Tag: 2016

  • Baroness Humphreys – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Humphreys – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Humphreys on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to allowing the parents of children born prematurely to nominate their child’s due date, rather than the actual date of birth, when applying for school places.

    Lord Nash

    We have announced our intention to support summer born children by allowing them to delay entry to the reception year until they are five and for those children to remain with that cohort as they progress through school.

    As part of this work we are giving careful consideration to how we can best implement any new arrangements we might put in place, and how we can best support premature children into school.

    We want to support these children in the best way we can, however, it is important that we take the time to consider the wider impact of any policy changes.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many extra days or weeks imprisonment have been given to prisoners for assaults committed on (1) fellow prisoners, and (2) prison staff, in each of the last five years.

    Lord Faulks

    The table attached shows the numbers of awards of additional days in prison establishments as a result of adjudications in each year since 2011, for breach of prison discipline involving violence, including the number of adjudications where awards of added days were as a result of an assault against (1) another prisoner or (2) a member of prison staff.

    Violence in prison has increased in recent years. The nature of offenders currently in custody and the widespread availability of new psychoactive substances have both contributed to making prisons less safe. There is no single, simple solution to improving safety in prisons but we are making progress.

    We are trialling the use of body worn cameras and training sniffer dogs to detect New Psychoactive Substances. We have made it an offence to smuggle New Psychoactive Substances into prison, but ultimately the only way to reduce violence in prisons is to give governors and those who work in prisons the tools necessary to reform and rehabilitate offenders more effectively.

    Data for 2015 – 2016 is not yet available.

  • Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on exports of the decision to reduce the budget of UK Trade and Investment.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    Savings will be broadly delivered through implementing a new digital infrastructure to provide cost-effective access to export services; contractual efficiencies; and prioritising market and sector opportunities that will add most value to UK exports. This is about being more efficient and delivering for UK businesses, including through enhancing direct support and developing the private sector market.

    HM Treasury has recognised the importance of the exports agenda by agreeing that £175m of further proposed savings between 2016-17 and 2019-20 should be reinvested in priority areas. The Government is committed to driving a step-change in UK exports and the reinvestment secured to refocus UK Trade & Investment will help us deliver this.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will require charities to take to establish that no part of their funding of lobbying activity is derived from Government grants.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Recipients of public money through grants should maintain records of how that money is spent, as required by the grant agreement.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the level of immigration in each of the next five years to inform its economic forecasts; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    The data can be found in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook charts and tables – March 2016, under Chapter 5, Chart 5.6: Past and projected net migration to the UK, available here: http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/efo/economic-fiscal-outlook-march-2016/

    “

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent steps she has taken to increase the number of women represented on the executive boards of FTSE 100 companies.

    Caroline Dinenage

    I am delighted that we exceeded Lord Davies’s target of 25% women on boards of the FTSE 100 last year. However, we know that there is more to be done, and we will support and promote Lord Davies’s recommendation for a business-led 33% target for FTSE 350 boards by 2020. That’s why we’ve appointed Sir Philip Hampton, Chair of GlaxoSmithKline, and Dame Helen Alexander, Chair of UBM plc, as Chair and Deputy Chair of a new review which will focus on increasing the number of women in the executive layer of the FTSE 350.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-07-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk that leaving the EU could negatively affect the growth of startup companies in the UK.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    There will be no immediate changes to the UK’s relationship with the EU, in the way goods can move or services can be sold.

    The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK remains open for business and continues to grow and thrive.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the discussions with the government of the US over the extension of the 1966 agreement concerning the British Indian Ocean Territory will be followed by discussions with Mauritius over the future sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government is disappointed at recent action by Mauritius in seeking a UN General Assembly resolution requesting “an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965”. We believe this is an inappropriate use of the International Court of Justice advisory opinion mechanism and sets an unwelcome precedent for other bilateral disputes. Whilst we are disappointed that this item has been added to the UNGA agenda, we are pleased that discussions at UNGA will be deferred until at least June 2017 in order to allow for bilateral discussions with Mauritius. We are hopeful that we can reach an agreed way forward through such bilateral discussions.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any restrictions on the supply of gas or electricity to Gaza, and if so, what representations have been made to the government of Israel by them or the EU on behalf of its member states.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Less than 50 percent of Gaza’s basic electricity needs are currently being met. This is a result of the limited capacity of the existing power lines from Israel (providing approximately 120 Mega Watts (MW) at present) and Egypt (approximately 32 MW), and of the Gaza power plant (60 MW). The plant is not run at full capacity because of damage sustained in past conflicts and restrictions on the amount of diesel allowed into Gaza. Officials at our embassy in Tel Aviv regularly urge the Israeli authorities to ease restrictions on Gaza and to facilitate improvements in electricity infrastructure. On 10 September, during Israeli Prime Minister Mr Netanyahu’s visit to the UK, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), emphasised the need for Israel to do more to improve conditions in Gaza. They discussed electricity, as well as water and exports.

  • Lord Naseby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Naseby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the grant awarded to the organisation Action on Smoking and Health in the current financial year in the light of the announcement by the Cabinet Office on 6 February in relation to charity funding.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The conditions applicable to grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) are set out in the grant award letters, including a specific clause in the grant award letter which makes explicit that the award has been made under the provisions of Section 64 and may not be used for lobbying.

    ASH’s compliance with the conditions of the grant is assessed at the grant monitoring meetings held between the Deputy Director of tobacco control and representatives from ASH as well as in the final full year grant monitoring and governance reports.