation document, which can be found at: https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/proposal-on-the-provision-of-court-and-tribunal-es.

    No decision has been taken to close any court. The consultation closed on 8 October and we are considering all responses carefully.

    “

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the viability of the use of E10 fuel in older vehicles and motorcycles.

    Andrew Jones

    The content of road transport fuel is governed by a combination of legislation and industry fuel standards, specifically the Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) Regulations and a European industry standard, in the case of petrol this is EN228. The EN specification incorporates the statutory requirements. The standards, and their maintenance, are industry agreed and informed by industry testing.

    Petrol currently sold in the UK may contain up to 5% ethanol (known as ‘E5’). A revised industry fuel standard for petrol (EN228) was agreed and published by the British Standards Institution in 2013. This allows up to 10% bioethanol content (known as ‘E10’). This means that fuel suppliers are free to supply petrol containing anything from 0-10% bioethanol.Most petrol sold in the UK is E5 and therefore contains up to 5% bioethanol. E10 is not yet on sale in the UK.

    Any decision to supply E10 is a commercial decision for fuel suppliers and we are not aware of any with immediate plans to introduce E10 into the UK. The Governmentrecognises the concerns of owners of some older vehicles and motorcycles that may not be compatible with E10, and the Department for Transport is in regular contact with fuel suppliers who in turn have been asked to write to us to give at least three months’ notice of plans to introduce this fuel. As yet no suppliers have indicated they have any immediate plans to introduce E10.

    The Department is also in regular contact with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) who provide advice and data concerning the compatibility of UK petrol vehicles with E10 – which we are carefully monitoring.

    The Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) Regulations 1999 were amended in 2010 to comply with EU Directive 2009/30/EC which requires the UK Government to ensure that petrol with a maximum ethanol content of 5% remained available until the end of 2013. This mechanism was extended in 2013 in the UK to ensure that E5 continues to be available until the end of 2016.

  • Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to allow local authorities to retain business rate revenues.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Chancellor set out a radical devolution reform package for local government in his conference speech. This included plans to allow local government to retain 100 per cent of revenue from business rates to spend on local services, as well as giving local authorities the power to lower business rates to boost growth and support jobs.

    While there will still be redistribution between Local Authorities to ensure those with a lower tax base do not lose out, local areas will be able to keep all local growth in their business rates.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the safety of the NHS 111 service in the East Midlands.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The commissioning of NHS 111 services is led by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). The safety and effectiveness of NHS 111 services are subject to constant review by commissioners, who monitor performance and investigate complaints and clinical incidents through existing clinical governance arrangements. In addition the services are subject to inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

    NHS England advises that it has asked local CCGs to conduct a full investigation into recent serious allegations about the NHS 111 service in the East Midlands. This investigation is being coordinated by North Derbyshire CCG, and NHS England will continue to maintain oversight of progress. The investigation report is due at the beginning of December.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2015-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether NHS England will hold a consultation on generic commissioning policies, including for Individual Funding Requests, and if so, when details of that consultation will be published.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England has advised that it is planning to consult early in the new year on the generic commissioning policies, including on Individual Funding Requests. Publication details will be announced following completion of the consultation.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of reports that the German Chancellor has promised to facilitate the full entry of Turkey to the European Union, what assessment they have made of (1) the impact of Turkish membership of the European Union on the United Kingdom’s voting powers, and (2) whether all Turkish nationals would have rights of access to the United Kingdom under the existing free movement provisions.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government supports EU enlargement, subject to candidate countries meeting the requirements. Any impact on the UK’s voting powers would depend on the specific issue being discussed and be contingent on the provisions in place on voting weights following any new accession.

    Arrangements on free movement of people of any new Member state depends on transitional controls at the time of accession to the EU. The Government recognises the concern caused by the large-scale movement of people that has followed the accession of new countries to the EU. This issue would be subject to negotiation as part of the accession process. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has made clear that there needs to be reform of the transitional controls on free movement of workers before any further countries join the EU.