Tag: 2016

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of which sectors of the British economy are most at risk from foreign export dumping; and what steps he is taking to protect those sectors from that activity.

    Anna Soubry

    Any industry or business can potentially be affected by dumping. Companies in all goods sectors can therefore seek protection from dumping or subsidy through the EU’s anti-dumping and anti-subsidy Regulations by providing evidence direct, or through a trade association, to the European Commission.

    Anti-dumping and anti-subsidy actions by the European Commission have been taken against a wide range of imported products. The attached table shows the sectoral pattern of investigations conducted by the European Commission during the period 2011-2016.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many permanent EU officials were passed through the Civil/Diplomatic Service European Fast Stream programme in each year since 2010.

    Mr David Lidington

    The European Fast Stream was re-established in 2010 with the dual aim of increasing UK representation in the EU institutions, as well as building EU capability in Whitehall. As part of the scheme, each European Fast Streamer spends five months or longer in an EU institution as a national expert. Since 2010 there have been four successful candidates in the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) competitions from the European Fast Stream. Of these successful candidates, one took up a post in 2014 and another is starting in summer 2016.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-07-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people are employed by NHS England as (1) audiologists, (2) cardiac physiologists, (3) gastrointestinal physiologists, (4) neurophysiologists, (5) respiratory physiologists, and (6) sleep physiologists.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England (legally known as the NHS Commissioning Board) does not employ any individuals with the job titles specified.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much each NHS trust has recuperated by recharging insurance companies for the costs associated with the treatment of customers who are involved in road traffic accidents in each of the last five years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The information is not held in the format requested. Whilst the Department does hold National Health Service trust level data on the total costs recovered through the NHS Injury Cost Recovery scheme, we cannot currently extract trust level data specifically related to road traffic accidents without incurring disproportionate cost.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the recommendations for increasing the training and employment of UK seafarers in the Maritime Futures report by Professor Helen Sampson of Cardiff University, published in January 2015.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    A number of recommendations made within the Maritime Futures report were put forward in the call for evidence for the Department’s Maritime Growth Study and the Department has taken forward a number of those.

    The Department provides support for the training of officers and ratings through the £15m Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme. A company or group which elects for the Tonnage Tax is required, each year, to recruit one new officer trainee for every fifteen officer posts in its fleet. Following a proposal from the UK Chamber of Shipping, RMT and Nautilus to allow companies to recruit and train three able seafarer ratings in place of one trainee officer, a pilot to allow ratings to be counted against the training commitment started on 1st October 2015.

    Apprenticeships are at the heart of the Government’s drive to give people of all ages the skills employers need to grow and compete. Maritime is a key part of this with the Maritime Trailblazer which is employer led and has one approved standard for deck ratings and a further three in development for maritime mechanic, maritime caterer and onboard services.

    The UK government’s position on island cabotage remains unchanged but this is kept under constant review. At present those providing such services remain significant employers of UK seafarers.

    UK seafarers working for UK companies on a UK flagged vessel are not entitled to an exemption to national insurance payments. They may, however, benefit from the Seafarers Earning Reductions tax relief for income tax.

    An ‘in personum’ approach to the application of national minimum wage is preferred as it ensures that those who are entitled to it will benefit. International law prevents the UK from interfering in the ‘internal market’ of a vessel, this includes wages, and is applicable to those vessels visiting or operating out of UK ports. HMRC is responsible for NMW enforcement and the government takes non-compliance of the legislation very seriously.

    The Carter Report was commissioned under a previous administration and was already considered at the time of the drafting of the Equality Act 2011 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) 2012 regulations.

    The Maritime Growth Study, chaired by Lord Mountevans, was published on 7 September 2015 and contained a number of recommendations for government and industry on skills, including to help maintain the UK’s future supply of seafarers. The Government formally respond to the Study in December 2015 accepting all the recommendations.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the application of the rule of law in the Maldives.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 3 February 2016 (PQ 24568) regarding the UK Government’s concern about the erosion of judicial independence in the Maldives.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the contribution of nurseries to improving literacy rates.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The early years are a critical stage for a child’s development. Nurseries have an important role in helping to ensure that all children start school with the knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life.

    All three- and four-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours a week of quality early education, free of charge, to prepare them for school and improve their life chances. This is extremely successful with 94% of three-year-olds and 99% of four-year-olds taking up the current free entitlement. From September 2017, we are introducing 15 hours of free childcare a week for the working parents of three- and four-year olds, on top of the existing early education entitlement.

    The latest Early Years Foundation Stage Profile data reveal that an increasing proportion of children are achieving a good level of development at age five: 66% in 2015, compared to 52% in 2013.

    In the specific area of literacy, 76% of children achieved at least the expected level in reading and 71% did so in writing in the academic year 2014/15.

    Parents also have an essential role to play in their child’s development. In September 2015, we re-launched our popular guide for parents ‘What to expect, when?’ to include a strengthened focus on language, communication and literacy.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-04-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) staff and (b) other costs to his Department were for the production of chart 1.5 on page 21 of the 2016 Budget Book.

    Harriett Baldwin

    A number of Treasury officials were involved in preparing the Chancellor’s Budget Report. The government does not calculate the costs of producing individual charts at fiscal events.

  • Nusrat Ghani – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nusrat Ghani – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36176, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the increase in the count of finished admission episodes with a primary or secondary diagnosis of endometriosis, between 2010-11 and 2014-15.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department has not conducted a formal assessment of the reasons for the increase in hospital admissions with a primary or secondary diagnosis of endometriosis, between 2010-11 and 2014-15. However, it has asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to develop a guideline on the diagnosis and management of endometriosis. This will include: use of staging systems to guide treatment decisions; timing of interventions; and pharmacological and surgical treatments. A consultation on the draft guidelines is scheduled to run from 27 February 2017 until the 10 April 2017, with an expected publication date of September 2017.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many unaccompanied child refugees have so far been officially identified in Europe, aside from the UK, and how many of those have reached the UK.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government is firmly committed to bringing vulnerable unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, as underpinned by the Immigration Act 2016. Over 20 children who meet the criteria in the Immigration Act have been accepted for transfer from Europe since Royal Assent, the majority of whom have already arrived in the UK.

    We are in active discussions with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNICEF and Non-Governmental Organisations in addition to the Italian, Greek and French governments to strengthen and speed up mechanisms to identify, assess and transfer children who meet the criteria to the UK where this in their best interests.

    As is required by the Immigration Act 2016, we are consulting with local authorities to confirm available capacity and to ensure appropriate support systems are in place.

    We cannot put a fixed number on arrivals at this point. The legislation is clear that consultation with local authorities is needed before any figure is set. It is vital that their capacity and ability to help is taken into account. We must also ensure that we are able to continue to fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK.