Tag: 2015

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much was paid in (a) year end and (b) in-year bonuses to officials of his Department in each of the last three years.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Since 2010-11 the Government has restricted awards for senior civilservants to the top 25% of performers (from 65% in previous years),saving around £15 million overall. We have also reformed the system of bonuses, resulting in a reduction of total payments from £735,259 in 2010-11 to £448,000 in 2014-15. This is expected to be cut by a further £75,000 in 2015-16.

    Non-consolidated performance related pay is only paid to rewardexcellence, for example to recognise and incentivise those responsiblefor delivering high quality public services and savings to thetaxpayer. These one-off payments are not pensionable

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Army (a) officers and (b) regular soldiers are recruited from (i) Scotland, (ii) England and Wales and (iii) Northern Ireland.

    Mark Lancaster

    The proportion of regular Army officers and soldiers recruited from each country of the United Kingdom for 2014-15 is shown below:

    Regular

    Officer

    Soldier

    England

    88.4%

    80.6%

    Scotland

    4.7%

    8.9%

    Wales

    4.7%

    6.3%

    N Ireland

    1.4%

    2.5%

    Other

    0.8%

    1.7%

    The locations shown reflect the contact addresses recorded and may not be the home address. ‘Other’ refers to non-UK contact addresses, or those not identifiable, but does not include Gurkhas.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues in the Cabinet Office on the removal from the Ministerial Code of a reference to Ministers having a duty to comply with the law including international law and treaty obligations and to uphold the administration of justice.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Information relating to internal discussion and advice is not normally disclosed.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will issue a response to the report by the National Cancer Action Team, Lymphoedema Services in England: A Case for Change, published in March 2013; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    At its meeting on 15 October 2015, the Prescribed Specialist Services Advisory Group (PSSAG) considered a proposal from the British Lymphology Society for a service for lymphoedema to be nationally commissioned. PSSAG’s recommendations on all proposals considered at this meeting will be put to Ministers shortly.

    It is for Ministers to decide which services should be prescribed as specialised services and therefore nationally commissioned by NHS England. Ministers make these decisions based on advice from PSSAG.

    Regarding the Lymphoedema Services in England: A Case for Change report, published by the National Cancer Action Team in March 2013, the main recommendation for the NHS Commissioning Board (now NHS England) to consider was the creation of a lymphoedema strategy for England.

    NHS England is focused on a system-wide approach that aims to ensure improvements in outcomes for all individuals with long-term conditions, including lymphoedema, rather than focusing on individual strategies for specific conditions.

    The commissioning of services for the treatment and care of lymphoedema patients is a local matter, and information concerning the arrangement of such services is not collected. People with lymphoedema can usually be managed through routine access to primary or second care services and there is range of guidance to support local commissioning, including: an international consensus document on best practice in the diagnosis, treatment care and support of people with; and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on advanced breast cancer, which provides advice on lymphoedema care. Both sets of guidance can be found at the following links:

    www.woundsinternational.com/media/issues/210/files/content_175.pdf

    www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg81/resources/advanced-breast-cancer-diagnosis-and-treatment-975683850181

    “

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in (a) the UK and (b) London have gained dual citizenship (i) in total and (ii) with citizenship of each EU member state in each year from 2010 to 2015 to date.

    James Brokenshire

    No statistical information is available showing whether British citizens hold another citizenship.

  • Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to promote the development of sustainable aviation fuels in the UK.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport ran an Advanced Fuels Call for Evidence in 2013/14 to examine the potential of advanced fuels in aviation and other transport sectors that cannot be easily decarbonised without low-carbon fuels. A summary of the evidence received was published with the Department’s response to the consultation on the post-implementation review of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) in April 2014. Amendments to the RTFO earlier this year increased rewards for gaseous fuels, such as biomethane used in freight, to better reflect their energy content.

    The Department also commissioned an independent feasibility study to examine the economic benefits and potential of advanced biofuels in the UK, published in February 2014, the study informed the design of the Advanced Biofuels Demonstration Plant Competition for £25m of matched grant funding. Winning projects were announced on 7th September 2015.

