Tag: 2016

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many investigations her Department is currently carrying out into unregistered schools in England; and what steps her Department is taking to monitor such schools.

    Edward Timpson

    We are currently investigating institutions that may be operating as unregistered independent schools in England, as referred to by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw in his recently published letter. We will make a statement about progress in due course.

    It is important to recognise that new settings come to our attention and existing ones close, or are confirmed not to be operating as schools on a regular basis.

    Sir Michael Wilshaw’s published letter can be accessed on GOV.UK at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unregistered-schools-ofsted-advice-note

    “

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that examples of best practice in care and support for people with mental health conditions is shared across the country.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Department works with its arm’s length bodies and a wide range of other Government departments and bodies, including non-statutory organisations and professional bodies to pilot, develop, implement and share best practice in the care and support for people with mental health conditions. Best practice is shared through the gov.uk website, through guidance and engagement with our stakeholders and collaboration with the organisations mentioned above to share best practice through their resources.

    The Department funds a wide-range of healthcare research including through the National Institute for Healthcare Research programme. Findings and outcomes from this research are published.

    Referral to treatment guidelines have been developed with the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, which include best practice examples. In addition, for Children and Young People, mental health investment has been made in clinical network capacity to bring local areas together to share current practice and there is regular interaction with the clinical networks, so good practice can be shared between regions. These guidelines are published on the National Collaborating Centre for Mental health’s website:

    http://www.nccmh.org.uk/ab_cgs_at_a_glance.html

    “

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many car owners whose car tax has expired have not made a SORN declaration since the tax licence disc was abolished in 2015.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport conducts a roadside survey every two years. This survey estimates the number of vehicles without a valid licence or Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) to determine the rate of vehicle excise duty evasion.

    The last survey took place in June 2015, which was eight months after the DVLA stopped issuing paper tax discs. The survey estimated that 1.4% of vehicles on UK roads were unlicensed and were not subject to a SORN.

    The DVLA aims to make vehicle excise duty easy to pay and hard to avoid and operates a comprehensive package of measures to tackle vehicle excise duty evasion. These measures range from reminder letters, penalties and court prosecutions through to the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras, wheel clamping and the removal of unlicensed vehicles.

  • Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to extend the Farming Recovery Fund to provide support for farmers in all areas affected by the recent flooding.

    George Eustice

    We have extended the Farming Recovery Fund to allow eligible farmers in Lancashire and Yorkshire impacted by storm Eva, which hit over Christmas Day and Boxing Day, to be able to apply for support.

    The deadline for applications has been extended from 18 March 2016 to 1 April 2016 to provide further time for affected farmers to apply.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the most effective way to implement the use of rapid diagnostic technology for the purpose of accurately diagnosing infections in hospitals.

    Ben Gummer

    An expert group has been looking at how we can improve access to rapid diagnostic testing as part of the implementation of the UK Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy. The group is currently formulating its conclusions and intends to start working with stakeholders to implement improvements across the system from 2016; a part of this work will include an economic analysis to support the rapid adoption of new tests.

    The Department has been feeding this work into the Accelerated Access Review, which will make recommendations to Government on speeding up access to transformative new medicines and technologies, including diagnostics, for National Health Service patients. The review is due to report in April 2016.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have withdrawn more than the 25 per cent tax-free allowance from their pension fund as a lump sum since 2014.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs does not have information on all types of taxable pension payments taken since 2014. However, information on the taxable element of pension flexibility lump sums taken since April 2015 is collated and published quarterly. This also provides details of the number of people who have taken these payments. The publication can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/flexible-payments-from-pensions.

    “

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2016 to Question 30689, when his Department plans to publish the declaration of actual or potential conflicts of interest made by Paul Newby for the role of Pubs Code Adjudicator.

    Anna Soubry

    The appointment panel satisfied itself there were no conflicts of interest when they made recommendations to ministers in relation to the appointment of the Pubs Code Adjudicator.

    The Department does not intend to publish any information provided by candidates during this appointment process.

    In due course and as is usual practice, the Adjudicator’s office will publish a register of interests.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to keep coal plants open.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Decisions on plant closures are commercial matters for the plant owners. However, we recently consulted on changes to the Capacity Market, which included proposals for an early Capacity Market auction for the 2017/18 delivery year to mitigate the security of supply impact of potential early plant closures. If we go ahead with this proposal, coal plants will be eligible to participate.

    On 18 November we announced plans to close all unabated coal-fired power stations by 2025. Achieving this goal would make the UK one of the first developed countries to deliver on a commitment to take coal off the system. However, we have been clear that we would only proceed with these plans if we are confident that the shift to new gas generation can be achieved within these timescales.

  • Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has extended to the British Overseas Territories of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha the (a) International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1969, (b) 1992 Protocol to the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, (c) 2010 Protocol to the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, (d) International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage 2001, (e) International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation 1990 and (f) 1997 Protocol to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973.

    James Duddridge

    Only the 1992 Protocol to the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage has been extended to St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Information on all treaties that have been extended to the UK Overseas Territories can be found at: http://treaties.fco.gov.uk/

    “

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of excluding Scotland from the scope of the net migration target.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Our immigration system is designed to work for the whole of the UK and surveys show that people in Scotland want to see net migration reduced. We have a Scotland-specific Shortage Occupation List to accommodate skills shortages which are specific to Scotland. Applying substantially different immigration rules to different parts of the UK would complicate the immigration system, harming its integrity, and cause confusion for applicants and difficulties for employers who need the flexibility to deploy their staff to other parts of the UK.