Tag: 2016

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support local government in the light of their planned extension of business rate relief.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    These tax cuts provide significant support to local businesses. The Small Business Rate Relief measure announced at the Budget will mean 600,000 of the smallest businesses will not have to pay business rates.

    Local authorities will be compensated in full for their loss of income as a result of these changes.

  • Lord Mawson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Mawson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawson on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 18 January (HL4835), for what reasons the Home Secretary, Theresa May, has decided that the reallocation of custody healthcare would not be appropriate at this time”.”

    Lord Bates

    The decision not to pursue the transfer of custody healthcare commissioning from Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to NHS England was taken in the context of wider decisions about the Provisional Police Funding Settlement for 2016/17, details of which were announced to Parliament in a written statement by the Minister of State for Policing, Crime and Criminal Justice and Victims on 17 December.

    The Government is clear that Police and Crime Commissioners should retain full flexibility to be able to prioritise resources towards police custody healthcare functions based on their local needs.

    A number of sources of information and guidance are available to PCCs to inform their commissioning of custody healthcare services.

    The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1983 (PACE) sets out the statutory framework for custodial care and the rights and entitlements of a detainee in police custody. The College of Policing, as the professional body for policing, has published Approved Professional Practice (APP) on custody and detention. Police officers and staff are expected to have regard to the APP in discharging their responsibilities.The APP references wider guidance published by professional medical bodies including the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. In addition there is a NHS England national service specification setting out clinical standards for the commissioning and provision of police custody healthcare functions. This is currently being reviewed and updated.

    In many police force areas the close ties which PCCs have established to local NHS England commissioners over recent years have already helped to drive up the standards and quality of provision. On 11 February my Rt Hon Friend the Home Secretary and my Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Health wrote to Police and Crime Commissioners and NHS England Commissioners encouraging them to continue to build upon this work to further improve healthcare service delivery.

    Any recommendations made by the forthcoming independent review of deaths and serious incidents in police custody will be carefully considered in due course.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will ask her German counterpart to supply the Government with emissions data from new ultra super-critical coal-fired power stations in that country; and if she will place that data in the Library.

    Andrea Leadsom

    I have no plans to ask for emissions data from new ultra super-critical coal-fired power stations in Germany.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether a deed of variation has been agreed for Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence 189.

    Andrea Leadsom

    A deed of variation has not been agreed for this licence.

  • Baroness Featherstone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Featherstone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Featherstone on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding is available for research and development into sustainable aviation fuels.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government believes sustainable aviation fuels are of strategic importance, both in reducing carbon emissions and to drive the development of an advanced biofuels industry in the UK.

    Those developing sustainable aviation biofuels were eligible to apply for funding under the Department’s Advanced Biofuel Demonstration Competition, the winners of which were announced last September.

    In early 2015 a Transport Energy Taskforce including aviation industry experts considered, amongst other things, the potential for sustainable aviation fuels to contribute to our climate change commitments to 2030 and beyond. Further to that work we are planning to consult on potential changes to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation later this year, including to make renewable fuels used in aviation eligible for reward under the scheme.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the outcome of the EU referendum on the long-term ability of universities to maintain current levels of educational provision; and if she will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    The UK has some of the best universities and researchers in the world, and international students, academics and researchers play a significant part in that success. The impacts of the decision to leave the EU on universities will depend on a number of factors including the timing of the UK’s exit from the EU and the details of our future relationship with the EU. Those are decisions for the new Prime Minister. The UK remains a member of the EU, and we continue to meet our obligations and receive relevant funding.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what outcomes the Government expects from the recent and planned strategic dialogue with the government of Sudan.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    In order to maximise our ability to persuade all parties to the conflicts in Sudan to end the fighting and allow the Sudanese people the security and development they deserve, we need to have a greater level of direct engagement with the Government of Sudan. The Strategic Dialogue process provides a necessary platform for us to do this, exploring possibilities for cooperation on a wide range of UK interests where our aims align, as well as an avenue to raise concerns.

  • Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the distribution of deemed contributions to defined-benefit pension schemes for each (a) income level and (b) age.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Distributions of deemed contributions to defined-benefit (DB) schemes broken down by income level or age, are not readily available, and have not been previously published as official statistics.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any research has been carried out into the reasons for teachers leaving the profession, in the light of the cost to the public purse of training teachers.

    Lord Nash

    Teachers may choose to leave the profession for a variety of reasons. The Teacher Supply Model estimates the number of recruits required based on factors such as teachers leaving the profession. The Department is actively tackling issues that most often lead teachers to consider leaving, such as workload and poor pupil behaviour.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on developing a futures market for dairy in the UK; and when she expects to implement that futures market.

    George Eustice

    Last November we embarked on a detailed analysis of the scope for better dairy price risk management, including dairy futures, in order to support stability and resilience in the dairy sector.

    The initial evidence base concluded that futures markets offered the best potential basis for progress and it was agreed to undertake further detailed work in this area. We are now exploring the level of appetite within the industry alongside some of the key barriers which have hampered the development of futures trading in the past.

    We expect to complete our analysis by the end of April. If this work leads to a genuine and practical prospect for progress, we will then move on to work with financial market and industry partners to deliver the best option for the UK dairy market.