Tag: 2015

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Luce on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the public will be properly and impartially informed about the full range of consequences of withdrawal from membership of the European Union.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), is focused on success: he believes he can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. The public will expect Ministers to set out the results of the renegotiation, how the relationship with Europe has been changed and if, and how, those changes address their concerns. As the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), said in response to Oral Questions to the Treasury on 16 June 2015, Official Report Column 166: ‘I am sure that the Treasury will publish assessments of the merits of membership and the risks of a lack of reform in the European Union, including the damage that that could do to Britain’s interests.’

  • Lord Willis of Knaresborough – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Willis of Knaresborough – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 21 September (HL2284), when the cancer dashboard will be published, and whether it will include metrics on rare and less common cancers, such as multiple myeloma.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A Strategy for England 2015-2020, in July this year. NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations of the report. A specific timeline for publication of the dashboard, and the metrics it will include, has not yet been finalised.

    A copy of the Taskforce’s report is attached.

  • Ann Coffey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ann Coffey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there were in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15 under Section 48 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 where the victims were (A) under 16 years old and (B) between 16 and 19 years old.

    Dominic Raab

    The statutes concerned apply to victims aged under 18 years. A breakdown by age could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    Data on justice outcomes for offences under sections 47, 48 and 49 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 are published at the following link under ‘71.1 Abuse of children through prostitution and pornography – indictable only’ and ‘71.2 Abuse of children through prostitution and pornography – triable either way’:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/428937/outcomes-by-offence-tables.xlsx

  • Robin Walker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Robin Walker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robin Walker on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Government’s credit union expansion programme; and what assessment he has made of the feasibility of extending that programme.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP’s contract with the Association of British Credit Unions Ltd to deliver the Credit Union Expansion Project began in May 2013. It wasis due to end in April 20156 but we are currently considering a request for an further extension. The Department has plans to review effectiveness at the end of the Project.

  • Conor McGinn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Conor McGinn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people under 25 years old in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK receive tax credits.

    Damian Hinds

    The latest information on the number of tax credit recipients under 25 in the UK can be found in table 3.1 of the April 2015 Personal Tax Credits published statistics, found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-tax-credits-provisional-statistics-2013-to-2009

    These statistics are published in April and December each year.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to improve Britain’s economic ties with China.

    Harriett Baldwin

    In 2014, UK goods exports to China were worth £15.5bn, making China our 6th largest goods export partner. The government wants to improve this relationship, with a target for China to be the 2nd largest recipient of UK exports within a decade.

    The Government warmly welcomes the State Visit of President Xi and Madame Peng, an important milestone that should lay the foundations for a golden age in the bilateral relationship. The Visit will build upon the sustained engagement by the Chancellor and other Ministers to deepen UK-China economic cooperation, including via the annual, Chancellor-led Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD).

    At the most recent EFD in September 2015, both sides agreed a package of measure to strengthen their long-term collaboration, including on capital markets, bond markets, green finance, asset management and insurance. Further detail can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/462412/EFD_factsheet.pdf

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) Connecting Cheshire and (b) other local authority partnerships provide timely and accurate advice to homes and businesses about when work will take place to connect them to superfast broadband.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    All local BDUK project are required to have project websites providing information to their residents of the roll out plans for their area. All projects include maps of their intervention areas and regular updates on progress. The majority of projects have seven digit postcode checkers on their site to provide greater localised information. Details for Cheshire’s broadband rollout can be found on the Connecting Cheshire postcode checker (http://www.connectingcheshire.org.uk/check-availability) and on deployment maps indicating broader timescales for upgrades (http://www.connectingcheshire.org.uk/connecting-cheshire-deployment-maps).

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the value of the domestic supply chain for the Protector programme.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the written statement released by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) on 12 October 2015,titledFuture Unmanned Air Systems Capability.

    The Government has taken an early decision in the Strategic Defence and Security Review to commit to the Protector programme. The programme is currently in its assessment phase, so detailed work is continuing to confirm a contract for the airframe and associated details, including date for the capability’s entry into service and acquisition and life support cost profile, following which the Ministry of Defence will be better placed to understand the implications for the UK workforce and supply chain.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the activities of the new UK-China joint research and innovation centre will be subject to oversight by (a) the Office for Nuclear Regulation and (b) her Department’s national nuclear stakeholder forum.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Joint Research and Innovation Centre (JRIC) is envisaged to be the subject of a commercial agreement between the National Nuclear Laboratory and the Chinese National Nuclear Corporation.

    These two organisations are still in the process of negotiating such an agreement and will need to consider details on the structures, funding, governance and accountability of the JRIC. As such, it is too early for Government to be able to comment on the outcomes of such a negotiation.

    We continue to maintain an interest in developments of these discussions and will work, where appropriate, with our counterparts in the Chinese government to ensure that outcomes are mutually beneficial to the research landscape of both nations.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take to deter Russian forces from targeting non-IS targets in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We continue to urge Russia, both in public and through diplomatic channels, to focus its efforts on ISIL targets. The EU Foreign Affairs Council on 12 October also called on Russia immediately to cease targeting the moderate opposition.