Tag: 2016

Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to help revive the UK’s oil industry.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

At the Budget, my rt. hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a radical £1bn package to support the North Sea Oil and Gas industry, including reductions to the headline rates of tax and targeted measures to encourage investment in exploration, infrastructure and late-life assets.

This package will ensure the UK has one of the most competitive tax regimes for oil and gas in the world, safeguarding jobs and investment.

The Budget measures build on the action plan the Prime Minister set out in January to help build a bridge to the future for the industry, which included:
- A £20m package of new investment in exploration, innovation and skills;
- A new Inter-Ministerial Group on Oil and Gas to coordinate the UK’s response to the oil price crash and focus on vital issues such as exports, skills and investment, and;
- Funding for the £250m City Deal Package for Aberdeen, which includes a new energy innovation centre to support exploiting remaining reserves.
In addition, we have established the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) and it is already helping industry to drive down costs and improve efficiencies. Subject to the will of parliament, the OGA will transition to a fully empowered, strong, independent regulator in summer 2016.
01/01/2023
Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other EU countries and the EU Commission on the demolition of EU-funded structures by Israeli authorities in Jabal al Baba on 16 May 2016; and what steps he plans to take (a) independently and (b) with those counterparts to ensure that any further such planned demolitions are halted.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK and the EU continue to raise concerns about demolitions with the Government of Israel. These demolitions cause significant human suffering, undermine chances of progress towards a two-state solution, and are contrary to international humanitarian law in all but the most exceptional cases. Within the EU, we are considering how to respond to demolitions, including the demolition and confiscation of EU-funded structures.

01/01/2023
Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Ministerial colleagues and (b) US counterparts on cooperation and assistance on counter-drone technology.

Mr Philip Dunne

I have regular discussions with both Ministerial Colleagues and US counterparts on a range of issues, including counter-drone technologies.

01/01/2023
Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the impact of falling long-term gilt yields on the deficits of UK defined benefit pension schemes.

Lord Freud

Recent movement in gilt yields could have a material impact on the funding position of defined benefit pension schemes in the short term.

However, the precise effect on deficits will depend on a number of factors including how assets are allocated, the approach to hedging and the demographics of the scheme. We continue to monitor the position.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children have registered as transgender in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire

Children born in England or Wales are registered in the birth register as being either male or female. Transgender is not a term used to describe the sex of a child at birth registration.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 enables transgender people aged 18 or over to apply to the Gender Recognition Panel to obtain a gender recognition certificate – legal recognition of their acquired gender. That certificate is used to create an entry in the Gender Recognition Register, maintained by the Registrar General, from which a new birth certificate can be issued. There are, therefore, no records of children (under the age of 18) in this register.

Gender Recognition Registers are also held in respect of births in Northern Ireland and Scotland by the relevant Registrars General.

01/01/2023
Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the number of jobs that will be created by the construction phase of (a) the new nuclear build at Moorside and (b) Solway Firth Tidal Lagoon project in West Cumbria.

Andrea Leadsom

Nugen is proposing to build three AP1000 reactors at Moorside in Cumbria. Nugen have indicated that Moorside would bring at least £10 billion of investment into the UK with estimated peak on-site employment of up to 6,000 during construction.

Regarding the Solway Firth Tidal Lagoon, the proposed project is in the early stages of development. It is too early to say how many jobs could be created.

01/01/2023
Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many designated health places of safety for under-18s there are in each clinical commissioning group.

Alistair Burt

The Department does not hold information on how many designated health places of safety for under-18s there are in each clinical commissioning group.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has produced a map of the location of designated health-based places of safety in England for people detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act. The CQC has also published a table that breaks this information down by local authority. This information can be found at the following CQC website:

http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/map-health-based-places-safety-0#howto

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01/01/2023

Baroness Wilcox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Wilcox on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much someone earning (1) £15,000, and (2) £150,000, a year would have paid in direct taxation, including income tax and national insurance, in (a) 2009–10 and (b) 2015–16.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Someone earning £15,000 would have had a total tax liability from Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions of £2,726 in 2009-10 and £1,713 in 2015-16.

Someone earning £150,000 would have had a total tax liability from Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions of £55,189 in 2009-10 and £59,914 in 2015-16.

This is summarised in the following tables, which break down the liability by Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs):

1) £15,000	2009-10	2015-16	difference
Income Tax	£1,705	£880	-£825
Employee NICs	£1,021	£833	-£189
Total tax	£2,726	£1,713	-£1,014
Net income	£12,274	£13,287	£1,014
2) £150,000	2009-10	2015-16	difference
Income Tax	£49,930	£53,643	£3,713
Employee NICs	£5,259	£6,271	£1,012
Total tax	£55,189	£59,914	£4,725
Net income	£94,811	£90,086	-£4,725

This assumes that the individual was born after 5 April 1948 (and therefore not receiving the Age-related Personal Allowance), is paying employee NICs (not contracted out), and has a gross income from pay only. The Income tax calculations assume no other allowances or deductions. The NICs is calculated on an annual basis which assumes a smooth distribution of the income across the year.

01/01/2023

Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to engage with international partners to tackle the persecution of secularists or of people with no faith in Bangladesh.

Mr Hugo Swire

As I said to the House on 24 May, there is more we can do to help the Government of Bangladesh to tackle the challenges they face. I raised my concerns about the situation there most recently with the Bangladesh High Commissioner on 24 May.

Our High Commission in Dhaka regularly meets international partners to discuss the treatment of secular activists and minority groups in Bangladesh. Most recently, on 22 May, our High Commissioner met Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali, with other EU Ambassadors, to discuss signs that intolerance across Bangladesh is increasing

In September 2015, officials from the British High Commission in Dhaka met Heiner Bielefeldt, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, during his visit to Bangladesh. We urge the Government of Bangladesh to implement the recommendations in his report, which includes a call for the government to “protect the vibrant civil society and pluralistic society in Bangladesh”.

01/01/2023
Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-07-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in reducing GP waiting times.

Alistair Burt

There is no national standard for waiting to see a general practitioner (GP) and data on waiting times is not collected centrally. To implement the Government’s commitment to transform GP access however, £175 million has been invested in the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund to test improved and innovative access to GP services. Across the two waves of the Access Fund, there are 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices and 18 million patients – a third of the population – have benefited from improved access and transformational change at local level. This includes more appointments being made available, especially at times more convenient for patients, such as weekday evenings and weekends. It also includes different approaches like telephone consultations and better use of the wider primary care workforce (such as Advanced Nurse Practitioners, pharmacists, the voluntary sector, physiotherapists and paramedics) to deliver improved access to patients. These approaches have helped release local GP capacity and more appropriately matched the needs of patients with the most appropriate professional to care for them. In addition to Access Fund sites, other clinical commissioning groups may offer local initiatives for improving access to GPs.

01/01/2023