Tag: 2016

  • Lord Porter of Spalding – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Porter of Spalding – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Porter of Spalding on 2016-09-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of extending the council tax referendum provisions introduced by the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 to include levying bodies such as Internal Drainage Boards on (1) the ability of local authorities to raise revenue through council tax or the delivery of their statutory functions, and (2) the ability of Internal Drainage Boards to deliver flood defence and land drainage activities.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The referendum threshold is not a cap – councils can set any council tax increase they like provided they obtain the consent of their local electorate in a referendum. Including levying bodies in the council tax referendum legislation increases the transparency and accountability of public bodies for their tax-raising and spending decisions. Local authorities and their levying bodies had shown that they can work together to cut costs and improve services, and this measure placed all local authorities on a common footing when setting council tax.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Somalia.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government set out an assessment of the human rights situation in Somalia in the UK statement to the UN’s Human Rights Council’s 33rd Session on 28 September 2016. In summary, Somalia has committed to upholding human rights, but implementation has been slow. Some progress has been made but overall the human rights situation in Somalia remains severe

    We will urge the Federal Government of Somalia to uphold human rights and respect its international obligations. Key human rights legislation should be implemented swiftly and effectively.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of Greater Manchester City Deal procurement contracts have been given to SMEs in the Greater Manchester area.

    James Wharton

    The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect this data on contracts awarded by local authorities.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of social enterprises in delivering high quality healthcare services.

    Ben Gummer

    It is a statutory obligation that decisions on healthcare provision should be taken independently by local commissioners. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) must decide how to use their resources in a way which is evidence based, clinically-led and cost-effective in order to provide high-quality healthcare for people in their area. CCGs must also balance both short-term need and long-term transformation in line with the NHS Five Year Forward View’s (5YFV) objectives.

    Where a social enterprise provides a regulated activity, under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, it will have to register with the CQC and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall. Following inspection of individual social enterprise providers, the CQC will publish a report on its website.

    The Government firmly believes that providers from all sectors, including social enterprises, play an important role in providing high quality, safe and efficient care to patients, as well as helping to realise the ambitions set out in the NHS 5YFV. That is why, working in partnership with Public Health England, NHS England and representatives from the voluntary sector, the Department is in the final stages of a review looking at partnerships and investment in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. The final report of the review is expected to be published in the spring.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for consent determined by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have required environmental impact assessment since 2010.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Since 2010, when the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has determined applications for consent, three Oil Transfer Licence applications have required environmental impact assessments.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether spending on the upkeep of the defence estate counts towards the Government’s pledge to spend at least two per cent of GDP on defence, as defined by NATO.

    Mark Lancaster

    In accordance with NATO guidelines on Defence expenditure, spending on the upkeep of the defence estate to support our Armed Forces does count towards the Government’s pledge to spend at least two per cent of GDP on defence.

  • 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 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of a possible relationship between the activities of Boko Haram and those of armed Fulani herders in Nigeria.

    James Duddridge

    We are concerned by reports of recurrent clashes involving pastoralists and local farmers over land, farming rights, grazing routes and access to water in Nigeria, in particular in the centre of the country. We continue to call on all parties to find a peaceful solution to the underlying causes of these incidents.

    Boko Haram is known to cooperate with criminal gangs and use illicit networks to facilitate the movement of weapons and persons in the region. However, we have no evidence that Boko Haram is involved in these violent clashes.

    Together with international partners, we will continue supporting Nigeria, and its neighbours to tackle threats to regional stability.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 5 November 2015 (HL2969), whether the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment, as verified by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation in December 2014, posed a terrorist threat to British nationals in the United States and the international community.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The destructive cyber attack directed against Sony Pictures Entertainment in November 2015 was condemned at the time by the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond). The ability of both state and non-state actors to conduct sophisticated cyber attacks is something the UK takes seriously and we have committed to investing £1.9 billion in cyber security over the next 5 years. The Government does not hold information on British nationals involved in the Sony incident.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of men now aged between 58 and 62 inclusive who are aware that they will not receive their state pension when they reach their 65th birthday.

    Lord Freud

    No estimate is held on the number of men that are currently aware of the increases to State Pension age. However, all men affected by the State Pension age increase in the Pensions Act 2011 were written to between January 2012 and November 2013 using the addresses held by HMRC at the time.

    The Department does not hold a specific estimate on the number of women that are aware of their state pension age. We wrote to all women affected by the Pensions Act 2011 in the age range specified between January 2012 and November 2013 using the addresses held by HMRC at the time.

    In 2004, a DWP survey found that 73 per cent of people aged 45 to 54 (so aged 57 to 66 in 2016) were aware of the future increase in Women’s State Pension age. In 2006, 86 per cent of women aged 55-64 (so aged 65 to 74 in 2016) and 90 per cent aged 45-54 (so aged 55 to 64 in 2016) were aware that the State Pension age will increase in future. In 2012, a similar survey found that only 6% of respondents thought their State Pension Age was 60.

  • The Lord Bishop of Ely – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The Lord Bishop of Ely – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Ely on 2016-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that schools, further education colleges and universities are able to provide specialist careers advice and support for disabled young people.

    Lord Nash

    Good careers education and guidance should give all young people, including those with disabilities, access to the information they need to make informed decisions. That is why we are investing £90 million over this Parliament to improve careers provision for young people.

    Careers advice for pupils with special educational needs and disability (SEND) should be based on high aspirations and a personalised approach. Schools and colleges have a legal duty to secure independent careers guidance. This duty applies to all young people up to and including the age of 18 in schools and colleges, and 19- to 25-year-olds in colleges with an Education Health and Care Plan. The 0-25 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice makes it clear that all children and young people with SEND should be prepared for adulthood, and that this preparation should start early.

    Local authorities retain their legal responsibility, under section 68 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, to make available support that it considers appropriate to encourage, enable and assist the participation of young people in education or training. For individuals with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, this applies up to the age of 25. Schools and colleges should make use of the local offer published by the local authority that must set out details of SEND provisions in their area – including the full range of post-16 education and training options, and support in preparing for adulthood.

    In his latest guidance, the Director of Fair Access encourages higher education institutions, through their access agreements, to consider what more they can do to support students with disabilities. This includes considering students’ differing needs to access higher education, succeed in their studies and progress towards appropriate postgraduate study and employment. Higher education institutions are also subject to requirements in the Equality Act 2010. They have clear duties and responsibilities to ensure that disabled students do not face discrimination or less favourable treatment when applying to, and studying in, higher education.

    The National Careers Service provides free, up-to-date, impartial information, advice and guidance on careers, skills and the labour market in England for everyone, including those with disabilities.

    We publish destination measures that show the percentage of young people continuing their education in schools, further education colleges, sixth form colleges or higher education institutions. These measures also include apprenticeships and show the percentage who went into employment or training, and those who were not in education, employment or training. The data is also broken down by student characteristics, including the destinations of children with special educational needs leaving key stage 4. This will provide more transparent information on how each school is helping children with disabilities to make the transition into post-16 education, training or employment.