Tag: 2016

Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage young deaf people to take part in the National Citizen Service.

Mr Rob Wilson

In order to encourage young people with sensory disabilities to take part NCS, the Department for Culture, Media & Sport is working closely with NCS Trust, the independent organisation which delivers NCS, to ensure that NCS is accessible.

Many NCS providers already reach out and offer support to those with disabilities, including deaf young people. The largest provider, The Challenge, has worked with the National Deaf Children’s Society, and adapted the programme for deaf young people, including providing dedicated support workers.

The NCS Trust is currently developing a detailed inclusion strategy to ensure that over the longer term there is consistent and high quality provision for young people with disabilities to take part in the programme.

01/01/2023
Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to provide financial assistance to support rural community pubs.

Andrew Percy

We are providing £1.85 million towards the £3.62 million ‘More Than a Pub’ Community Pub Business Support Programme which will, over 2016/17 and 2017/18, help local communities to acquire their local pubs. The programme offers wrap-round support including specialist advice, grants and loans.

From 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2016 we provided Pub is The Hub with £270,000 to deliver 80 diversification projects and 100 new community-focussed services and facilities for rural pubs, and from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2015 provided Plunkett Foundation with £80,000 to support communities to own their local pubs.

This is in addition to wider Government measures supporting pubs including the freeze in beer duty at Budget 2016, which followed cuts in the previous three Budgets, and the scrapping of the beer duty escalator.

01/01/2023
Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-16.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations he has received about the level of household debt.

Harriett Baldwin

The government has taken action on household debt by establishing the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed.

01/01/2023

Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 12 of Advice Note: 05/2015 on the Harm-Benefit Analysis Process, how many project licence applications were withdrawn at the (a) concept and (b) draft stage as a result of advice from the Animals in Science Regulation Unit that the application would clearly fail the harm-benefit analysis in each year since 2012.

Mr John Hayes

The Harm-Benefit Analysis (HBA) is undertaken, on behalf of the Secretary of State, by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit inspectors, all of whom are veterinary or medically qualified and trained in assessing research proposals. The HBA is the process of considering a research proposal to make a judgement whether the likely harms that the animals will experience are justified by the likely benefits. Under section 18 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, inspectors advise the Secretary of State who decides whether and on what terms a project licence should be granted.

The number of project licences which were recommended for grant by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit inspectors between 2012 and 2015 are shown in table 1, column (c).

The Secretary of State has not rejected any of the recommendations for granting project licences made by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit inspectors between 2012 and 2015.

The Home Office does not keep records of applications that have been rejected or withdrawn at the concept or drafting stage [24507]. The Home Office does not keep records of which applications were withdrawn as a result of advice from the Animals in Science Regulation Unit inspectors.

The Home Office refers project licence applications to both the Animals in Science Committee and external independent assessors for critical review. The number of project licences referred to both is given in Table 1 columns (a) and (b) respectively for the years 2012-15.

Year	(a) Project licence applications referred to the Animals in Science Committee[1]	(b) Project licence applications referred to independent assessors	(c) Project licences granted
2012	9	4	626
2013	3	0	604
2014	4	1	474
2015	3	0	577

[1] Prior to 2013 the independent advisory body was entitled the ‘Animals Procedures Committee’

01/01/2023

Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library a copy of the full impact assessment of the infected blood scheme reform consultation containing the assessment of the potential financial effects of proposed reforms on recipients; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

The impact assessment we have prepared is an analysis of the proposals and not the final outcome. We will publish the final full impact assessment when we announce the outcomes of the consultation.

On page 32 – 34 of the consultation document itself the Department gives some indication of the impact of the proposed changes on individuals.

All respondents to the consultation have been encouraged to say how the proposals will affect them in order that full consideration can be given to this and other issues before any final decisions are made on the reformed scheme.

01/01/2023
Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools take steps to promote the mental well-being of primary school students when they undertake Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 examinations.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Good mental health and wellbeing is a key priority for this Government. We have high aspirations for all children and want them to be able to fulfil their potential. Schools should consider how to provide appropriate support to their pupils, based on their individual circumstances, as part of a ‘whole-school’ approach.

We have provided schools with a range of resources to support them in promoting mental wellbeing. We have funded guidance and age-appropriate lesson plans on teaching mental health in PSHE. At KS1 and 2 the lesson plans include teaching children how to describe emotions, talk about anxiety and worries, and develop coping strategies. Teachers and other staff can access MindEd, a free online portal which provides information about specific mental health problems and how to support them.

Other resources include guidance on mental health and behaviour and the provision of counselling in schools.

However, we recognise that teachers are not mental health professionals which is why we are contributing £1.5m to a joint pilot between schools and specialist mental health services, to ensure pupils have timely access to appropriate specialist support where needed.

01/01/2023
Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times she has attended public meetings of the Home Affairs Committee since her appointment.

Mrs Theresa May

Since my appointment as Home Secretary I have appeared publicly before the Home Affairs Select Committee on 19 occasions.

01/01/2023
Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment have they made of the case for removing the Lesser Duty Rule.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government believes that effective trade defence measures should be proportionate, not protectionist, and strike a balance between removing the injury to producers caused by unfair trade, and avoiding imposing unnecessary costs on user industries, retailers, consumers and the rest of the economy.

The evidence we have shows that duties that have been imposed under the Lesser Duty Rule on imports of Chinese steel into the EU have been effective in delivering rapid, substantial and sustained reductions in imports. For example, imports of wire rod, organic coated steel and stainless steel flat products are down by more than 90%. We have said we would look at evidence that others might provide.

There are a number of examples where the Lesser Duty Rule has avoided unnecessary costs to the rest of the economy. In the case of solar panels for example, the removal of the Lesser Duty Rule could have cost the downstream UK solar sector around £500m in one year.

We support looking at the methodology under which injury is calculated. Where the European Commission has set duties that we believe to be too low to remove the injury caused to EU industry by unfair trade, we will push for them to be increased, as we have done in the reinforcing bar and cold rolled flat products cases.

01/01/2023
Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his targets are for reductions in the defence estate in each year to 2020.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has committed to release land to accommodate 55,000 houses by 2020 in support of the Government’s public sector land release agenda. This year I have announced the release of 22 sites which will provide land for some 22,000 homes. By the end of this year I will set out how the MOD will deliver the remainder of its land release commitment.

01/01/2023
Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will consider the potential merits of introducing legislative proposals to reduce the notice period for a landowner who has secured a court order to evict travellers from 48 to 12 hours.

Sir Oliver Heald

The accelerated procedure for obtaining a possession order to evict trespassers (which may include travellers) is set out in the Civil Procedure Rules, Part 55.

There is no notice period once a landowner has obtained an order to evict. The standard order for a successful claim for possession would be an order for immediate possession.

The Government does not consider that the process requires change.

01/01/2023