Tag: 2016

Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimates his Department has made of the number of people undertaking an apprenticeship in (a) Lancashire and (b) the UK in each of the last three years.

Nick Boles

Information on Apprenticeship starts by Local Authority, in England, for the last three academic years is published as a supplementary table (first link) to a Statistical First Release (second link).

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493777/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xls

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

The Department does not collect further education information relating to the devolved administrations.

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January 1, 2023
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence the Department of Health has on the effectiveness of the existing NHS Whistleblowing Helpline.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We are committed to improving openness in the National Health Service and ensuring whistleblowers receive proper support. Every NHS trust will have a ‘Freedom to Speak up Guardian’ who will support whistleblowers and foster an open and honest culture. The National Guardian will lead, advise, and support the local guardians in carrying out investigations on how concerns are being handled, share good practice, report on national or common themes, and identify any barriers that are preventing the NHS from having a truly safe and open culture.

The Whistleblowing Helpline was established in 2003 by the Department of Health to provide advice to NHS staff and employers on the raising of concerns and on the protection of employees who do raise concerns. The Department holds regular meetings with the provider of the Helpline, Mencap, to keep its performance under review.

In the context of changes in the broader health and care system, such as the establishment of the National Guardian and the local guardians network, the Department is considering what role the Helpline should play in ensuring support for whistleblowers. The Department extended the existing contract to allow the Helpline facility to continue operating while future options for the Helpline are considered.

January 1, 2023
Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) incidents have been reported to trading standards teams and (b) prosecutions there have been related to food and drink products substituted with a cheaper alternative in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison

Monitoring food businesses to ensure compliance with legislation on food labelling and composition is the responsibility of county councils, unitary authorities, the London Boroughs and some but not all metropolitan borough councils. These local authorities are also responsible for taking enforcement action, including prosecutions, where non-compliance is found.

Data are reported to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on the number of food and drink analyses undertaken in relation to compositional issues and labelling and presentation issues:

23,599 analyses were undertaken in 2014/15, 16,899 for compositional issues and 6,700 for labelling and presentation issues.

29,324 analyses were undertaken in 2013/14, 19,386 for compositional issues and 9,938 for labelling and presentation issues.

26,940 analyses were undertaken in 2012/13, 16,982 for compositional issues and 9,958 for labelling and presentation issues.

Data are also reported to the FSA on the total number of prosecutions concluded for food standards issues. This includes action in relation to composition, labelling and presentation but also for other issues such as chemical contamination. In 2014/15, 2013/14 and 2012/13 respectively, 75, 57 and 78 United Kingdom food establishments were subject to prosecution.

The FSA has recently established a central register of successful food law prosecutions. Analysis of data collected for the first year of operation of the register is not yet complete, but in future it will provide more definitive data on prosecutions for offences of this nature.

January 1, 2023
Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals on banning microbeads and microplastics in all personal care products, washing powders, household cleaners and industrial blast media.

George Eustice

The UK and all other EU Member States have called for the European Commission to come up with proposals to ban microbeads in cosmetics at EU level, as part of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan. These proposals, which we expect to be developed as part of the 2017 Plastics Strategy, will inform the UK’s approach to introducing a ban on microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products. However, we are also open to the possibility of the UK acting unilaterally if necessary.

In addition, the UK, in association with neighbouring countries in the Oslo and Paris Convention for the Protection of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR), has developed a Regional Action Plan (RAP) on marine litter. This RAP includes an action to evaluate all products and processes that include primary microplastics (including microbeads) and act, if appropriate, to reduce their impact on the marine environment. This programme of work will help to inform the UK’s approach to other sources of microplastics, such as washing powders, household cleaners and industrial blast media.

January 1, 2023
Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications of the outcome of the EU referendum for future employment levels in the agricultural sector.

George Eustice

The Government has manifesto commitments to develop a 25 year plan to grow more and sell more British food and to treble the number of apprentices in food and farming. These commitments are unaffected by the EU referendum result.

January 1, 2023
Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19916 on Temporary Exclusion Orders, when she expects that report to be published.

Mr John Hayes

No date has been set yet for the report to be published. The report on disruptive and investigatory powers, covering their use in 2014, was published on 4 November.

January 1, 2023
Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-27.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with (a) Members of the European Parliament, (b) EU Commissioners and (c) EU finance ministers on making public the rules for country-by-country reporting of tax and profits by multinational companies.

Mr David Gauke

The UK supports efforts to improve tax transparency. The UK initiated the international work on country-by-country reporting during its G8 Presidency in 2013, calling on the OECD to develop a template for country-by-country (CbC) reporting as part of the BEPS project.

The UK was the first out of 44 to commit to implement the OECD model for CbC reporting with legislation in Finance Act 2015.

We understand that the Commission is also undertaking an analysis of the various tax transparency requirements for multinationals as part of its public consultation, and we look forward to the outcomes of this work.

The Government recognises the case for publishing country-by-country reports on a multilateral basis.

January 1, 2023
John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what range of options will be considered for the status of the Homes and Communities Agency as part of the review of that Agency.

Brandon Lewis

The Spending Review underlined the priority this Government attaches to our ambition to build a million homes this Parliament and to double the number of new homeowners. Building on the successful contribution the Homes and Communities Agency made in the last Parliament, the Review will ensure that they are well-placed to deliver the Government’s objectives.

In line with Cabinet Office guidance, the Review will consider a range of options in looking at how the Agency can operate in the most effective and efficient way.

We will be seeking evidence from a wide range of sources, including the Agency itself, and will provide an opportunity for interested stakeholders to contribute views. Once this evidence has been collected and conclusions drawn, the Review will report as soon as possible.

January 1, 2023
Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to launch a second phase of the local sustainability fund.

Mr Rob Wilson

The Local Sustainability Fund will support 265 small-to-medium sized organisations, providing vital services to vulnerable and disadvantage people, helping them to secure and enhance those services.

Government is now planning and delivering further initiatives that will help small-to-medium sized voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to achieve their full potential. These include offering training to improving fundraising practice, growing the social investment market and ensuring strong leadership and governance.

January 1, 2023
Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) F35, and (2) F35B, aircraft are currently flying in the US; how many F35B aircraft owned by the UK are currently flying in the UK; and how many F35B aircraft in total (1) have been purchased by the UK to date, and (2) will have been purchased by the UK by 1 April 2017.

Earl Howe

The F-35 programme has delivered 179 aircraft to date, of which 53 are F-35B variants. There are currently no UK-owned F-35 aircraft flying in the UK.

To date, the UK has ordered eight F-35B aircraft of which four have been delivered and are flying in the US. By April 2017 the UK is planning to have ordered 17 F-35B aircraft, of which nine are scheduled to have been delivered.

January 1, 2023