Tag: 2016

  • – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 27 November 2015 (HL3723) concerning parity of esteem in Northern Ireland, whether they believe in parity of esteem for all the people in” Northern Ireland

    Lord Dunlop

    As I have made clear in previous answers on this subject the UK Government is committed to affording due respect and parity of esteem to all the people in Northern Ireland as underpinned by the 1998 Belfast Agreement, and in accordance with the obligations on the Government to promote equality and prevent discrimination across the United Kingdom.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent in (a) cash and (b) real terms on child and adolescent mental health services per young person in (i) England, (ii) London, (iii) each London borough and (iv) each London health trust in each year since 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England is responsible for commissioning health care services in England. However, it does not currently monitor mental health spend on individual programmes such as for children and adolescents’ mental health. This level of details is being collected in financial plans for 2016-17 and NHS England has processes in place to monitor spend at this level going forward.

  • Baroness Uddin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Uddin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Uddin on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 28 January (HL5141), who the sixteen influential Muslim Women” were who met the Prime Minister on 14 January at a Community Engagement Forum.”

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Those who attended were:

    Sajda Mughal OBE, Managing Director at JAN Trust

    Syima Aslam, Organiser of Bradford Literary Festival

    Sara Khan, Director and co-founder of Inspire

    Diana Nammi, Executive Director of Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation

    Aysha and Kiran Iqbal Patel, Directors of Odara

    Fahma Mohamed, FGM activist and Trustee of Integrate Bristol

    Faeeza Vaid, Chair of ‘Sister 2 Sister’ in Birmingham and Executive Director of the Muslim Women’s Network

    Henna Rai, Director for the Association of British Muslims

    Yasmin Khan, Director of Staying Put and Aspire-I

    Hasina Khan, Chair and founder of Saheliyaan Asian Women’s Forum and Councillor on Chorley Council

    Nahid Rasool, Director of Shantona Women’s Centre

    Farmida Bi, Head of Islamic Finance and a partner at Norton Rose.

    Zahra Al-Alawi, Presenter of Woman’s View on Ahlulbayt TV

    Farah Mirza, TV Presenter and previous UN representative for Islamic Human Rights Commission

    Sarah Joseph OBE, Chief Executive and Editor of emel magazine

  • Vicky Foxcroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Vicky Foxcroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of cadet forces to reducing the incidence of serious youth violence.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The Ministry of Defence-Sponsored Cadet Forces comprise the Sea Cadet Corps, the Combined Cadet Force, the Army Cadet Force, and the Air Training Corps.

    The Department has not formally assessed the potential contribution of its Cadet Forces in reducing the incidence of serious youth violence. However, the 131,000 Cadets involved follow a wide variety of well-organised, enjoyable and challenging military-themed activities in a safely-managed environment.

    Experience shows that these activities allow Cadets to develop a sense of responsibility and service to the community, self-reliance, leadership, teamwork, communication skills and respect for authority and for others. In undertaking these activities, Cadets can gain nationally-recognised educational and vocational qualifications.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many apprentices were employed by (a) Network Rail, (b) Highways England or the Highways Agency and (c) HS2 Ltd on 15 March in each year from 2010 to 2016.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The numbers of apprentices employed directly by Network Rail, Highways England or the Highways Agency, and HS2 Ltd. over the requested time period are set out below.

    Year

    Network Rail

    HS2 Ltd.*

    Highways England / Highways Agency

    2010

    655

    0

    2011

    650

    0

    2012

    607

    0

    2013

    610

    0

    24

    2014

    592

    4

    43

    2015

    606

    1

    71

    2016

    398**

    0

    52

    * For HS2 Ltd, the majority of employment and apprenticeship opportunities will be provided through the supply chain. Construction is due to begin in 2017, following Royal Assent.

    **plus a further 150 to start in September 2016 at level 3, and upwards of 100+ across other levels 2 to 7

    Looking forward over this Parliament to 2020, the Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy (January 2016) sets out our ambition to create 30,000 apprenticeships in the roads and rail sectors by 2020, in support of this government’s unprecedented investment in transport infrastructure.

    This target includes the Department for Transport, its Agencies and infrastructure client bodies – Crossrail, Transport for London, Highways England Network Rail and HS2 Ltd, as well as each of their supply chains. Depending on the contract, suppliers will either create one apprenticeship for every £3 to £5m of taxpayers’ money spent, or increase the number of apprentices employed each year through the lifetime of the contract. In these cases the aim is that the number of apprenticeships created each year will equal 2.5% of the workforce.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on his plans to limit motorway roadworks to no more than stretches of two miles.

    Andrew Jones

    We are undertaking the biggest investment in roads in a generation to deliver better journeys for motorists. Highways England’s top priority is maintaining the safety of all motorists and road workers whilst keeping disruption to a minimum.

    Highways England, as a general principle, aim to reduce the lengths of roadworks to a maximum of 10 miles, shorter if possible and if safety allows.

    They will also be carrying out trials to raise the speed limit through roadworks to 55mph where it is safe to do so in order to help minimise queues.

    These changes could come into effect on many new schemes from 2017 depending on the outcome of the trials.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what improvements to WiFi coverage on trains are being made by Great Western Railways.

    Paul Maynard

    First Great Western InterCity and Thames Valley trains have been fitted with on-train Wi-Fi. Following the Direct Award Great Western Railway is fitting free Wi-Fi to all Super Express Trains, Electrical Multiple Units and long term diesel trains remaining in the fleet.

    The fitted trains include the new AT300 trains providing London to South West services. Great Western Railway state in their ‘Annual Stakeholder Report 2015-16’ that this work will be completed by December 2018.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK civil servants, and of what grade, who work in units, directorates or sub-departments within DEFRA are charged with EU policy formulation, advising on EU policy or enforcing EU policy.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Defra is amongst those Government Departments whose work is most closely linked to and impacted by EU activity, legal frameworks and funding. The majority of policy roles within the Department will or are likely to support EU related work to some degree.

  • Lord Adebowale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Adebowale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Adebowale on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in transferring healthcare in police custody to the NHS from April 2015; why that transfer has been delayed; what plans they have to ensure that work done by the police and NHS England to date is not lost; and how they will ensure that the same level of physical and mental healthcare is available to those in custody as to those not in custody.

    Lord Bates

    My rt honFriend the Home Secretary has decided that a reallocation from the overall police settlement in respect of custody healthcare costs would not be appropriate at this time. Funding responsibility for police custody healthcare services will therefore remain with Police and Crime Commissioners who will have flexibility to prioritise resource towards police custody healthcare, based on local needs. We expect that in doing so, they will wish to continue to develop the close partnerships which have already been established with local NHS England commissioners as part of the work on police custody healthcare arrangements in ensuring the most appropriate local commissioning, and healthcare arrangements.

    We will continue to support such partnerships to build upon the work done to date and, particularly, to work with them to explore the scope for new models for better integrating the commissioning of the range of physical and mental health initiatives and interventions available.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time of cases in employment tribunals related to non-payment of the National Minimum Wage was in each of the last five years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The average clearance time of employment tribunal claims for non-payment of the National Minimum Wage1 in each of the last five years is as shown in Table 1 below:

    Financial Year

    Average time in weeks

    2010-11

    43

    2011-12

    41

    2012-13

    43

    2013-14

    32

    2014-15

    74

    source: ET Database February 2016

    1 "Suffer a detriment and/or dismissal related to failure to pay the minimum wage or allow access to records"

    In 2014-15 we reviewed outstanding cases and removed a backlog of very old cases from the case management system. The overall trend in average clearance time for single cases is improving and this can be seen in the Published Statistics at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

    “