Tag: 2016

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people entering or leaving the UK by air had pre-boarding electronic checks in each of the last seven years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The total volumes of passengers and crew crossing the UK border via scheduled commercial air routes, along with the figures for the volumes that underwent electronic checks, are listed in the table below.

    The following table shows assessed number of passengers and crew travelling to and from the United Kingdom on commercial international aviation routes (excluding the Common Travel Area) and the percentage of those undergoing electronic checks, over the last five years. Full detail is not available for 2009/ 2010 given the events surrounding the termination of the Raytheon-led Trusted Borders contract.

    Year

    Number of passengers and crew on international scheduled commercial aviation routes (excluding Common Travel Area) travelling to and from the UK (Millions) *

    Percentage of passengers checked electronically on international scheduled commercial aviation routes (excluding Common Travel Area)

    2011

    190.4

    67%

    2012

    186.2

    69%

    2013

    182.3

    81%

    2014

    179.7

    96%

    2015

    211

    100%
  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the financial saving to the NHS of the policy to no longer routinely fund second stem cell transplants for blood cancer patients who have relapsed.

    David Mowat

    Decisions are taken by NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group that leads on the annual prioritisation process. The prioritisation process includes an impact assessment that compared the cost of a second transplant to alternative treatment pathways for relapsed disease.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to ensure that the rights of part-time and agency workers will be (a) protected in the long-term and (b) retained in primary legislation.

    Margot James

    As a Government, we have been clear that we will do nothing to undermine workers’ rights. All law in this area at the time of exit will be brought under UK law as part of the Great Repeal Bill, ensuring continuity.

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to ensure that staff dealing with universal credit are on the same rates of pay once staff from HM Revenue and Customs are transferred to his Department.

    Priti Patel

    DWP currently operates a pay system which, in common with other civil service departments including HMRC, uses pay ranges based on grade and location. Factors such as business needs and benchmarking of similar public and private sector organisations are considered as part of each DWP annual pay review

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will discuss with the Chief Executive of HSBC that bank’s application of money laundering rules to hon. Members of both Houses of Parliament and their immediate and extended families; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Under the UK’s Money Laundering Regulations 2007, the meaning of a politically exposed person does not include an individual who is or has been entrusted with a prominent public function by the UK. The Fourth Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, makes no distinction between the prominent functions by the UK and third countries. However, the Government’s view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. We will be setting out this view in our consultation which will be published shortly.

    This change should not prevent any Member of this House, or any other individual in this category, from gaining or maintaining a UK bank account. I regularly raise these issues with banks and the regulator and we encourage the banks to implement these measures domestically in the most risk-based manner possible.

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if it will make it his policy to require bus operators to install audio-visual announcements of bus stops on all public buses.

    Andrew Jones

    Accessible on-board information helps a wide range of passengers, including those who are visually impaired, to feel comfortable and confident when taking the bus.

    Traditionally however, systems providing automatic next stop announcements have proven expensive to fit and maintain, meaning that mandating their use would place a disproportionate financial burden on the bus industry.

    My Department has supported initiatives to develop innovative and low-cost approaches to providing such information, as well as providing Better Bus Area funding for local authority schemes to equip vehicles with audio/visual equipment.

    Many operators are already recognising the benefits of on-board information for all their customers, and I would encourage others to do the same.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 31078, on immigration officers, whether (a) her Department, (b) the Interception of Communications Commissioner and (c) any other body has reviewed the use of the power of immigration officers to carry out property interference since 2013.

    James Brokenshire

    The Office of Surveillance Commissioners (OSC) provides independent oversight of the use of property interference powers by law enforcement, including immigration officers. The Police Act 1997 was amended in 2013 to enable immigration officers to carry out property interference. The OSC regularly inspects law enforcement use of the power and scrutinises all individual property interference authorisations. A statutory code of practice for covert surveillance and property interference which can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384975/Covert_Surveillance_Property_Interrefernce_web__2_.pdf

    applies to all agencies with property interference powers.

    The Investigatory Powers Bill will provide enhanced safeguards for the use of equipment interference, including the requirement that equipment interference warrants are subject to the double-lock authorisation safeguard. The Bill will also create a new and more powerful Investigatory Powers Commissioner who will keep the use of this important power under close and regular review. A new Equipment Interference Code of Practice was published in draft alongside the Investigatory Powers Bill. This Code will provide further guidance on the use of equipment interference powers to all relevant agencies.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of 23 February 2016, Official Report, column 82WH, on the Motability car scheme, whether the ability to walk 20 metres is one of the assessment criteria for enhanced mobility.

    Justin Tomlinson

    As with all the activities, a claimant should be assessed as satisfying a descriptor only if the reliability criteria have been fully considered. The reliability criteria are a key protection for claimants being assessed for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and are a new introduction that did not apply under Disability Living Allowance (DLA). Claimants who cannot walk 20 metres reliably are guaranteed to receive the enhanced rate mobility component.

    PIP has also introduced a new criteria around the ability to plan and follow a journey, which is designed to recognise the mobility challenges of non-physical conditions and ensure these claimants also have access to the highest level of support where appropriate.

    Further information on how the reliability criteria should be applied can be found in the PIP Assessment Guide for Health Professionals carrying out assessments.

    This guidance can be accessed on the gov.uk website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449043/pip-assessment-guide.pdf

    “

  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the number of people whose asylum application has been transferred for consideration by the Government under the Dublin III Regulation as part of quarterly immigration statistics.

    James Brokenshire

    The information published in the quarterly Immigration Statistics is kept under review, taking into account the needs of users, burdens on suppliers and producers, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. There are currently no plans to publish data relating to asylum applications transferred under Dublin III Regulation.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of dehydration on the (a) safety and (b) health of elderly people living in care homes; and if he will make a statement.

    David Mowat

    In 2014 the Government updated the requirements of regulation with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide greater clarity about how the nutritional and hydration needs should be met. The new requirements are set out in Regulation 14 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, which came into force on 1 April 2015. The CQC can prosecute for a breach of this regulation if a failure to meet the regulation results in avoidable harm to a person using the service, or a person using the service is exposed to significant risk of harm.