Tag: 2016

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date the Youth Justice Board was informed of the allegations of abuse at Medway Secure Training Centre; and on what date the Youth Justice Board informed (a) youth offending teams and (b) social service departments who had children in their care in that centre.

    Andrew Selous

    The Youth Justice Board (YJB) was informed of the allegations on 30 December 2015 by the Chair of Medway Local Safeguarding Children’s Board and G4S. On 4 January 2016, Medway Local Safeguarding Children’s Board contacted the responsible local authorities of the 10 children and young people named in the allegations. On 8 January, the YJB contacted all youth offending teams and all Directors of Children’s Services to make them aware of the allegations.

    When the Youth Justice Board were informed of the allegations, they immediately suspended placements of new children and young people into the centre and suspended the certification of the staff named in the allegations so that they cannot return to work without YJB approval. Monitoring by the YJB at the centre was increased, as was the availability of the independent advocacy service provided to children and young people by Barnados.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent disruption due to flooding in Northern England on railway passengers.

    Andrew Jones

    The impact of the recent storms on the rail network across the North of England has clearly created difficulties for passengers, businesses and communities. Operators and Network Rail have worked together to implement and operate services so as to cause the minimum of disruption to customers.

    I pay tribute to the efforts of Network Rail’s teams which are still working to repair the damage, and thank passengers for their patience while these works are going on. The Rt Hon Member will have noted that the line between Newcastle and Carlisle has now reopened, following repair of the serious damage between Prudhoe and Hexham.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what value of performance payments his Department has withheld from Capita since March 2012 as a result of it not meeting the recruitment targets required by the Recruitment Partnership Programme contract.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    I am witholding the information as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of e-cigarette users who have (a) resumed smoking and (b) purchased vaping supplies from black market sources.

    Jane Ellison

    The best thing a smoker can do to improve their health is to quit smoking for good.

    The Department recognises that electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) can help smokers quit and the evidence indicates that they are considerably less harmful to health than cigarettes.

    This Government has committed to publishing a new tobacco control plan to further reduce the prevalence of smoking in England. The development of this plan is underway and will be published later this year. The new strategy will consider the role of e-cigarettes in further reducing the prevalence of smoking in England. To help inform this element of the strategy the Department has been engaging with e-cigarette experts to ensure that local authorities and Stop Smoking Services are provided with up to date, evidenced based advice on e-cigarettes.

    Whilst the Department has not made a formal assessment of the number of e-cigarette users who have resumed smoking, the evidence suggests that in the short-term, relapse rates are lower in those using e-cigarettes to quit.

    The Department has not made an assessment of the number of e-cigarette users who have purchased vaping supplies from black market sources.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that UK corporate tax rules do not incentivise companies to avoid tax in developing countries.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is committed to making sure multinational enterprises pay their share of tax. The UK has been at the forefront of multilateral action through the G20 and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to reform the international tax rules.

    We used our Presidency of the G8 in 2013 to successfully initiate the G20-OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. The final recommendations were published by the OECD in October 2015, and endorsed by the G20 leaders in November 2015.

    The BEPS project represents major and unprecedented efforts. The international project involved over 60 countries, including developing countries, to work together on an equal footing to better align the taxation of profits with economic activity and value creation.

    The UK has been a leader on implementing the BEPS outputs – we have adopted the OECD country-by-country reporting template; and, at Budget 2016, the UK announced that it would be the first country to act on the OECD recommended rules on interest deductibility.

    The UK will continue to participate in international efforts to address BEPS by participating in the OECD’s inclusive framework to monitor implementation, which also involves developing countries, and in work to develop toolkits to assist developing countries implementing the BEPS outcomes.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to ensure widespread access to reasonably priced accommodation for students in London and other metropoles.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government recognises the need for a diverse housing stock, providing students with a choice of accommodation to suit their individual needs. Our national planning guidance encourages local authorities to plan for sufficient student accommodation whether it consists of communal halls of residence or self-contained dwellings, and whether or not it is on campus.

    The key to improving affordability is to build more homes. We are working to increase supply by accelerating the development of a new market for private renters, including our £1 billion build to rent fund and the £3.5 billion private rented sector debt guarantee scheme.

  • Lord Bradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Bradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2016-09-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which (1) NHS Foundation Trusts, and (2) NHS Trusts, have an accumulated surplus of (a) up to £1 million, (b) £1–5 million, (c) £5–10 million, (d) £10–20 million, (e) £20–30 million, (f) £30–50 million, and (g) over £50 million.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    ‘Accumulated surplus’ has been interpreted to mean the closing balance of a trust’s retained earnings reserve at 31 March 2016. This represents the accumulated balance of annual surpluses and deficits, adjusted for any amounts offset against other reserves, such as the revaluation reserve. As this is an accumulated balance, it will differ from the annual surplus or deficit reported in the trust’s Statement of Comprehensive Income, which forms part of figures published for the provider sector by NHS Improvement.

    Trusts with accumulated surpluses in the bands specified are detailed in the attached document.

    All other trusts reported an accumulated deficit overall at 31 March 2016.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which Highways England capital programme schemes are behind schedule.

    Andrew Jones

    Progress is being made on all the major schemes listed in Highways England’s Delivery Plan and it is on track by the end of March 2016 to have started construction on 5 schemes and opened 5 schemes – all scheduled to start or open in 2015/16. Naturally, within this significant £15 billion investment programme of 112 schemes within the current road period, a small minority of schemes may occasionally experience variations in timescale or in the precise form of the solution.

    In particular there are two schemes where the schedule has been revised.

    For A63 Castle Street progress of the main scheme has been delayed in order to investigate more fully the environmental impacts caused by the scheme and how these can be best mitigated. However, the construction of Princes Quay footbridge is on track to begin in April. My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has also kept the Rt Hon Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (Alan Johnson MP), in whose constituency this scheme is, regularly appraised of the relevant issues.

    After considering responses to the recent public consultation for the M54 / M6 / M6 Toll, an announcement of the preferred route has been delayed in order to allow a reappraisal of the options.

  • Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilians are employed by the (a) Ministry of Defence and its trading bodies and (b) contractors at (i) AWE Aldemaston; (ii) AWE Burghfield; (iii) BAE Systems Maritime-Submarines at Barrow-in-Furness; (iv) Babcock at Devonport and (v) Rolls-Royce at Raynewsay, Derby; and how many such employees are employed by AWE Management Limited.

    Michael Fallon

    The number and average wage of civilians employed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) at the listed sites is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

    MOD does not hold figures relating to the employees of contractors by site. The number of civilians employed by the consortium AWE Management Ltd is 155.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with the Department of Health on implementation of the Ross Fund.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 7 March to question number 28791