Tag: 2016

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Review of childcare costs: the analytical report, published by her Department on 25 November 2015, if she will publish the responses to her Department’s call for evidence on childcare costs in full.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    It is not the Department’s policy to publish individual responses to a consultation or to a call for evidence, some of which may have been submitted to the Department in confidence. The Department published the findings of the call for evidence on 8 October 2015 and the report is available from this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/cost-of-providing-childcare-review-call-for-evidence

    The call for evidence was an important part of the government’s review of the cost of childcare and it is one of the sources of evidence that informed the final report which was published on 25 November 2015.

    “

  • Caroline Ansell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Caroline Ansell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with train operating companies on improving the claim process for compensation for delays; and if he will make a statement.

    Claire Perry

    We urge passengers to claim the compensation they are entitled to. When delays occur, we expect operators to make sure their passengers are informed about how to apply for compensation.

    We are committed to improving compensation for delayed rail passengers. As the Chancellor stated in his Autumn Statement, we are committed to reducing the time threshold for which passengers can claim from 30 minutes to 15 minutes.

    We welcome the trial by c2c of automatic compensation to be introduced on the c2c franchise for registered customers if their train is delayed by more than 2 minutes. We welcome the introduction of automatic compensation on Advance tickets bought online, currently available on Virgin Trains West Coast and to be introduced as part of the Northern and TPE franchises and we encourage operators to make sure passengers across the country benefit from schemes like this.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much central government funding has been allocated to (a) the London Local Enterprise Partnership and (b) all Local Enterprise Partnerships to support the creative industries in each year since 2011-12.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    All Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), including the London LEP, have access to funding through programmes such as Growth Deals. However, decisions on what to prioritise rightly rest with the LEPs themselves, ensuring a strong business voice to maximise local growth. In London, for example, the LEP is investing £5m in a Digital Skills Programme to ensure young Londoners have the skills they need to access jobs in the capital’s thriving tech sector.

  • Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner on the removal of people convicted of child abuse and rape from the Sex Offenders Register.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office has not received any representations from the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner on the removal of people convicted of child abuse and rape from the sex offenders’ register.

    Offenders who are on the register indefinitely are only able to seek a police review after 15 years. In 2012, the Home Office issued detailed guidance to police forces on assessing applications for review. All decisions to release a sex offender from the notification requirements must be authorised by a senior police officer. Public safety is at the heart of all decisions taken by police, and those who continue to pose a risk will remain on the sex offenders’ register, if necessary for life.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on whether drivers who are waiting for medical tests to confirm whether they are safe to drive should retain their licence in the meantime.

    Andrew Jones

    Drivers can retain their entitlement to drive while medical investigations are ongoing, providing the licence has not been previously withdrawn on medical grounds and the driver is not a risk to road safety. Drivers are advised to check with their doctor or DVLA if they are unsure whether they should continue driving while their fitness to drive is being assessed.

    Information about driving while waiting for an application to be processed is included on the driving licence application form.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the UK is committed to joining an EU army if one is formed and we are invited to do so.

    Earl Howe

    The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK will never be part of a European Army. We have consistently said that we will oppose any measures which would undermine member states’ competence for their own military forces, or lead to competition and duplication with NATO, which is the cornerstone of our defence.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2016 to Question 41004, what the cost to the NHS was of financing free prescriptions in 2015-16.

    David Mowat

    Assuming that for each prescription item a prescription charge would have been paid, the revenue foregone from providing free prescriptions during 2015-16 was £8 billion. However, as many people could limit their total prescription costs by purchasing a Prescription Prepayment Certificate in the event that they were no longer exempt, we estimate that the actual revenue foregone was in the region of £2 billion.

  • Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has for the future military capacity of Wattisham Airbase.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The estate optimisation strategy aims to provide a more efficient and better quality Defence estate to support our Armed Forces, which will be fit for purpose for future generations.

    This long-term, detailed work seeks to identify a rationalised Defence estate which more appropriately meets the needs of our Armed Forces by being of better quality, more cost effective and more efficient, as well as 30% smaller overall, by 2040.

    No decision about the future of individual sites has been made at this point, other than those that have been previously announced

  • 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 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on proposals for an EU ban on the prophylactic treatment of groups of animals where no disease has been diagnosed in any of the animals as part of the review of the EU Veterinary Medicinal Products legislation.

    George Eustice

    The current compromise text of the proposal for an EU Regulation on the manufacture, placing on the market and use of medicated feed, states that “Medicated feed containing antibiotics shall not be used to prevent diseases in animals, or to enhance their performance.” However, a similar provision has not been included in the proposal for an EU Regulation on veterinary medicinal products.

    The Government’s policy is that the administration of antibiotics in the absence of disease is not a responsible way to use antibiotics. In groups of animals where some are sick and others have not developed clinical signs, the veterinary surgeon has to be free to use their clinical judgement to prescribe antibiotics to ensure animal welfare. This policy is being put forward during the current negotiations.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on staffing levels at coastguard stations in the Irish Sea.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The new National Network for Her Majesty’s Coastguard became fully operational in December 2015.

    Coastguard centres within this network do not have fixed geographic boundaries; the network enables workload and incidents to be managed on a national rather than centre-by-centre basis. Workload is moved around the network to balance local demand against a national workforce.