Tag: 2016

Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 14 June (HL Deb, col 1099), what action they are taking in response to the practice by some companies of supplying low-tax foreign markets with more tobacco than they are capable of consuming, thereby facilitating their products being brought back to the UK and depriving HM Revenue and Customs of revenue.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The UK introduced stringent rules in 2006 requiring all UK Tobacco Manufacturers (TMs) to control their supply chains. These rules required them to take steps to avoid supplying cigarettes and/or HRT (hand rolling tobacco) to persons who are likely to smuggle them into the UK or resupply them to other persons who are likely to do the same.

Tobacco manufacturers can face penalties of up to £5m for failing to comply with the rules. HMRC action, in monitoring TM’s compliance, is reflected in a reduction in supplies of UK brand cigarettes to high risk markets of 20% since 2010. At the same time, supplies to those markets of UK brand Hand Rolling Tobacco (HRT) has reduced by 36%.

Despite this success HMRC is not complacent. They continue to closely monitor the illicit market in the UK, which today is made up of a mix of unregulated brands, non UK brands, and counterfeit as well as genuine UK brands, to ensure the legislation is working. HMRC also robustly challenge TM’s supply chain policies and procedures to ensure their continued compliance with the rules.

HMRC cannot comment on the progress of individual investigations but it is a matter of public record that one manufacturer has been subject to a supply chain penalty. This penalty is currently under to appeal.

01/01/2023
Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to secure the co-operation of voluntary organisations that are ready to assist in welcoming child refugees.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

UK Government officials have confirmed that the Citizens UK list has been passed to the French authorities, who are primarily responsible for migrants on French territory.

We continue to work with the French authorities and others to speed up exist-ing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary. We will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.

We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe; over 70 of these are from France.

It is important that the due processes under the Dublin Regulation are followed. This position was recently confirmed in a Court of Appeal judgement (“ZAT and others”). Families are only contacted once a transfer request has been made and a family link has been established. When we accept a request to transfer an unaccompanied minor we liaise with Local Authorities and the child’s family.

A new scheme to allow community groups to directly sponsor a refugee family was launched by the Home Secretary and Archbishop of Canterbury on 19 July. The Full Community Sponsorship scheme enables community groups including charities, faith groups, churches and businesses, to take on the role of supporting resettled refugees in the UK. A ‘Help Refugees in the UK’ web-page has also been developed on GOV.UK to make it easier for the public to support refugees in the UK and allow local authorities to focus support on the goods and services that refugees need.

01/01/2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what (a) material and (b) humanitarian assistance the Government is providing to assist civilians fleeing the city of Mosul; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

The UK has been one of the earliest and largest donors to the UN’s Mosul Flash Appeal, focused on preparing for the humanitarian consequences of Mosul military operations. This includes £40 million announced by my right Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for International Development, at the UN General Assembly in September. With this, our partners will provide assistance, including shelter and support kits for 66,000 people, comprising vital equipment for any displaced family, such as blankets, plastic sheets, buckets and other containers for water, cooking items and soap. It will also provide emergency healthcare for 42,000 people, through four mobile medical teams, upgraded emergency medical surgeries, three ambulances and two health facilities with equipment, medication and light rehabilitation.

This brings the UK’s total humanitarian commitment to £90 million in 2016, and £169.5 million since summer 2014.

01/01/2023
Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the use of laser pen technology in proximity to aircraft and airports.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Specific legislation prohibiting the use of laser pens against aircraft has been in place since 2009. Under Article 222 of the Air Navigation Order (2009), it is an offence to “direct or shine any light at any aircraft in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot of the aircraft”. Breaches of this article can be punished by a fine of up to £2500.

In addition, under Article 137, it is an offence to “recklessly or negligently act in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft, or any person in an aircraft”. If convicted, offenders could face up to a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as the independent safety regulator, has established a working group with relevant public and industry participants to consider what further measures may help counter the threat from the misuse of laser pens. The Government will continue to monitor closely the outcome of this work.

