Tag: 2016

  • Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the Government last held discussions with the Saudi government in which specific reference was made to human rights in Saudi Arabia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We do not shy away from raising legitimate human rights concerns. The Foreign Secretary most recently raised human rights with the Saudi Arabian authorities on 7 September. Our Embassy in Riyadh also frequently raise our concerns and will continue to do so.

  • Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Malcolm McDonald on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information he holds on how many Volkswagen vehicles have been re-tested for emissions since September 2015.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department has retested three of the VW Group vehicles for which the UK provided type approval. These tests have confirmed that the extended test programme announced by the Secretary of State on 10 November can identify defeat device strategies. The testing of vehicles is underway and a report of the findings will be published in the spring.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 24 July 2015 (HL1524), how many modifications can be made to an existing research licence previously approved by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority before it can no longer be legitimately considered as essentially the same research project as that for which a licence was originally sought; and what sort of modifications can be made to an existing research licence before it is no longer considered to have exactly the same aims as those in the initial licence application that were originally deemed to fulfil the purposes specified in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 as amended.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that there are no fixed number of modifications that can be made to an existing research licence project. Such questions are considered on a case by case basis with reference to the statutory tests.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 18 February (HL5926), whether they intend to propose a system of sharing of expenditure by EU member states whereby those that accept smaller numbers of refugees for settlement proportionate to their own population size pay a higher fraction of national income towards programmes benefitting refugees both in Europe and outside it.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK encourages other EU member States to support programmes of assistance to refugees, as demonstrated most recently at the February Conference on Syria and the Region.

    The UK is at the forefront of the response to the Syria crisis, committing over £2.3 billion. We are prioritising our aid in Syria and neighbouring countries, where the scale of displacement is greatest. The Government has no plans to propose a system as suggested by the noble Lord.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate her Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment she has made of which of her Department’s agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d’affaires.

    The Government’s view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.

    The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they propose to set up a stakeholder working party with an independent chairman to make recommendations to them concerning any damage to rights of way caused by motorised traffic.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    On 11 February Minister Stewart wrote to all the national park authorities to explain the Government was not going to establish a motor vehicle working group, as he believes in locally brokered solutions as the long term solution to issues around motor vehicles on public rights of way.

    Defra and Natural England are offering to hold a one-off forum for all motor vehicle stakeholders to share their knowledge and expertise and to discuss ways of working together in the future.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 15 of his Department’s Cycle Delivery Plan, published in October 2014, what progress has been made on his Department’s review of road traffic law.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The government is aware of concerns about a number of sentencing issues and is committed to making sure sentencing for driving crimes is proportionate within the context of our wider sentencing framework. It is our intention to commence a consultation in due course which will look at driving offences and penalties.

  • Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how much his Department has spent to date on consultants; and how much he plans to spend on consultants in the next 12 months.

    Mr David Jones

    The department has not incurred any spend in relation to consultants since it was created. Detailed work is underway to establish the budget required to fulfil the functions, set-up and responsibilities of the Department.

  • 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 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take in response to the findings on bullying and harassment in the Care Quality Commission’s report on the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, published on 29 September 2016.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Following the publication of the Care Quality Commission report on 29 September, NHS Improvement placed South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust in Special Measures. The Trust will receive a package of tailored support to address specific issues and drive improvements.

    These measures include: buddying arrangements with South Central Ambulance Service, the appointment of an Improvement Director and publication of the Trust’s recovery plan in November, which will include a detailed programme to specifically address the bullying and harassment culture within the Trust. An oversight group has already been established to be chaired by NHS Improvement and including representatives from NHS England, clinical commissioning groups and the Trust to oversee the delivery of quality improvements.

    There has been a change in leadership following the resignation of the Chair and Chief Executive. NHS Improvement has appointed an interim Chair and continues to support organisational development and cultural change work, including strengthening complaints processes.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2015 to Question 16608, how many potential overlapping payments between the Universal Credit Live Service and housing benefit have been identified since April 2013.

    Priti Patel

    The information could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.