Tag: 2016

  • Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has made to the Danish government on the death of Stephen O’Malley since the adjournment debate of 25 November 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    A transcript of the debate was passed to the Danish authorities, via the Danish Deputy Chief Prosecutor, on 27 November 2015.

    The Danish authorities have since confirmed that their State Attorney is reviewing the case, and is expected to make a decision on whether to re-open the case or agree that the original findings were correct, in January 2016.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications of the cancellation of presidential elections in Haiti.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The postponement of the second round of the Presidential elections in Haiti is regrettable and given the uncertainty about what happens once President Martelly’s mandate comes to an end on 7th February. The international community is pressing the Haitian authorities to set a date for the postponed second round of the Presidential elections as soon as possible. Our Embassy in Port-au-Prince continues to monitor the situation closely.

    We reiterate our support for the EU Election Observer Mission’s view that the first round of the Presidential elections was credible and that a second round with the top two candidates should have taken place. It is therefore important that all sides work together to agree a date for the second round as soon as possible.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 25590, whether his Department has received a request from the Kurdistan Regional Government for replacement ammunition rounds for British-gifted heavy machine guns; and if he will make a statement.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Kurdish Regional Government has made a number of recent requests to Her Majesty’s Government for further assistance, including for ammunition. These requests are currently under consideration and as set out in my Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 25590. Should a decision be taken that we can provide further assistance, this would be notified to Parliament in the normal way.

  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will permit zero rating for church repairs following the decision of the EU Council to allow member states to set a VAT rate of zero.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Under consecutive governments renovations and repairs have been subject to the standard rate of VAT.

    The government provides grant aid to support certain church repairs and maintenance projects through the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme which makes £42 million of government support available per year and the Listed Places of Worship roof repair fund worth £55 million in total. More details of these are available online.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding (a) her Department and (b) the Environment Agency provided for the Climate Ready Support Service in 2015-16; and what assessment her Department has made of the performance of that Service in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

    Rory Stewart

    Funding provided for the Climate Ready Support Service in 2015-16 was around £1 million. The Climate Ready Support Service Programme Board had regular overview of the performance of the Service. The majority of National Adaptation Programme actions to which the Service was contributing have now been completed.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 29364, what the grounds are for the Public Health England Office for Data Release denying requests made to it for information collected via the Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy dataset; what the timescale is for that office to respond to any requests made; and whether there will be a public announcement setting out the date when requests for data may be made to that office.

    George Freeman

    Public Health England (PHE) is making data collected as part of the Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy dataset available through its Office for Data Release (ODR) function. The data have been available since April 2016 and the ODR is currently processing requests. The priority of PHE, and the ODR, is to maintain patient confidentiality and therefore data will only be released to external parties in a format that does not compromise patient confidentiality either directly or by inference.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to address the downgrading of the UK’s rating for energy security in the World Energy Council’s 2015 Energy Trilemma Index, published in November 2015.

    Jesse Norman

    The Government takes energy security very seriously, and our energy security has not been downgraded. According to the World Energy Council’s Energy Trilemma index, the UK scored an ‘A’ for the energy security element and increased its country ranking for energy security from 9th in 2014 to 4th in 2015 after there was a downgrade on a point of Energy Equity.

  • Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2016-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he plans to have with Ministers of the Scottish Government on the role of that Government in negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) has committed the Government to full engagement with the Devolved Administrations, to achieve the best possible deal for all parts of the United Kingdom, as we leave the EU.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which the level of student debt affects the outcome of students’ applications for a mortgage.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Mortgage Market Review, introduced in April 2014, requires mortgage lenders to assess individuals’ ability to repay their loans. The Council for Mortgage Lenders has advised that individuals who have a student loan and are earning over the relevant repayment threshold may have higher committed expenditures and lower net incomes and this could mean they are unable to borrow as much as an equivalent individual who is not repaying a student loan.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the NHS’ budget is spent on research and campaigns on (a) gender-specific cancers and (b) fertility treatment.

    George Freeman

    National Health Service revenue expenditure was £110.6 million in 2014/15.

    The Department funds the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to provide a health research system in which the NHS supports outstanding individuals working in world-class facilities, conducting leading-edge research focused on the needs of patients and the public. Information on total NIHR spend on research on gender-specific cancers and on fertility treatment is not available. Spend on research funded directly by the NIHR is categorised by Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health categories including ‘cancer’ and ‘reproductive health and childbirth’. There are no HRCS health sub-categories, such as for gender-specific cancers or fertility treatment.

    NHS England has advised that information on campaigns spending by NHS organisations is not collected centrally.

    Public Health England (PHE) has run gender-specific campaigns on breast cancer in women over 70, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer in black men as part of Be Clear on Cancer. Information on media spending for these campaigns in each of the last three complete financial years is shown in the table.

    2012/13 £ million

    2013/14 £ million

    2014/15 £ million

    Breast 70+

    0.50

    1.48

    –

    Ovarian

    0.44

    0.57

    –

    Prostate

    –

    –

    0.07

    Source: PHE

    Notes:

    Figures are net plus agency fees and commissions (rounded to nearest £10,000). Figures exclude VAT and Central Office of Information fees.

    Media spend includes expenditure for advertising on Television, Radio, National Press, Regional Press, Out of Home (Outdoor), Cinema and Digital.