Tag: 2016

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have initiated any discussions in the past decade on global migration issues.

    Lord Bates

    The Government undertakes extensive engagement on global migration issues with international partners through multilateral and bilateral discussions. The frequency of engagement has increased since the migration crisis in summer 2015 and focuses on the root causes of the crisis and its consequences. UK participation in the Valletta Summit and the Khartoum Process are key parts of this engagement.

    In order to tackle the unprecedented levels of illegal migration to the EU, we are prioritising interventions upstream in countries of origin and transit to reduce the need for migrants to leave their country of origin or move on from a safe third country. Action is being taking through regional initiatives, including Regional Development and Protection Programmes and overseas aid, including £1.12 billion of support to Syria. We are supporting work to strengthen the EU’s external border and joint action on human trafficking to crack down on those who profit from this vile trade. The Government recently announced that it will work with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to lead a new initiative to resettle unaccompanied children from conflict regions. We have asked the UNHCR to make an assessment of the numbers and needs of unaccompanied children in conflict regions and advise on when it is in the best interests of the child to be resettled in the UK and how that process should be managed. This new initiative builds on the Government’s existing commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees during this Parliament. More than 1,000 vulnerable Syrians refugees – around half of them children – have already been resettled through the scheme.

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations she has received on alleged breaches of international environmental law by UK firm Vedanta Resources in Zambia.

    Justine Greening

    Vedenta Resources has no formal relationship with our DFID Zambia office.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2016 on Question 30222, when he expects that data on secondary breast cancer will be complete.

    Jane Ellison

    Data on breast cancer recurrence has been mandated in the Cancer Services and Outcomes Dataset (COSD) for diagnoses from 1 January 2013. The National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) in Public Health England (PHE) estimates about one-quarter of recurrences are currently submitted. NCRAS will support trusts to improve their submission of data by producing reports on the number of recurrences submitted by each National Health Service trust. These will enable the identification of best practise to be shared, and enable us to engage with trusts that are not submitting data.

    Data on all cancer recurrence has been mandated in COSD since 31 July 2015.

    In addition further work is being scoped by NHS England and PHE based on the recommendation in the recent Independent Cancer Taskforce report to establish robust surveillance systems to collect relapse and recurrence data on all cancers.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who will chair the Anti-Corruption Summit on 12 May 2016.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Prime Minister.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the replacement rate of housing association properties sold through right-to-buy in each year since the launch of that policy; and if he will make a statement.

    Brandon Lewis

    Under the voluntary agreement with the National Housing Federation and housing associations, every home sold to tenants will result in an additional home being provided. This will lead to an increase in overall housing supply.

    The voluntary agreement states that housing associations and the Government share a mutual objective to ensure that replacement homes are delivered as quickly as possible. Whilst aiming for replacement within two years, the default position is that housing associations will have flexibility to replace homes within a three year period.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on finalising the Government’s application to the EU Solidarity Fund for flood relief funding after the storms of the 2015-16 winter.

    Andrew Percy

    The Government has been working with a wide range of partners, including the devolved administrations, local authorities and government departments. We have made considerable progress towards securing a full and reliable estimate of the cost of flood damage to the UK and will update Parliament in due course.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the effect of the Troubled Families programme on rates of school exclusions in (a) primary and (b) secondary education in (i) England and (ii) the Greater Manchester authority area in each year from 2012 to 2015.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The published independent evaluation of the first programme presents data from local monitoring that shows that 10% of families had at least one child permanently excluded on entry to the first Troubled Families Programme (2012-15) and 28% had at least one child with a temporary exclusion. Where data were available for families at exit, 65% of families saw a reduction in permanent exclusion and 70% of families saw a reduction in temporary exclusions.

    Due to time-lags in national datasets, the first programme’s independent evaluation was not able to track school exclusion outcomes in national datasets within its timeframe.

    The evaluation of the new Troubled Families Programme (2015-20) will measure changes in school exclusions (both temporary and permanent) using national data held by the Department for Education at both a national and local authority level.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to improve access to finance for SMEs.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government is taking steps to improve financing opportunities for smaller businesses through the British Business Bank. The Bank is making business finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively and dynamically and is already supporting £2.4 billion of finance to over 40,000 smaller businesses, and participating in a further £3.3 billion of finance to mid-cap businesses. It aims to facilitate up to £10 billion of finance by 2019. In addition, measures in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 will require banks to refer customers who have been declined for a loan to alternative finance providers via designated platforms. This is expected to provide a significant boost to diversity and competition in business lending and is due to be implemented later this year.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many Post Office Crown branches have closed or merged since the end of the last formal Crown Transformation Programme.

    George Freeman

    Provision of its Crown branches is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited.

    I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, Uneven Growth: Tackling City Decline, published in February 2016, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of that report in Dundee.

    David Mundell

    I refer the hon Gentleman to my answer of 4 March 2016.