Tag: 2016

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 25985, whether he plans to publish his response to his Department’s consultation on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges before the period of purdah for the EU membership referendum begins.

    Nick Boles

    The Government is analysing the responses to the Call for Evidence on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges and will publish a response in due course.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of improving metro services in the North East and extending such services into Easington constituency.

    Andrew Jones

    My Department is supporting Nexus in delivering an 11 year programme of works to renew and improve the Tyne and Wear Metro. This work is being funded with over £300 million of grant from DfT and includes refurbishment of the Metrocar fleet, modernisation of 60 stations, introduction of new ‘smart’ ticketing machines, barriers and technologies, and a new communications system. Nexus is also overhauling and maintaining structures such as bridges and tunnels, track and overhead power lines.

    As part of the North East Devolution Deal, Nexus will be submitting a business case shortly that covers the replacement of the existing rolling stock and signalling as well as any proposals for expanding the Metro network.

  • 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 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of waste exported for recycling which is contaminated and is sent to landfill or incinerated.

    Rory Stewart

    We are not aware of any waste exported for recycling which has had to be landfilled or incinerated due to contamination.

    There is a legitimate export market for quality recyclable material – but the law is clear that it is illegal to export waste from the UK for disposal.

    The regulatory framework governing waste shipments provides a mechanism for facilitating the takeback of waste to the country of export in cases where it cannot be processed as intended or in the case of an illegal shipment.

    The UK environment agencies have adopted an intelligence-led approach to identify and disrupt the movement of waste intended for illegal export. Defra has been working with the agencies to find ways of strengthening their enforcement activities.

  • Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many people were charged under section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 in 2015.

    Jeremy Wright

    I am answering on behalf of the Secretary of State for Justice, as I am the minister that superintends the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who is responsible for bringing charges.

    The CPS does not maintain a central record of the number of people who have been charged with offences brought by way of Section 1 or Section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015; or Section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004; or Sections 57 and 58 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. (Sections 57, 58 and 59 were repealed and replaced by section 59A Sexual Offences Act 2003 on 13 April 2013) This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

    However, although it is not possible to identify the number of people charged with a particular offence, records are held showing the overall number of offences in which a prosecution commenced in the magistrates’ courts. The table below shows the number of offences, rather than defendants, charged by way of the human trafficking offences during each of the last three calendar years. A single defendant may be charged with more than one offence.

    2013

    2014

    2015

    Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 { 4 }

    20

    73

    48

    Coroners and Justice Act 2009 { 71 }

    36

    26

    34

    Modern Slavery Act 2015 { 1 }

    0

    0

    5

    Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 57 }

    22

    35

    69

    Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 58 }

    84

    35

    75

    Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 59 }

    4

    4

    9

    Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 59A }

    1

    17

    94

    Total Human Trafficking Offences Charged

    167

    190

    334

    Data Source: CPS Management Information System

    No offences have yet been recorded under section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which came into force on 31st July 2015.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospital-borne cases of sepsis in England were recorded in (a) 2000, (b) 2005, (c) 2010 and (d) 2015.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Public Health England and NHS Digital do not collect this data to the level of detail and format as requested.

    NHS Digital is unable to identify the source of a sepsis infection. They are only able to provide data on a count of the number of Finished Discharge Episodes with a primary or secondary diagnosis of sepsis.

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon MP) to Question 45207 regarding available information on sepsis.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what grounds the discharge of youths from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is based on school years rather than date of birth; and if he will change the basis for discharge from CAMHS.

    Alistair Burt

    There is no central requirement for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to use a school year rather than age as a threshold for transition.

    In December 2014 and January 2015, NHS England published new service specifications for commissioners, giving guidance and best practice on transition from CAMHS to adult services (or elsewhere). These specifications intentionally do not stipulate an age threshold for transition but states that transition should be built around the needs of the individual, not focussed on age.

    The Future in mind report recognised that transition at aged 18 years of age is not always appropriate and that there should be flexibility around age boundaries, in which transition is based on individual circumstances, rather than absolute age, with joint working and shared practice between services to promote continuity of care.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training is provided to specialist contractors hired by her Department to advise regional school commissioners on their responsibilities related to the Civil Service Code.

    Edward Timpson

    The specialist contractors that support the academies and free school programme are directed in advance of commencing any work that their conduct and behaviour when delivering the Department’s business complies with the Civil Service Code’s principles.

  • Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Pubs Code Adjudicator on (a) the length of leases given to pub tenants by owners of pubs, (b) implementation of the market rent only option for pub tenants and (c) the independence of the adjudicator from pub companies.

    Anna Soubry

    There have been no discussions of the types described with the Adjudicator.

    BIS officials met the Adjudicator after his appointment to provide him with a high level briefing on Part 4 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act and some areas of the draft Pubs Code in order to familiarise him with key aspects ahead of him taking up this important role. During the course of this briefing there was a discussion of some technical aspects of the market rent option arbitration process – for example, the length of time it takes to appoint an independent expert – where the Adjudicator shared his professional insights.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the analysis by the Women’s Budget Group, that the distributional analysis that was produced alongside the Budget fails to adequately analyse the impact on women and men, either as individuals or across different types of households.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The government’s distributional analysis at Budget shows the proportion of tax paid and public services spending received by households. It shows that the richest fifth of households will be paying a greater proportion of taxes in 2019-20 than in the 2010-11 system as a result of government policy, while half of all spending on welfare and public services is still going to the poorest 40% of households.

    In contrast with the government’s approach, the analysis produced by the Women’s Budget Group focuses on immediate cash impacts and assumes that extra government borrowing can make everyone better off. This ignores the fact that borrowing needs to be paid for and harms our long term economic security.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure religious minorities are protected in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Syria’s conflict has developed from peaceful protests against the government in 2011 to a violent insurgency that has complex international angles. Asad’s brutal actions have fuelled sectarian violence and the growth of Daesh. His regime is ultimately responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians. We support the efforts of the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan De Mistura, to seek agreement on a process of political transition in Syria. We are clear that there can be no military solution to the conflict. The UN led negotiations remain the best opportunity to end the conflict and achieve political transition away from Asad, leading to an inclusive government which can represent all Syrians.

    The UK, as a core member of the International Syria Support Group has agreed that protecting the rights of all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious denomination is fundamental. This means seeking to ensure that Syrian minorities are included and safeguarded as the political process progresses. We are supporting non-governmental efforts to promote dialogue between different ethnic and sectarian groups in Syria, as we seek further progress on a political settlement.