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Tag: 2016

  • Huw Irranca-Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Huw Irranca-Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2016 to Question 22432, what measure the Director of the Serious Fraud Office uses to judge actual or potential economic harm.

    Robert Buckland

    The Criminal Justice Act 1987 provides that “The Director may investigate any suspected offence which appears to him on reasonable grounds to involve serious or complex fraud.”

    Each case is assessed on its own facts and merits.

    The Statement of Principle sets out some of the factors that the Director will take into account when considering the matter for investigation. All of these will be considered, and there is no minimum requirement or measure in respect of the different factors.

    Each on its own or taken in combination can establish sufficient grounds for the Director to decide that the case is sufficiently large, complex or of wide public interest that it should be dealt with by the Serious Fraud Office.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department provides to senior civil servants on speaking at public events.

    Matthew Hancock

    All civil servants are subject to the requirements of the Civil Service Code and Civil Service Management Code. Further guidance on attendance at external events including those organised by political parties can be found in the Directory of Civil Service Guidance (vol 2).

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 30892, when his Department plans to set up the independent Road Safety Management Capacity Review, announced in his Department’s Road Safety Statement, published on 21 December 2015.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport plans to commission a road safety management capacity review during the next financial year.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    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 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to develop a national strategy for eye care.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Given the size of England, and the diversity of the health needs of different communities, we believe commissioning needs to be owned and managed locally.

    Therefore, there are no plans to develop a national strategy for eye care.

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning hospital eye services and for holding their providers to account in terms of contract performance. CCGs are also able to commission eye care services from community optometrists where they judge them to be needed in their areas over and above the sight tests commissioned by NHS England. Such services could include post cataract surgery reviews, glaucoma monitoring and low vision services which may reduce pressure on hospital eye departments, reduce waiting times and make patient care pathways more accessible in the community.

    There is scope for further work to be done by community optometrists and the Clinical Council for eye health commissioning is working with commissioners to develop commissioning guidelines in this area.

    CCGs have the ability to develop alternatives to hospital care. We would expect patients who require further planned stages of treatment in line with their agreed care plan, to receive this treatment without undue delay and in line with when it is clinically appropriate.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for the Government’s policy on voter registration of the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Democratic Participation, entitled Getting the Missing Millions on to the Electoral Register, published in April 2016.

    John Penrose

    I have set out an ambitious vision of how electoral registration could change over the course of this Parliament, building on the successful introduction of Individual Electoral Registration and online registration. The overarching aims are to ensure registers are as complete and accurate as they can be and that the system of electoral registration is as efficient as possible. We welcome the views of the All- Party Parliamentary Group and Bite the Ballot set out in their report which is helping inform our plans for a programme of work aimed at realising this vision.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by which date she expects to have resettled 3,000 at risk child asylum-seekers and their families from the Middle East and North Africa to the UK.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government has committed to resettling to the UK up to 3,000 individuals under a scheme designed to protect vulnerable children in the Middle East and North Africa over the lifetime of this Parliament. There will be a review of the scheme at the two year mark.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government is considering the introduction of a floor level on the overall rate available through the Early Years National Funding Formula.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Government is investing £1billion of additional funding per year in the early years free entitlements, including £300million per year to increase the national average funding rate. We are determined to allocate this record investment fairly and transparently and that is why we have consulted on an Early Years National Funding Formula. This consultation has now closed and we will respond in the Autumn.

  • Khalid Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Khalid Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Khalid Mahmood on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the recorded level of gun crime was in (a) England and (b) the West Midlands between (i) January 2010 to December 2012 and (ii) January 2013 to December 2015.

    Mike Penning

    Offences involving firearms recorded by the police at the force area level are published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on a financial year basis. The most recently published figures for the West Midlands and England are 2013/14. These are given in the table and show that between 2009/10 and 2013/14, offences involving firearms (excluding air weapons) fell by 40% in both the West Midlands and in England.

    Figures for 2014/15 are due to be published on 11 February 2016 in the ONS publication Focus on: Violent Crime and Sexual Offences 2014/15.

    The ONS publish provisional data for England and Wales on the number of offences involving firearms in their quarterly crime statistics releases. The most recently available figures are for the year ending June 2015 and these can be found here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/year-ending-june-2015/stb-crime–ye-june-2015.html

    The Home Office does not collect data on the number of people arrested in connection with offences involving firearms. The Home Office collects data on arrests by groups of crimes (for example, violence against the person, robbery) but cannot separately identify those that involved a firearm from those that did not.

    Convictions data are the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice has informed the Home Office that they do not hold data on the number of convictions for offences where a firearm was involved.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy not to impose a tax on insurance premiums on health cash plans; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    All insurance premiums, including health cash plans, are exempt from VAT.

    Long term insurance products, including critical illness cover, life insurance and income protection insurance are exempt from IPT.

    Insurance Premium Tax is currently paid by insurers on all general insurance premiums. This includes health cash plans and other forms of medical insurance.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the role of special advisers and describes the range of activities they may undertake. Copies of the Code of Conduct are available in the Libraries of the House and on-line at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468340/CODE_OF_CONDUCT_FOR_SPECIAL_ADVISERS_-_15_OCTOBER_2015_FINAL.pdf

    “