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Tag: 2015

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to ensure that UK weapons are not used in strikes that constitute serious violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world. All defence and dual-use exports are required to meet the UK’s strict export control legislation and adhere to the UK international commitments, including international treaties and obligations. We do not issue an export licence if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression or in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law, and we take account of any risk that the goods might be diverted to undesirable end-users or end-use.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the findings of the Carers Trust report published on 16 September 2015, Analysis of the UK and Impact of Charges by Councils Providing Support to Unpaid Carers; and if he will make an assessment of the effect of local authority charges on carers for the support they receive to help them in their caring role.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has been clear that local authorities are not required to charge a carer for support and indeed in many cases it would be a false economy to do so.

    We have produced a suite of implementation support documents around the new carers’ rights, one of which is The Economic Case for Investment in Carers, a short factsheet for local authorities to use in considering whether to put in place a policy of charging carers, setting out the evidence that charging would be a false economy. This expands on the position set out in the Care Act statutory guidance, which at paragraph 8.50 states that:

    “Local authorities are not required to charge a carer for support and indeed in many cases it would be a false economy to do so. When deciding whether to charge, and in determining what an appropriate charge is, a local authority should consider how it wishes to express the way it values carers within its local community as partners in care, and recognise the significant contribution carers make.”

    The Care Act replicates the previous position where charging carers was permissible. It would not have been appropriate to impose a blanket ban on charging for carers services, because in some cases small charges are necessary to the viability of services. However, the Care Act provides additional protection to carers by making it clear that local authorities cannot charge carers for services provided to the person being cared for. This means that carers may only be charged for services provided directly to them.

    Most local authorities do not routinely charge carers in recognition of the valuable contribution carers make to their local communities, and the Carers Trust report confirms that this is still the case. We will continue to make the case against routine charging of carers and to monitor the situation closely through the implementation monitoring process set out below.

    To support implementation of the reform programme, we have established a joint Programme Management Office between the Department, Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Adults Social Services. This unprecedented partnership is driving collaborative working with the sector, influencing the local implementation of these changes to support a consistent and coherent approach. This approach was recognised by the National Audit Office as best practice and should be adopted by other programmes.

    The programme includes a series of stocktakes of local authority readiness and the latest, from June 2015, demonstrates an overall positive picture on implementation:

    – Councils’ confidence in their ability to deliver the Care Act Reforms in 2015/16 remains high, with 99% very or fairly confident.

    – 89% of councils say that they are ‘on track’ with their implementation. The remaining 11% report themselves as only slightly behind.

  • Damian Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Damian Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Damian Green on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of calls received by Action Fraud have resulted in a police investigation to date; and if she will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    I refer my Rt. Hon Friend to the answer I gave him on 27th October 2015 to question 12259.

    It is the responsibility of the local Chief Constable, in conjunction with their Police and Crime Commissioner, to determine the resources they devote to tackling fraud and cyber crimes locally. The Government does not hold data on the proportion of calls received by Action Fraud which result in a police investigation.

  • 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 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what account was taken of the effect on access to justice in rural areas in his Department’s consultation on the Provision of the Court and Tribunal Estate.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Access to justice is not just about proximity to a court. We are committed to providing alternatives to travel, for example through making better use of technology, including video conferencing, and exploring whether we can appropriately make use of civic buildings for certain types of hearing.

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

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 7 of his Department’s publication, Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) Information pack and Conditions of Eligibility, how much his Department has spent on (a) the eight per cent ITSO smartcard BSOG supplement and (b) the two per cent Automatic Vehicle Location BSOG supplement in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15; and what his Department’s projected expenditure is in 2015-16 on those items.

    Andrew Jones

    This information is set out in the table below.

    £ million

    Year

    Smartcard

    Automatic Vehicle Location

    2010/11

    1.365

    0.592

    2011/12

    9.501

    1.662

    2012/13

    15.664

    4.296

    2013/14

    16.247

    4.109

    2014/15

    16.169

    4.138

    Since 2010, these two supplements have helped lead to real benefits for passengers. Over 86% of buses in England outside London are now smart-equipped and 93% of buses outside London now have automatic vehicle location equipment compared to 45% in 2009-10.

    At this stage it is too early to estimate the likely payments for 2015/16.

  • Dr Eilidh Whiteford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Dr Eilidh Whiteford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Eilidh Whiteford on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of proposals for a lower benefit cap on carers.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. A link to the impact assessment is included.

    http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006.pdf

    “

  • Baroness Parminter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Parminter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Parminter on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy on legal imports of lion-hunting trophies into the European Union.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Under international rules set by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), a hunting trophy from an endangered species can be exported only if the exporting country is satisfied that the hunt was both legal and sustainable in terms of its impact on the overall population of the species in that country.

    However, in the light of growing concerns about the sustainability of the hunting of some species, including lions, we have worked within the EU to introduce stricter controls on the import of hunting trophies of particular species. These require the importing country as well as the exporting country to consider the issue of sustainability. In this way the import of hunting trophies of certain species from certain countries is currently prohibited by the EU.

    We will continue to monitor the impact of trophy hunting and will work with the EU and our international partners to put in place greater protection, including prohibiting imports, if this is shown to be needed.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many incidents requiring the attendance of the police occurred on mental health wards in the past 12 months; what were the ethnic, gender and age characteristics of the patients involved; and what was the ratio of staff to patients at the time of each incident.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    This information is not collected centrally.

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

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take steps to ensure that all decisions about names of areas in Northern Ireland must be taken by mutual agreement of the two communities, as outlined in the 1998 Belfast Agreement.

    Lord Dunlop

    The Government remains fully committed to supporting the institutions and principles established under the Belfast Agreement.

  • Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of (a) the reduction in the level at which working tax credit begins to be withdrawn from £6,420 to £3,850 from April 2015 on work incentives for those on low incomes and (b) increasing of the taper rate to 48 per cent on work incentives for those on low incomes.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government is making changes to Tax Credits which will help put welfare spending on a more sustainable path. The Government wants to move from a low wage, high tax, high welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society.

    Alongside the introduction of the New Living Wage and raising the Personal Allowance, the intended impact of these reforms is to incentivise work, ensure work always pays, and then allow people to keep more of what they earn.