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Tag: 2015

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to protect British journalists in the light of the assault by Israeli soldiers on two AFP journalists during a West Bank demonstration.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The safety of British nationals is a key concern. Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice highlights specific risks relating to travel within the Occupied Palestinian Territories, for example, risks relating to Palestinian demonstrations. We also provide consular assistance to British nationals in line with our guidance when it is required. The UK has repeatedly made clear to Israel our longstanding concerns about the manner in which the Israeli Defence Force polices non-violent protests and the border areas, including use of live ammunition. We are also clear that protection of the freedom of the media is an important part of respecting human rights.

  • 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, 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 Philip Dunne

    Non consolidated performance awards are paid to reward excellence and are given to no more than 25% of staff each year based on the relative assessment of performance against objectives throughout the reporting year. The awards are not pensionable and the values for each grade are set centrally and agreed by the Secretary of State as part of the annual pay remit.

    The Special Bonus Scheme (SBS) is discretionary and there is no limit on the number of people that can receive a cash award provided the award is approved within the policy, rules and guidance governing the SBS. Special Bonuses are not pensionable and are awarded for exceptional performance in a specific task or for the achievement of a professional qualification that benefits the Ministry of Defence and the individual. A Special Bonus can be awarded at any time. Awards vary in value with the maximum single payment being £2,000.

    The following table shows how much the Department has paid out in year-end performance awards and the SBS in each of the last four financial years to staff below the Senior Civil Service.

    TYPE OF AWARD

    FINANCIAL YEAR (1 APRIL TO 31 MARCH) £ Million

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    Performance Award

    38

    25

    20

    18.5

    Special Bonus Scheme

    3.9

    4

    4

    4.6

    Total

    41.9

    29.0

    24.0

    23.1

    The following table details the combined total value of payments made to staff below the Senior Civil Service by way of non consolidated performance awards and SBS awards for financial years 2008-09 to 2010-11.

    Financial Year

    Total Value of Awards made £ Million

    2008-09

    47.5

    2009-10

    44.2

    2010-11

    43.5

    “

  • 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, if he will undertake a feasibility study on establishing a credit union open to British military personnel; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    On 8 December 2014, the then Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans (Anna Soubry) fully endorsed the expansion of existing, strong Credit Unions to the Armed Forces community and stated that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) was working to bring this about. The Minister also advised that the MOD’s payroll provider was working with officials to scope and cost payroll deductions for a Credit Union.

    The work on scoping payroll deductions has now been concluded successfully and we have now established a facility where Credit Union services are available to Armed Forces personnel via payroll deductions; the formal launch of this service took place on 15 October 2015.

    The three chosen Credit Unions are PlaneSaver Credit Union, London Mutual Credit Union and Police Credit Union trading as Serve and Protect. This facility will provide UK Armed Forces personnel with access to dependable savings facilities and safe affordable loans.

    An internal communication has been issued across the Department to alert Service personnel of this new facility.

  • 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 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what new performance target for Trusts and Foundation Trusts has been introduced since May 2010; and which new performance targets he plans to introduce for those bodies over the next five years.

    Jane Ellison

    A number of operational standards related to access and waiting times have been introduced or amended since May 2010. All the changes were based on recommendations from clinical experts.

    As part of our response to the Independent Cancer Taskforce’s report, we have announced our commitment that – by 2020 – 95% of National Health Service patients will be given a definitive cancer diagnosis or the all clear within 28 days of being referred by a general practitioner. This will be underpinned by investment – expected to be £300 million more in diagnostics a year by 2020.

    We are also introducing the first waiting times standards specifically for mental health so that, from April 2016:

    – 75% of people will be referred to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme within six weeks, with 95% of people being referred within 18 weeks; and

    – 50% of people experiencing a first episode of psychosis will be treated within two weeks.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the introduction of the waiting time standards for eating disorder services by 2020.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England and the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health published on 3 August 2015, a commissioning guide for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) that will set out how to implement the access and waiting time standard for children and young people with an eating disorder.

    The standard is for treatment to be received within a maximum of four weeks from first contact with a designated healthcare professional for routine cases and within one week for urgent cases. In cases of emergency, the eating disorder service should be contacted to provide support within 24 hours.

    The guidance is supported by £30 million of recurrent funding, which NHS England has already distributed to CCGs.

    The ability of services to meet this standard will be monitored in 2016. The standard will be refined for implementation from 2017–18. From 2017, NHS England will set a minimum proportion of young people referred for assessment or treatment that are expected to receive treatment within the standard’s timeframe. Data collected in 2016 will help inform incremental percentage increases, with the aim of 95% of patients being treated within the standard’s timescale by 2020.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

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

    Karen Bradley

    Non-consolidated performance payments are one-off payments which are paid only to the top achievers and are used to help drive performance.

    As part of the Government transparency agenda all year end and in-year bonuses are published in the Non-Consolidated Performance Related Pay (NCPRP) return. The amount that the Department has paid in bonuses for each of the last three years (2011/12 to 2013/14) is provided at Table 1.

  • Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to support research into new aircraft and engine technologies to reduce noise emissions from aviation.

    Anna Soubry

    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 Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many key performance indicators are used by the Office of Rail and Road to monitor Network Rail’s performance.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) have informed me that in the current five yearly regulatory cycle (Control Period 5) that started on 1st April 2014, they established 13 categories of regulated outputs,some of which are disaggregated further, such as by franchised train operator route or by delivery milestones.These outputs include train service reliability, enhancements, health and safety, network availability, network capability, stations, depots, asset management and environment.

    There are 25 categories of core indicators from these outputs, which are disaggregated further. Full details of the regulated outputs can be found on table 3.11, page 125 of the Final Determination for Control Period 5, a copy of which is attached.

    The ORR publishes six monthly reports on Network Rail’s progress in relation to these regulated outputs in the ‘Network Rail Monitor’ and the ‘Network Rail Monitor for Scotland’.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many citizens of each European Union member state, other than the United Kingdom and Ireland, aged 18 or over are resident in the United Kingdom; and of those, how many have been resident in the United Kingdom for more than five years, broken down by their country of citizenship.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • 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 whether they plan to hold an inquiry into testing processes for emissions from diesel vehicles and so-called defeat” devices.”

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    There is no plan to hold an inquiry, however, the Government is taking this issue very seriously. The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), the UK vehicle approval authority, is working to ensure that the use of defeat devices is not industry wide. VCA is rerunning laboratory tests starting with those VW Group engines for which VCA has provided approvals. These tests are comparing real world driving emissions against laboratory performance.

    There is no evidence that these emissions tests have been falsified in the UK.