Tag: 2016

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to put in place a blue belt to protect marine habitats and species.

    George Eustice

    Since 2013, we have designated 50 Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs), which protect a range of habitats and species. A third tranche of MCZs will be designated in 2018.

    We are currently undertaking work to identify a complete network of Special Protection Areas for seabirds, and consulting on five Special Areas of Conservation for harbour porpoise.

    Over 17% of UK waters and almost a third of English inshore waters are now within Marine Protected Areas.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the rising default rate of companies in the oil and gas sector on their high-yield loans on wider stability of the financial sector.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Chancellor has set out the government’s view on the challenges facing the UK economy at budget on 16 March 2016. The transcript of the speech is available from:

    www.gov.uk/government/speeches/budget-2016-george-osbornes-speech

    In addition, the Bank of England’s December 2015 Financial Stability Report sets out analysis on the exposures of UK banks to commodity sectors. The full report can be found here:

    www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/fsr/2015/dec.aspx

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Prime Minister, which leaders in civil society, business and government were invited to attend the anti-corruption conference, Tackling Corruption Together, which he hosted in London on 11 May 2016.

    Mr David Cameron

    The Tackling Corruption Together conference was organised by civil society organisations, businesses and the Commonwealth Secretariat.

  • Mrs Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mrs Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Flick Drummond on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that access to a timely autism diagnosis is included in the next Clinical Commissioning Group Investment and Assessment Framework.

    David Mowat

    To support local areas in addressing long waits, NHS England, supported by the Department and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, initiated a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups and local authorities. These visits aimed to develop a better idea of the challenges in securing timely autism diagnosis across all ages, looking at the variability in diagnosis times and sharing good practice to help areas to improve their service. NHS England submitted a report on the visits to the 16 June meeting of the Cross Government Autism Programme Board, which includes representatives of autism third sector organisations and people who have autism. NHS England will have further discussions with relevant organisations over the summer about actions in their report, including on the Clinical Commissioning Group Improvement and Assessment Framework, before reporting back to the Autism Programme Board.

    In parallel, as recommended by the independent Mental Health Taskforce, the Department is undertaking a five year plan for the development of mental health data to be published by the end of the year. The plan will set out future requirements and timings for developing data to inform pathways of care, which will include requirements for autism in the Health and Social Care Information Centre Mental Health Services Data Set. Data on referrals or appointments for an autism diagnostic assessment are not currently captured in published mental health data.

  • David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much has been invested in the protection of honey bees in the UK in each of the last five years.

    George Eustice

    Defra has spent between £1.5 million and £2 million on protecting honey bees in England in each of the last five years.

    Our programme aims to protect honey bees from pests and diseases, including tackling disease outbreaks and monitoring for exotic pests such as the Asian hornet.

    Defra also contributed an additional £2.5 million to the £10 million Insect Pollinator Initiative carried out between 2010 and 2015. This was a joint initiative to look at different aspects of pollinator declines. Of the nine projects funded, two were specifically about honey bees and six were aimed at benefiting both honey bees and bumble bees.

  • Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11026, whether the Inter-Ministerial Group on International Animal Welfare has met; when that group’s next meeting will be; and who will be chairing that group.

    George Eustice

    The IMG has yet to formally reconvene and therefor membership of the group is yet to be finalised. However, I have had discussions with Ministerial colleagues about reconvening the group.

  • Lord Boateng – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Boateng – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions in each of the last three years the Ambassador of Burundi to the UK has been (1) called to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss events in Burundi, and (2) met a minister.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Mr Deo Sindayihebura became the first Burundian Ambassador to the UK in May 2014. Until then the position was based in Paris. The most recent meeting between the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), and the Burundian Ambassador was on Wednesday 3 February.

    Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have regular contact with Ambassadors and High Commissioners during their normal diplomatic duties. We do not hold central records of all such meetings.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-03-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for maintaining the scale and scope of the BBC’s coverage on all platforms.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    These issues are being considered as part of Charter Review. The Government will set out its proposals in the forthcoming White Paper.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the number and location of overseas deployments of Army Reserve personnel were in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of potential increases in the number of such deployments in the next 12 months.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The number and location of Army Reserve deployments in the last 12 months are shown in the following table:

    Location

    Personnel Number

    Afghanistan

    65

    Algeria

    ~

    Bahrain

    ~

    Cyprus

    175

    Egypt

    ~

    Ethiopia

    ~

    Falkland Islands

    10

    Iraq

    35

    Italy

    ~

    Jordan

    ~

    Kenya

    5

    Kuwait

    ~

    Latvia

    15

    Malawi

    ~

    Nigeria

    15

    Oman

    ~

    Senegal

    10

    Sudan

    ~

    Sierra Leone

    15

    Somalia

    ~

    Tunisia

    ~

    Ukraine

    ~

    Uganda

    ~

    Rounding is necessary, as a means of disclosure control and the preservation of anonymity; it also improves the clarity of output and conveys an appropriate level of precision to users.

    ‘~’ is less than five.

    It is expected that reserve mobilisation is likely to double during 2016.

    Formed Reserve bodies will be deploying on some 23 overseas exercises this year; the majority of these will be at Company level. 4 PARA will also deploy for one rotation of the Falkland Islands Reinforcement Company in June-July 2016, while the intent is for 4 LANCS to be the Cyprus lead in October 2016.

  • Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 12 May 2016 to Question 36891, whether it is his Department’s policy to retain a Jobcentre Plus in Fylde; and for what reasons officials in his Department did not inform the hon. Member for Fylde of his Department’s plans to redevelop the Jobcentre Plus at Westmoreland House in Lytham St. Annes.

    Priti Patel

    The department is in the process of reviewing all of its estates requirements as the current contract for most of the estate comes to an end on 31 March 2018.

    As building contracts come to an end landlords may explore what options are available to them, including making planning applications. In many cases this will be a sensible commercial decision even if the landlord intends on continuing to let their property to DWP.

    In this case the landlord of Westmorland House has acted independently of DWP in applying for planning permission. No decision has been made on the future of this Jobcentre Plus.

    Commercial negotiations are underway on the entirety of our estate at this time and it is not appropriate to comment further on individual sites while negotiations are in progress.