01/01/2023
Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-02-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to exempt supported accommodation from plans to cap social rents at local housing allowance rates.

Justin Tomlinson

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave the Hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood on 3 February 2016 to Question UIN 24910

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01/01/2023

Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which hospitals in Merseyside and Cheshire carry out planned surgical procedures at weekends.

Jane Ellison

The information is shown in the table below. An elective procedure is a non-urgent procedure that is planned in advance, not all elective procedures are surgical.

The following National Health Service and independent sector hospitals in Merseyside and Cheshire¹ reported elective procedures at weekends.

Provider

Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

BMI – The South Cheshire Private Hospital

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

East Cheshire NHS Trust

Fairfield Hospital

Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust

Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Nuffield Health, The Grosvenor Hospital, Chester

Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust

Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust

Spire Cheshire Hospital

Spire Liverpool Hospital

Spire Murrayfield Hospital

Spire Regency Hospital

St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, Health and Social Care Information Centre

Notes:

Merseyside and Cheshire has been interpreted as two Area Teams. This indicates the area team within which the organisation providing treatment was located. This data is limited to providers in the area teams:

Q44 – Cheshire, Warrington and the Wirral Area Team

Q48 – Merseyside Area Team

01/01/2023

Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what requirements or guidelines her Department issues on the reference or inclusion of digital and online resources in the curriculum (a) in general and (b) for students without access to broadband at home.

Nick Gibb

The National Curriculum, introduced from September 2014, focuses on the essential knowledge that teachers should teach, not on how they should teach it.

Schools are best placed to decide which resources meet their needs and to secure these accordingly. Wherever possible, the development of new resources and training should be sector-led, with schools prioritising their use of funding in their budgets in order to best exploit the opportunities offered by the new National Curriculum.

The Government is in favour of schools embracing digital technology in order to improve educational outcomes. We want to see schools making informed decisions about what and how technology will best meet their specific needs, keeping in mind that pedagogy should drive the use of technology.

Where teachers use digital resources in the curriculum, we would expect them to take into account the circumstances of all pupils and make appropriate provision for those without access to broadband at home.

01/01/2023
Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the use of the roof of the Hebron Emergency Health Centre as a military base and the closure of its entrance to Palestinian patients.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Whilst we have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities, we are clear that medical staff should have the protection that allows them to do their jobs in safety. Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority on the urgent need to de-escalate the tensions.

01/01/2023

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many soil research projects have been completed for which it has provided funding, and how the findings were translated into practical measures that could be applied at farm level, in each year since 1997.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Since 1997, Defra and its predecessors have funded 445 soil research projects, the findings of which are translated into practical measures that can be applied at farm level in a number of ways, including testing of measures as part of the research, reviews of the evidence base feeding into the development of farmer guidance or direct knowledge transfer as part of the research project.

The table below denotes the number of completed soil research projects funded by Defra and its predecessors in each year since 1997:

1997	40
1998	44
1999	26
2000	28
2001	34
2002	22
2003	26
2004	21
2005	18
2006	29
2007	15
2008	23
2009	24
2010	29
2011	17
2012	18
2013	12
2014	10
2015	9

In addition since 2005-6, the first year for which data is available, Research Councils have funded 614 soil research projects.

The table below denotes the number of soil research projects funded by the Research Councils that have completed, by financial year, going back to 2005-06. Data for before that year is not available as the information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

2005-6	59
2006-7	62
2007-8	92
2008-9	57
2009-10	68
2010-11	82
2011-12	70
2012-13	26
2013-14	45
2014-15	29
2015-16	24

01/01/2023

Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they plan to make to the Palestinian Authority to encourage local elections in Gaza and the West Bank as soon as possible, and whether they plan to give the Palestinian Authority assurances that they will accept the result of such elections.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Our Consulate-General in Jerusalem has regularly discussed the local elections with senior Palestinian officials over the past months. We have made clear our support for genuine and democratic elections as a way of improving accountability. Following the postponement of the elections, we will continue to urge all sides to make efforts to hold these elections in accordance with the law.

01/01/2023