    The Department for Transport and the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership established a Transport Energy Task Force in September 2014 to examine options to meet our renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets, including through the wider deployment of sustainable biofuel. The Task Force included input from representatives of the Sustainable Aviation group.

    The Task Force’s report was published in March 2015 by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership. The Task Force acknowledged that sustainable biofuels have a valuable role in reducing carbon emissions from transport, particularly in sectors where there are limited alternatives such as aviation and I met with Task Force representatives, including Sustainable Aviation, in July to discuss that report.

    Following the report of the Transport Energy Task Force, we are assessing the benefits of making aviation biofuels eligible for certificates under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and support under that scheme for synthetic fuels from renewable electricity. We aim to include proposals in a public consultation next year on potential amendments to the RTFO scheme.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which technical approvals are still outstanding in respect of the new Hinkley Point nuclear power plant.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The EPR reactor proposed for use at Hinkley Point C has successfully completed Generic Design Assessment. NNBGenCo has also received a site licence to operate the site, environmental permits and development consent. The UK’s independent regulators will continue to regulate Hinkley Point C through construction, operation and decommissioning. Specifically, once safety-related construction activities have started, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) will use the nuclear site licence to regulate construction by releasing key hold points in line with NNB GenCo’s development of the site specific safety case.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, and to what extent, they are (1) engaged in diplomatic contacts with, and (2) providing support to, the Kurdish authorities and groups involved in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK has a strong and well-established relationship with the Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq. We maintain a Consulate General in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, and have regular contact with officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government. As part of our wider support to Iraq, we are providing significant military assistance to the Kurdish Peshmerga to help them degrade and defeat ISIL. In addition to air support, we have trained over 2,100 Peshmerga fighters in infantry fighting skills, weapons handling and Counter-Improvised Explosive Device procedures. We have also gifted weapons, non-lethal equipment and airlifted support provided by other partners in the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.

    In Syria the situation is more difficult. Kurdish groups are effective against ISIL, and have benefited from US airstrikes against ISIL. But we remain concerned that the Syrian Kurdish authorities maintain links with the Assad regime and the proscribed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), so we are not able to provide material support. UKofficials have discussed our concerns with the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the ruling Kurdish authority in Northern Syria and continue to do so.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis they have conducted of the impact of having diesel and electric engines fitted to the new Hitachi Great Western Mainline trains on journey times (1) between Paddington and Cardiff, and (2) between Cardiff and Swansea.

    Viscount Younger of Leckie

    The Department for Transport is analysing the impact of Great Western electrification delays on the configuration of the Intercity Express Programme fleet. The analysis is looking at the timetable implications including journey times and capacity. The analysis will be informed by the recommendations made by Sir Peter Hendy. No final decisions have been made.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how people and organisations can make representations to the inquiry into the safety of hormone pregnancy tests.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The terms of reference for the inquiry into the safety of Hormone Pregnancy Tests (HPTs) state that the Expert Working Group (EWG) of the Commission on Human Medicines will consider all available evidence on the possible association between exposure in pregnancy to HPTs and adverse outcomes in pregnancy (in particular congenital anomalies, miscarriage and stillbirth). This will include scientific studies as well as wider sources of evidence.

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is providing the secretariat to the review and is compiling all the available information. To date, the MHRA has requested relevant published and unpublished information from all companies whose predecessors marketed HPTs and has conducted a search of the National Archives with a view to obtaining a complete set of historical documents relevant to this issue. The MHRA will also search for all relevant published literature and review all suspected adverse drug reactions that have been submitted in association with HPTs in the United Kingdom. All of this information will be made available to the EWG.

    Interested individuals and organisations were invited to provide any information relevant to a possible association between the use of oral HPTs and adverse outcomes in pregnancy through a public call for evidence between 25 March and 30 June 2015. In addition, the EWG will hear evidence from a number of individuals who feel their lives have been adversely affected by HPTs.

    The report of the review and all documents will be made public subject to the usual legal requirements.