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Tag: 2016

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to help free Andargachew Tsige.

    James Duddridge

    The Government takes the detention and welfare of Mr Andargachew Tsege, who was transferred from Yemen and is imprisoned in Ethiopia, very seriously. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has raised Mr Tsege’s case 21 times with his Ethiopian counterpart. I have also raised this case most recently on 8 January. Our focus has been on lobbying for Mr Tsege to have access to a lawyer and a legal route through which he can challenge his detention. We will continue to lobby the Ethiopian government until Mr Tsege is given access to a lawyer, and our concerns about the process by which Mr Tsege was transferred to Ethiopia have been fully addressed.

  • Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rupa Huq on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of spending by each local authority was allocated to provision of facilities and services for children’s and young people’s physical activity in each of the last three years.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on local authorities’ total spending on physical activity services and facilities for children and young people is not collected centrally.

    The decision on how much is spent on specific local public health services rests with individual authorities who are best placed to assess local population needs and priorities.

    Local authorities are required to undertake Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and to develop Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies which must inform local authority commissioning plans.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department spent on (a) online advertising and promotion, (b) animation, (c) design and (d) in total on its recent #GetInOntheAct campaign.

    David Mundell

    The Scotland Office spend on (a) online advertising and promotion, (b) animation, (c) design and (d) in total on its recent #GetInOntheAct campaign is shown below.

    online advertising and promotion

    animation

    design

    ‘GetInOntheAct’ campaign

    £757

    £2,500

    £0

    £0

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answers of 7 July 2016 to Questions 41448 and 41439, what his Department’s priorities are for the 7th Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to be held in November 2016.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Department is still giving consideration to the United Kingdom’s priorities for the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The composition of the UK’s delegation is also still under consideration.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the original date set for the publication of the impact assessment for the Trade Union Bill.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government has published detailed Impact Assessments for the Bill – on the Trade Union Bill, on the Reporting of Facility Time in the Public Sector, and on the Prohibition on Deduction of Union Subscriptions from Wages in the Public Sector. At a meeting with Peers in December, Ministers committed to publishing prior to the Lords Committee stage of the Bill, and they were published in good time on 21 January.

    The Trade Union Bill’s impact assessment has been subject to scrutiny by the independent Regulatory Policy Committee, and its opinion has been published alongside the impact assessment.

    They were reviewed and approved by the relevant Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Cabinet Office. The Permanent Secretary has been kept informed of progress on all stages of the Bill.

    Policy officials and analysts in both Departments have worked together to produce the impact assessments as quickly as possible while ensuring that the analysis was thorough.

    We have not asked civil servants working on the Bill in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Cabinet Office to fill out time sheets.

    We do not record which particular documents each special adviser reads. Special advisers have access to departmental papers in line with the Special Advisers’ Code of Conduct and provide advice to Ministers.

    I am placing copies of the relevant documentation in the Library.

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for Exceptional Case Funding there were in 2015; and how many of those applications were successful.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Legal Aid Agency publishes this information as part of its official statistics, the most recent edition of which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2015.

    Statistics covering the final quarter of 2015 will be published in due course.

    “

  • Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will conduct research on the potential effect on the cost of legal aid of encouraging early guilty pleas by defendants in serious criminal trial cases.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    We currently have no plans to do so. It has long been the practice to encourage early guilty pleas by offering reductions in sentence, and this is governed by the guideline Reduction in Sentence for a Guilty Plea, first issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council in 2005. The Sentencing Council (as it now is) last month published for consultation a revised guideline, the purpose of which is stated to be ‘to encourage those defendants who are aware of their guilt to enter a plea as early in the court process as possible’. Increasing the incidence of early guilty pleas would be expected to result in savings in legal aid, as well as in other benefits.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost to the public purse has been of establishing the Sustainability and Transformation Plan Footprints Leadership Teams.

    George Freeman

    The Department does not hold this information centrally.

    However, as far as NHS England is aware, in the overwhelming majority of cases, leaders are not being paid over and above the remuneration they receive for their existing roles. Many Sustainability and Transformation Plans are supported by local programme teams which are funded by the constituent local organisations.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the proposals in his Department’s White Paper, A BBC for the future, published in May 2016, if he will take steps to ensure that employees earning above £450,000 will not be able to be exempted from the requirement to publish their name by using personal service companies or similar structures.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Our White Paper, ‘A BBC for the Future’, makes it clear that we want to ensure that the BBC is transparent and efficient in how it spends its funding. As set out in its annual report, the BBC reviewed the use of Personal Service Companies as a means of engaging presenters and contributors​ in 2012​. ​It continue​s to apply an employment test, discussed with HM Revenue & Customs, to all workers to ensure they have the appropriate employment status.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to incentivise road haulage businesses to purchase vehicles with (a) lower driving positions, (b) observation cameras, (c) glass doors and (d) other advanced safety measures.

    Andrew Jones

    A number of lorry manufacturers produce models with lower cabs, glass doors and other safety equipment such as cameras and their use is increasingly common on UK roads.

    Transport for London’s Freight Operator Recognition Scheme and Construction Logistics Cyclist Safety scheme encourage the use of safer vehicle designs and equipment for vehicles operating in London. Compliance with such a scheme can be a contractual requirement, including for some major public sector transport projects, such as Crossrail.

    We support the aims of such schemes in improving road safety.