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Tag: 2015

  • Alison Thewliss – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alison Thewliss – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on the abolition of Value Added Tax on sanitary products.

    Mr David Gauke

    Following the recent Parliamentary debate on this issue, I have written to the European Commission and other Member States setting out the Government’s view that Member States should have full discretion over what rate of VAT they can apply to sanitary products, and that this should be considered in the context of the Commission’s ambition to produce an Action Plan on VAT initiatives in 2016.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for future Government policy of the suspension of the Temporary Financial Mechanism on Libyan assets following the 2011 revolution in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Temporary Financial Mechanism (TFM), established by the Contact Group in Doha in 2011, was a temporary response to the urgent financial needs of the new Libyan National Transitional Council, intended to be used until the new Libyan administration was able to take control of Libyan state assets and revenues. The TFM was used to provide a range of critical financial support, including the import of refined fuel, the treatment of injured Libyans, and family support payments to Libyans who had depended on government welfare payments.

    Our focus now is on supporting the expected signature of the Libyan Political Agreement and the establishment of a Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA). In addition to restoring stability and dealing with the threat of terrorism in Libya, a priority for the new GNA will be returning oil and gas production to pre-crisis levels to sustain stability and growth to the benefit of all Libyans.

  • John Pugh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Pugh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on what date the £75 million Mayoral Investment Fund pledged as part of the Liverpool City Region Deal was paid to Liverpool City Council.

    James Wharton

    The Department for Communities and Local Government contributed £75 million in economic development funds as part of the Liverpool City Deal, with payments to Liverpool City Council on 30 April 2013 (£60 million) and 1 May 2014 (£15 million).

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13605, on Tenancy Deposit Schemes, if he will provide that information for 2014-15.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department conducted an economic impact assessment of the proposed byelaw changes for the waters between the mainland of Scotland and the Island of Raasay.

    Mark Lancaster

    The views submitted by members of the public and other local stakeholders as part of the public consultation on the proposed changes will be used to inform if the Ministry of Defence is justified in producing an economic impact as this is not required as part of the review process.

    Full and proper consultation on the proposed new byelaws with local fishing communities and stakeholders is part of the current byelaws review process. The review was preceded by initial discussions between QinetiQ and local fishing communities over the summer. While the byelaw review has been extended to the end of November 2015, there is no plan to suspend the on-going public consultation phase of the byelaw review.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications of differences in the administration of universal credit amongst the different local authorities involved in the Universal Support Delivered Locally pilot programme for the effectiveness of that pilot.

    Priti Patel

    Assessment of the Universal Support trials is currently underway. The final evaluation will be published in late Spring 2016. The Trials will enable us to ensure we follow the most effective delivery approach.

  • David Hanson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Hanson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to ensure that organic food producers are subsidised under the Common Agricultural Policy.

    George Eustice

    Organic farmers in England are eligible to claim Common Agricultural Policy support under the Basic Payments Scheme and are also eligible to apply for funding under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.

  • Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total number of persons currently employed to deliver electoral services in Northern Ireland.

    Lord Dunlop

    The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is currently considering a range of options for reforming his Office. This includes capitalising on new technology by introducing on-line registration.

    The Chief Electoral Officer will have regard to the continued effective delivery of elections in Northern Ireland and ensuring that his Office remains on a sustainable financial footing. The Northern Ireland Office fully supports him in this approach. I understand that work on some options is at an early stage.

    The Representation of the People Act 1983 makes provision for the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland to delegate returning officer functions to the clerk of a district council.

    Detailed questions on headcount and budget are operational matters for the Chief Electoral Officer who is independent of Government. The Chief Electoral Officer publishes all such information in his annual report which is presented to Parliament and copies are made available in the Library of the House.

    The headline budgets allocated to the Chief Electoral Office are:

    Financial Year

    Operational Funding

    Capital Funding

    2013/14

    £5.452m *

    £100k

    2014/15

    £2.336m

    £56.2k

    2015/16

    £2.296m

    £25k

    * includes £3m for the 2013 canvass

    The Northern Ireland Office has not agreed any budgets with the Chief Electoral Officer for future years pending receipt of the Department’s detailed Spending Review 2015 settlement letter from HM Treasury.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of depression among new mothers.

    Alistair Burt

    Reducing the incidence of depression among new mothers is a high priority for the Government.

    The Mandate from the Government for the National Health Service includes an objective for NHS England to work with partner organisations to reduce the incidence and impact of postnatal depression through earlier diagnosis, and better intervention and support.

    The NHS Mandate also includes an objective that every woman has a named midwife who is responsible for ensuring she has personalised care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and during the postnatal period. This will help clinicians to identify perinatal mental health problems as early as possible and to give women the support they need.

    To help achieve this we have increased the number of midwives by over 1,800 and the number of health visitors by over 3,500 since May 2010. In addition, 6,400 midwifery students and an extra 1,000 health visitors are in training respectively.

    We are also working to improve the provision of perinatal mental health services which is why it was announced in the March budget that the Government would invest an additional £75 million over the next five years, £15 million per year, to support women with mental ill health in the perinatal period. NHS England is leading a work programme to ensure that this extra money is spent in the right way, at the right time and in the right places. This work is being carried out collaboratively with partner organisations, including the Department and Public Health England, clinical experts and service users.

    Health Education England (HEE) has committed to ensure that the right knowledge and training is available so that the NHS is skilled in how it looks after women’s mental as well as physical health. The HEE Mandate includes an objective that there will be specialist perinatal mental health staff available for every birthing unit by 2017. HEE is also committed to working with the medical royal colleges to support specific perinatal mental health training being incorporated into the syllabus for doctors in postgraduate training by 2017.

    The Department has funded the Institute of Health Visitors which has trained over 600 perinatal mental health visitor champions to enable health visitors to identify and manage perinatal depression and other maternal mental health conditions.

    The Department has also funded the Maternal Health Care Policy Research Unit to undertake a project to develop and pilot test a perinatal mental health indicator which would reflect the mental health care a woman receives at certain critical perinatal time-points; the antenatal booking, the early postnatal period, and approximately one year postnatally.

    In line with the approach on other access and waiting time standards, NHS England appointed the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health to run expert engagement and produce implementation outputs, for example commissioning guidance and model pathways. An Expert Reference Group has been formed to oversee this work. NHS England plan to be able to make the recommendations of the group public as soon as possible.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of car parking charges and their effect on the high street.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    We are committed to supporting our high streets and effective parking management is essential for businesses to survive and grow.

    Local authorities should be making it easier to park by looking to reduce the cost of parking in local authority owned car parks, and working with private sector providers to ensure they are providing a competitive offer that makes people want to visit high streets and town centres. This provides the best support to local shops, local jobs and tourism by increasing footfall.

    The Government has brought forward a range of measures to help motorists, including banning CCTV ‘spy cars’, introducing 10 minutes grace periods and a new guidance to challenge parking policies.