Tag: 2016

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the National Audit Office report of March 2016 on Local Enterprise Partnerships, HC887.

    James Wharton

    We welcome the findings in the report, and the helpful scrutiny of our approach. As the report recognises, the Government is pursuing an ambitious devolution agenda, aimed at empowering local areas through devolution of powers and budgets. We have put clear assurance systems in place with the right balance of local and central accountability. We will continue to work with Local Enterprise Partnerships and local places to ensure this system remains robust.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answers of 23 May 2016 to Questions 37209 and 37235, whether official guidelines on the policing of football matches abroad state that authority must be granted by her Department under section 26 of the Police Act 1996 to permit UK police officers to perform operational police duties abroad.

    Mike Penning

    Guidelines on overseas police deployments include detail on when approval from the Home Office is required under section 26 of the Police Act 1996.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GP consultations there were in each clinical commissioning group area in each year since 2012-13.

    David Mowat

    Figures for the number of general practice consultations in each clinical commissioning group in each year since 2012-13 are not held centrally.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 45332, whether his Department still plans to hold a review into the use of coal in the UK energy market; and if he will make a statement.

    Jesse Norman

    Most of the UK’s existing coal fired power stations are old, relatively inefficient and require investment to reduce the level of damaging pollutants they emit. I expect to consult shortly on unabated coal stations.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 2.50 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, to which claimants the announcement of an extension of job search conditionality relates.

    Priti Patel

    By 2020 Universal Credit (UC) will extend support to over a million more claimants than under Jobseeker’s Allowance. The majority of people in this group are not in work and currently have no employment support available. A small proportion of the group may be earning very small amounts – less than the Administrative Earnings Threshold – and will benefit from the out of work support.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of electricity in the UK was generated by UK coal-fired power stations in 2015.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC will publish finalised energy market statistics including figures for electricity generation in 2015 later this year. However, provisional figures [1] show that coal accounted for 22% of UK electricity supplied over Q1 – Q3 in 2015 compared to 28% in the same period in 2014.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487838/Electricity.pdf

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 2 of Delivering the Forward View: NHS Planning Guidance, published in December 2015, how much of the £8.4 billion real terms increase in NHS funding by 2020-21 is allocated to mental health; whether that figure includes funding for children and young people’s mental health announced before the 2015 General Election; and under which of his Department’s budget headings that funding has been allocated.

    Alistair Burt

    Regarding the £8.4 billion real terms increase in funding, NHS England (NHSE) does not stipulate a specific spend level for commissioning bodies, this is to be determined by national policy directives like parity of esteem and specific local needs based assessment. At a commissioning stream level, NHSE has set a principal commitment to achieving mental health parity of esteem. Through its assurance process NHSE will hold individual commissioners to account for increasing spend on mental health in line with their increase in allocations, taking account of the additional mental health funding that has been received.

    The difference between the 2015/16 funding for children’s and young people’s mental health in NHSE baseline and subsequent increase in funding over the five-year period from 2016-17 to 2020-21 is included in the £8.4 billion growth in the Mandate.

    The Department allocates funding to NHS England as set out in the government’s mandate to NHSE and accompanying financial directions. The mandate to NHSE for 2016-17 and accompanying directions are both available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-mandate-2016-to-2017

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to collect statistics on the number of children home schooled in each unitary and county council authority area.

    Edward Timpson

    At present, local authorities (LAs) are not required to collect this data.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 8 of the Culture White Paper, published in March 2016, when his Department will require funded bodies in the arts and culture sectors to publish their strategies for increasing diversity.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Government believes that diversity is essential to the success of the cultural sectors. Arts Council England (ACE), as a funded body of the DCMS, published their Equality Action Plan in the summer of 2015. They also publish equality data annually. All National Portfolio Organisations and Major Partner Museums have submitted equality action plans to the Arts Council.

    In addition, ACE launched their Creative Case for Diversity that requires National Portfolio Organisations to evidence how they contribute to diversity. This information will be used to assign a performance rating. Management agreements for other funded bodies are being renegotiated presently and will take into account the Government’s aspiration on diversity.

  • Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is carrying out trials to assess the suitability of unmanned aerial vehicle technology as part of the UK’s humanitarian disaster response capability.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    It is in the interest of the UK taxpayer, as well as beneficiaries on the ground, ‎that the Department for International Development scrutinises the most cost-effective means of delivering aid, especially when responding to crises. In some cases technology can provide valuable advantages in terms of efficiency and cost effectiveness, as well as enabling the ability to respond rapidly to crises and assist those in the hardest to reach places.

    The Department has recently commissioned a review of the potential of a number of Frontier Technologies including Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology, which will help us identify potential applications as well as risks.

    There are a small number of examples of UAV technologies currently being trialled in DFID programmes. This includes a small-scale trial of UAV mapping to inform disaster preparedness, mitigation and response efforts in Nepal. There is also research being conducted in the natural and physical sciences arena, including on climate extremes which have an impact on vulnerable populations in developing countries.