Tag: 2015

  • Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many prisoners of conscience in China have been visited by UK diplomatic staff during 2015.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We closely monitor the human rights situation in China and report on individual cases of concern through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy. Working with international partners, UK officials talk to a wide range of human rights defenders. Sometimes it is not possible to meet an individual in person because they are in detention or under house arrest. In these cases, UK officials frequently work with family members and lawyers to maintain contact. We continue to raise cases of concern with the Chinese authorities, including during the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.

  • Alan Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alan Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Campbell on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients have been referred to the About Health Group from practices in the North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group under the General Practitioners’ Referral Management System.

    Ben Gummer

    NHS North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has introduced a formal referral management system across a small number of clinical specialties. This is a local initiative and not part of a wider scheme. The data requested are not collected centrally. This is a matter for the North Tyneside CCG who can advise on data availability.

  • Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many members of staff his Department plans will be employed by each of his Department’s three success regimes; and what the job titles and salary level will be of each member of such staff.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department is not responsible for the operational delivery of the Success Regime, which is delivered by NHS England and NHS improvement.

    The information is not available in the format requested. However, information is available on the transformation funding allocation to establish each of the success regime sites, and the expectation set by NHS England and NHS Improvement to recruit individuals to lead each regime.

    Each of the first three sites that are part of the Success Regime has received an initial £700,000 from NHS England’s transformation fund for start-up costs. Further funds will be released on a case-by-case basis and allocated in-line with local requirements. The precise make-up of the local teams will vary, but the key central appointments in Success Regime sites will be the programme directors and/or programme chairs. NHS England and NHS Improvement have set the expectation that programme directors will be paid in line with the National Health Service contract for Very Senior Managers unless in exceptional circumstances. The programme chairs are likely to be provided by third party suppliers as part of a wider package of support.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 46 of her Department’s Counter-Extremism Strategy, published on 19 October 2015, how much funding her Department will make available for commissioning and funding research.

    Karen Bradley

    We are determining the requirements and precise funding allocation for research to be commissioned. We will be working closely with a range of experts, including academics and universities, to improve our understanding of extremism. Opportunities for part-funded research will be allocated competitively.

  • Jessica Morden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jessica Morden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, further to the Answer of 17 July 2013 to Question 163024, on Courts: Wales, what data his Department now centrally collates on litigants in person.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Ministry of Justice does not collect information centrally on Litigants in Person in civil related court cases or family court cases.

    For both civil (non-family) and family court cases, quarterly figures are published broken down by legal representation. These can be found at http://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-justice-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2015.

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  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans for the South East Flexible Ticketing scheme to be delivered.

    Claire Perry

    Smart ticketing was taken forward by the Coalition Government after 2010. Five train operators, serving 73% of all rail season ticket holders in the South East, have now signed up to the South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) programme.

    Smart season tickets are already available to customers on Govia Thameslink Railway and c2c. South West Trains and Abellio Greater Anglia plan to introduce smart seasons on their services in January 2016; Southeastern will follow at the end of 2016.

    A new SEFT central back office, providing critical IT infrastructure and data processing capability, underwent testing in August 2015. This will enable train operators to consider a range of new products and services including automatic delay repay, flexible season tickets and loyalty schemes, and also to extend smart ticketing across a range of transport modes including rail, trams and buses.

    In September 2015, Birmingham New Street station reopened with smart-enabled ticket barriers supported by the central back office.

    On current plans, the South East Flexible Ticketing programme will complete in 2018.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cost, in the first year, of accepting Syrian refugees.

    Lord Bates

    The first 12 months of each refugee’s resettlement costs will be funded using ODA (Official Development Assistance). After year one we will also provide additional funding to assist with costs incurred in future years.

    The anticipated cost for the first year is still being worked out between relevant Government departments and local authorities. We expect to agree indicative costings in the near future.

    There are a range of factors that have to be included when it comes to bringing people to the UK and helping them to settle. Each person coming from Syria will have different needs so it is not possible to say how much the support for any individual will cost.

  • Lord Soley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Soley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Soley on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support research into new aircraft and engine technologies to reduce noise emissions from aviation.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government is supporting industry investment in the development and deployment of technologies for new aircraft, including technologies for new engines, aero structures and advanced systems, to reduce noise and other emissions from aviation.

    This support is integral to the work between industry and Government through the Aerospace Growth Partnership and the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), which published its Technology Strategy 2015 in July. To date, 100 ATI projects, worth around a total of £1bn, jointly funded by industry and government have been approved; and the majority of these are focused on technologies required to produce greener, more efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect their new Ambassador to Lebanon to be in post.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Hugo Shorter has been acting as Charge d’Affaires to Lebanon since 5 September.

    We are currently seeking agrément for a substantive Ambassador from the Lebanese authorities. As soon as it is granted, a permanent appointment will be announced.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations his Department has received about customers without internet access being charged to receive paper bills.

    Nick Boles

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has received a few representations, mainly on behalf of the ‘Keep Me Posted Campaign’, (and nine from hon. Members in 2014 on behalf of their constituents) which have included reference to the desire for paper bills to be supplied free of charge.