Tag: 2016

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on Wales of the proposal to transfer responsibility for attendance allowance to local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

    Alun Cairns

    The Government is committed to working closely with the Welsh Government to ensure the implications of any reforms for devolved administration services or budgets are properly understood.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what budget his Department has allocated to the National Tactical Response Group for each of the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    The budget allocation for National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) is set out in the table below.

    These figures include pay and non-pay items (including training materials, operational incident consumables and vehicle costs). It is not possible to retrieve the 2010 data information within the time available. The resource allocation for 2016-17 is yet to be confirmed.

    NTRG Budget

    2011-12

    1.6m

    2012-13

    1.6m

    2013-14

    1.7m

    2014-15

    1.8m

    2015-16

    1.8m

    “

  • Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to provide a standardised pathway service across gender reassignment services.

    Jane Ellison

    Specialised gender identity services are directly commissioned by NHS England.

    NHS England has considered the outcomes of the listening exercise conducted by Professor Field and has put in place a significant programme of work to improve healthcare services for transgender and non-binary people. A dedicated task group has been established to provide leadership and coordination of NHS England’s work to improve transgender and non-binary people’s experience of the National Health Service, and NHS England holds a Transgender Network event twice a year. Regular updates on NHS England’s work to improve gender identity services are given on NHS England’s website by the Regional Director of Specialised Commissioning (London) who chairs the task group.

    A Clinical Reference Group for Gender Identity Services has been established, comprising professional and lay experts. This group makes recommendations to NHS England on clinical matters. Issues around the standardisation of pathways across gender identity services and clinical protocols are being considered as part of the current work to develop a service specification that, it is proposed, will describe how NHS England will commission these services in the future. The process for developing a proposed service specification has included a period of public consultation.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to apply for assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund to help flood-affected areas.

    James Wharton

    I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave in the House on 25 February 2016 to the Urgent Question on the EU Solidarity Fund.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much school surplus has remained with local authorities after schools have converted to academy status.

    Edward Timpson

    The Academy Conversions (Transfer of School Surpluses) Regulations 2013 set out the process for the treatment of any surplus balance of a school when it converts to academy status. It is for the local authority and academy trust to agree together, within four months of conversion, the amount of surplus that should be paid to the academy trust. The final amount of any payment can take into account, for instance, any sum which might have been owed by the school to the local authority. No surplus funding has remained with local authorities.

    Further detail of the process can be found in the guidance on “Treatment of surplus and deficit balances when maintained schools become academies”, which can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416430/School_balances_on_conversion_submission.pdf

    “

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 16 December 2013, column 507W, what the updated figures are for the latest period available.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The average waiting time from receipt to disposal for all Social Security and Child Support appeals between October and December 2015 (the latest period for which figures are available) was 19 weeks nationally and 15.9 weeks in the Kettering venue.

  • Tom Tugendhat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Tugendhat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Tugendhat on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost was for (a) management of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation estate of Service Family Accommodation (SFA), (b) the maintenance of SFA and (c) improvements to SFA in (i) 2013, (ii) 2014 and (iii) 2015.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The cost for the management of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation estate of Service Family Accommodation (SFA), the maintenance of SFA and the improvements to SFA, by financial year (FY), can be found within the table below.

    FY 2012-13

    FY 2013-14

    FY 2014-15

    FY 2015-16

    Totals

    £ million

    £ million

    £ million

    £ million

    £ million

    Management of DIO Estate

    20.6

    15.7

    20.4

    18.8

    75.5

    Maintenance of SFA

    42

    39.9

    41.1

    40.9

    164.5

    Improvements

    64.5

    96.3

    65.9

    56.7

    283.4

    Totals

    127.1

    151.9

    127.4

    117.4

    523.8
  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will discuss with Marks and Spencer PLC its plans to introduce changes to pay and conditions for staff working at nights and weekends associated with the introduction of the new national minimum wage.

    Margot James

    Provided that they obey the law and pay their workers at least the National Living Wage where it applies, it is for employers to decide how they manage increases in their wage bill.

    But it is my clear view that all employers look to implement the National Living Wage in the spirit in which it was introduced. The Government believes that it is essential for employers to ensure that their reward packages are competitive, in order to retain and develop the staff who are fundamental to their success.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment her Department has made of how transparently (a) insurance companies and (b) other providers of a public good (i) formulate the price of their products and (ii) ensure any pricing structure is not affected by the consumer’s ethnicity.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society and sets out the different ways in which it is unlawful to treat someone. There are specific exceptions for providers of financial services such as insurance companies, which allow them to use a person’s age as a factor in assessing risk and charging for their products. However, insurers are not able to use a person’s race as a factor in assessing risk and charging for their products.

    The pricing of risk is a commercial decision for individual insurers, and differences in premiums reflect different insurers’ experience of claims and other industry-wide statistics. While insurers are not required by the Financial Conduct Authority to be transparent about pricing decisions, it expects firms to comply with relevant legislation, including the Equality Act 2010, and can undertake its own enquiries to better understand what the firm is doing and whether any of its regulatory requirements have been breached.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Written Statement on 9 December 2015, HCWS369, whether the new franchisees referred to will be required to replace all Pacer trains on both the TransPennine Express and Northern franchises; and by what year all Pacer trains will be replaced on both franchises.

    Andrew Jones

    As we have made clear both publicly and in the House (UINs 5008 and 19363) all Pacer trains in service on the Northern Franchise will be withdrawn by the end of 2019.

    There are no Pacers in service with the TransPennine Franchise.