Tag: 2016

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of claimants of personal independence payments at the time of the introduction of the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments system have been subsequently taken off those payments; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of current claimants of that payment who will be taken off over the next six months.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Centre for Health and Disability Assessments delivers Work Capability Assessments for Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit claimants. They do not carry out assessments of Personal Independence Payment claimants which are delivered by Atos Healthcare and Capita.

  • Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures NHS England uses to assess GP service provision to an area.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England is statutorily accountable for ensuring that patients have access to a general practitioner (GP) practice. In the event of a practice closure, NHS England will assess the need for a replacement provider before dispersing a list when a GP surgery closes. A decision to disperse a list will be made on the basis that there is capacity in neighbouring practices to absorb the additional patient numbers.

    To assess GP service provision in an area, NHS England works with the Care Quality Commission and local clinical commissioning groups. The Primary Care Outcomes Framework is published nationally and is derived from data submitted by individual practices on service levels and outcomes alongside national patient survey data on patient satisfaction. In terms of overall strategy, the provision of primary care will be part of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) which is published in each local authority area and reported through the local Health & Well-being Board. The JSNA will identify any gaps and risks in the provision of primary care to the local population which, in turn, will then inform commissioning strategies for that area.

    There is no national guidance on the ratio of patients to doctors in GP practices. In recent years, the development of the wider primary care teams (with nurses, healthcare assistants, pharmacists and therapists) means that a focus on the ratio of patients to doctors has less meaning than in previous years. The national workforce survey allows NHS England to benchmark individual practices in terms of the staffing to patient ratio.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of current penalties to deter stone theft.

    Karen Bradley

    Stone theft has a detrimental effect on towns and communities across England and Wales. The impact of these crimes includes both the economic cost to the victim, but there are also wider costs to the community, for example where schools, churches or heritage items are targeted by criminals.

    We have received no recent representations from local authorities on this issue, nor have we had recent discussions with the police on stone theft specifically. However, the police are working with Historic England, the Crown Prosecution Service and others to share intelligence and shape good practice in tackling and preventing heritage crime, such as stone theft.

    We would encourage all victims of stone theft, whether individuals or organisations, to report instances of these crimes to their local police, so that the crimes can be properly recorded and investigated. The local response is a matter for individual chief officers of police and Police and Crime Commissioners, taking into account the specific local issues and demands that they face.

    We are satisfied that the existing legislation provides the police and courts with sufficient powers to respond to stone theft.

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Army Reserve personnel, excluding members of University Officer Training Corps, have served for a period of over one year.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The total number of Army Reserve personnel that have served at least one year, excluding members of University Officer Training Corps, is currently 22,480.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many gambling licenses were issued for premises in (a) Calderdale and (b) West Yorkshire in each year between 2005 and 2016.

    David Evennett

    The requested information is not held centrally. Local authorities are responsible for the issuing of gambling premises licences in accordance with the Licensing Objectives and their own Statement of Licensing Policy. Local Authority license registers listing the number of licences in each borough are available to access by the public. More information from Calderdale Council can be found at http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/business/licences/gambling-act/index.html

  • Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will extend the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to include primary producers’ relationships with their suppliers.

    Margot James

    We will shortly be commencing a review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator and as part of that we will take account of the recent calls for its remit to be extended.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the company annual turnover threshold is for government intervention to block any sale or transfer of the ownership of critical infrastructure; on what occasions that threshold has been crossed; and if he will make a statement.

    Margot James

    My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is able to intervene on public interest grounds in transactions which are subject to merger control either within the UK or at the EU level. The turnover thresholds for such public interest interventions depend upon which of the two relevant competition bodies has jurisdiction.

    The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has jurisdiction to review mergers and takeovers when:

    – the annual UK turnover of the target business exceeds £70 million, or

    – the merger creates a 25%, or greater, share in a market in the UK.

    The European Commission has jurisdiction to review mergers and takeovers when:

    – the combined aggregate worldwide turnover (in the preceding financial year) of all the undertakings concerned exceeds EUR5,000 million; and

    – the aggregate EU-wide turnover of each of at least two of the undertakings concerned exceeds EUR 250 million; or

    – the aggregate worldwide turnover of all the undertakings concerned is more than EUR 2,500 million; and

    – the aggregate turnover of all the undertakings in each of at least three member states is more than EUR 100 million;

    – in each of the same three member states, the aggregate turnover of each of at least two of the undertakings involved is more than EUR 25 million; and

    – the aggregate EU-wide turnover of each of at least two of the undertakings involved is more than EUR 100 million.

    Unless each of the undertakings concerned achieves more than two-thirds of its aggregate EU-wide turnover within a single Member State (then the Commission does not have jurisdiction).

    If none of these jurisdictional thresholds is met, the Secretary of State can still intervene in defence industry mergers, if at least one of the enterprises concerned is a relevant government contractor; or where the merger involves a supplier or suppliers of at least 25% of any description of newspapers or broadcasting in the UK.

    In all cases, public interest interventions can only be made on the grounds of national security, financial stability (or prudential rules in an EU case) or media plurality.

    The number of times the CMA’s jurisdiction thresholds are met is not recorded. The European Commission does not record merger notifications by country of transaction.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the level of security of supply of rare earth metals required by industry.

    Anna Soubry

    There has been no recent assessment for the UK. However, the EU critical raw material list is reviewed every 3 years and the most recent review of that list, which currently includes rare earth elements, took place in May 2014. The UK uses this list to help in its assessment of which materials are of particular significance to UK manufacturing.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to protect the public from fraudulent organisations presenting themselves as Disclosure and Barring Service umbrella body companies seeking personal data.

    Karen Bradley

    Registered/Umbrella Bodies are governed by a Code of Practice, set out in Part V of the Police Act 1997, which includes the handling of personal data. Failure to comply with the Code of Practice may result in the suspension or cancellation of the umbrella body’s registration. In addition the Disclosure and Barring Service undertakes robust checks to ensure that its authorised Registered/Umbrella Bodies have appropriate safeguards in place to protect the personal data of people they are representing.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department plans to reinstate the bilateral aid programme with Burundi.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    There are no plans for DFID to re-open the office in Burundi. DFID’s bilateral programme in Burundi closed in 2012 following the 2010 Bilateral Aid Review. We have provided support to Burundi through Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA), an independent agency promoting trade and regional economic integration, given that this is central to Burundi’s growth and prosperity. DFID has provided £10 million for TMEA work in Burundi since 2012.

    DFID will continue to monitor the situation closely and work with counterparts across Whitehall, the international financial institutions (IFIs) and humanitarian partners in Burundi. DFID is working with the IFIs to identify options to support the provision of basic services, where there is none. DFID has prepared a response plan in the event of significant unmet humanitarian needs emerging.

    DFID has also provided technical support, in the form of secondment of experts, to support UN agencies working in Burundi. This includes support to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) to strengthen humanitarian coordination in Burundi.