Tag: 2016

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 2.41 of the Government’s paper, The best of both worlds: the United Kingdom’s special status in a reformed European Union, published in February 2016, what contribution he expects UK environmental and energy safety regulators to make to the annual survey referred to.

    Anna Soubry

    The European Commission’s Annual Burden Survey will support the Commission’s Regulatory Fitness (REFIT) Programme of withdrawals, repeals and reviews of existing EU legislation.

    Anyone, including UK environmental and energy safety regulators, can now submit comments about any area of EU legislation to the Commission’s ‘Lighten the Load – Have Your Say!’ website*. Suggestions received will be analysed by the Commission and may subsequently be put forward for action via the REFIT Programme. The Government will use the REFIT Programme and the Annual Burden Survey to ensure that the EU meets its commitments to simplify legislation, avoid over-regulation and reduce burdens on business.

    * http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/democratic-change/better-regulation/feedback/index_en.htm

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  • Tom Tugendhat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Tom Tugendhat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Tugendhat on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of funding from the new measures announced in paragraph 1.205 of Budget 2016 she plans to allocate for flood defences on the River Medway and its tributaries.

    Rory Stewart

    Of the additional £700 million announced at the Budget to be spent on flood defences and resilience, £150m has been allocated to new schemes in Yorkshire and Cumbria. The £40m per year increase in floods maintenance will be spent nationwide according to need. The remaining funding will be allocated following the outcome of the National Flood Resilience Review in the summer.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with the Metropolitan Police Service to reduce the time taken to complete pre-employment checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service.

    Karen Bradley

    Performance data for the Disclosure and Barring Service for March 2016 indicates that average processing time for DBS applications was 14.8 days. Certificates dispatched to applicants by the DBS in March 2016 involving (a) Cleveland Police and (b) the Metropolitan Police Service took an average of (a) 24 days and (b) 122 days.

    Protecting the public is a priority for this Government and it is important that checks undertaken are thorough; a proportion of the applications received by the DBS must be referred to one or more police forces as part of the enhanced disclosure process. In the vast majority of cases these checks are completed within target. The DBS is working closely with the small number of forces, including the MPS, whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. The performance of police disclosure units is an operational issue for individual police forces and the MPS has established a Gold Group to oversee the recovery plan which they have in place to reduce the time taken. I have made clear to the MPS that its current delays must be addressed as a matter of priority and I continue to maintain close oversight of the progress being made.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is currently detained in Iran, and what assurances they have received as to her wellbeing.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case with Foreign Minister Zarif on 17 May. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), also raised the case with the Iranian Chargé d’affaires on 18 May. Iran does not recognise dual nationality and denies consular access on those grounds. We understand that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is able to call her family and we welcome the recent news that she was moved out of solitary confinement.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the pupil premium; and what potential effect the national funding formula for schools once implemented will have on that policy.

    Edward Timpson

    The Pupil Premium was introduced in 2011 to provide additional resources to mainstream schools to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils aged 5-16. The Government has committed to maintaining the Pupil Premium at current per-pupil rates for the remainder of this parliament. As a separate grant to schools, the Pupil Premium will not be affected by the introduction of a national funding formula.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what BT’s commercial investment was in broadband roll-out in Northern Ireland; and how that money was invested.

    Matt Hancock

    BDUK do not hold information on BT’s commercial investment in broadband roll-out in Northern Ireland.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what programmes he plans to fund from the Joint Security Fund; and how much each such programme will receive in each year up to 2020.

    Michael Fallon

    Decisions on programmes to be funded in part or in whole from the Joint Security Fund will be finalised on receipt of the Chancellor’s formal Spending Review settlement for Departments expected shortly.

  • 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 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the screening of asylum seekers in Scotland.

    David Mundell

    UK and Scottish Government officials have regular discussions regarding immigration matters, including screening of asylum seekers in Scotland.

  • Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the target timescale is for people leaving prison from application to receipt for universal credit; and how many and what proportion of applications take longer than that timescale.

    Priti Patel

    Prisoners are supported and advised whilst in prison on which benefits they can claim and how to make a claim and we are developing arrangements to enable them to make advance claims to Universal Credit.

    Appropriate support measures for prison leavers with mental health issues will be considered following the initial claim interview.

    Universal Credit is assessed and paid calendar monthly in arrears. Prison leavers will receive payment within the timescale of 5 weeks from the date of claim.

    Prison leavers who are in financial need can apply for an advance payment of up to 50% of their total Universal Credit award following their initial interview.

    The information requested in relation to the timescales for applications is not readily available for publication. To quality assure this information according to the standards of the UK Statistics Authority would incur disproportionate costs.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding his Department has provided for public information campaigns on brain tumours in children and young people in each year since 2010.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England’s ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaigns do not currently include brain tumours. The campaigns aim to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of specific cancers, and to encourage those with symptoms to see their doctor promptly. The decision on which cancers should be the focus of ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaigns is informed by a steering group, whose members include primary and secondary care clinicians, and key voluntary sector organisations.

    A number of factors are taken into account when deciding which campaigns to develop and run, with one of the main criteria being the scope to save lives through earlier diagnosis and whether the cancer has a clear early sign or symptom that the general public can act upon should it arise.