Tag: 2016

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the HM Revenue and Customs Benefits and Credits, Errors and Fraud Adding Capacity 444 contract between SYNNEX-Concentrix UK Limited and HM Revenue and Customs, if he will publish the quality criteria for assessing tax credit decisions.

    Jane Ellison

    Information around the criteria and process for assessing tax credit decisions is set out in sections A12-A14 of the Concentrix contract and can be found at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/85d1b730-5e4e-4be8-ae4c-3ac1f359afc7.

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  • Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 8 December (HL4006), how much Savills has been paid for its report on the regeneration of local authority estates in central London.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The information regarding the cost of the report is commercially sensitive and therefore cannot be released. However, the Government has paid a contribution towards the cost of the research which was less than half of the full amount.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the financial monitoring and accounts returns submitted to his Department, what the (a) year to date and (b) forecast outturn spend is in each NHS (i) trust and (ii) foundation trust on total agency nursing costs, excluding outsourced bank, in 2015-16.

    Alistair Burt

    Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority have confirmed that they plan to publish data on the implementation of the agency caps in coming months.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the end-dates are of his Department’s contracts with Hewlett Packard Enterprise; which such contracts he plans to extend, for what reasons and to what dates; and if he will make a statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department has four contracts with Hewlett Packard Enterprise: Application Development and Application Maintenance & Support – these two contracts expired on 29/02/2016 and an extension has been agreed to 28/02/2018. Hosting – this contract runs till 23/02/2018. Desktop – this contract runs till 08/01/2017. DWP future contracting plans are commercially sensitive. The Department is progressing its strategy to deliver its technology requirements, and this includes both in-house services, and externally provided services sourced through procurement exercises using open competitions under the EU Procurement Directives and call-off competitions under Government Frameworks.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to address historic allegations of mistreatment of whistleblowers in the NHS.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department supports the right of staff working in the National Health Service to raise concerns and expects all NHS organisations to support staff in raising concerns. We expect all NHS organisations to adopt the national whistleblowing policy for the NHS as a minimum standard, which will be published by NHS Improvement and NHS England next month, and comply with the Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

    A regulation-making power was included in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 to prohibit discrimination against whistleblowers (or applicants believed by the prospective employer to have been whistleblowers) when they apply for jobs with prescribed NHS employers. The Department is aiming to consult shortly on draft regulations to implement this power.

    NHS England, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority are currently developing a support scheme for NHS workers and former NHS workers, whose performance is sound and who can demonstrate that they are having difficulty finding employment in the NHS as a result of having made protected disclosures. This scheme will be piloted in the next financial year.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh.

    Mr David Lidington

    The UK is deeply concerned about the recent upsurge in fighting on the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact. I issued a statement on 2 April calling for the sides to halt the fighting and to exercise restraint. While the UK has no direct role in negotiations, we strongly support the work of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs. On 18 April, I raised Nagorno-Karabakh at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg and expressed my desire to see the Co-Chairs inject new energy into the process. We will continue to urge the sides to work with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to reach a negotiated peace settlement.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will place in the Library copies of all letters, leaflets and other material from his Department circulated to (a) stakeholders and (b) members of the public on the EU referendum; what the costs of the production and distribution of that material has been since 1 January 2016; and what he estimates the cost of any further production and distribution of such material will be between 6 May 2016 and 23 June 2016.

    Alun Cairns

    I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer given by my hon Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (John Penrose) UIN 38825.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he plans to take to improve performance in his Department of handling correspondence from hon. Members and Peers.

    Ben Gummer

    The prompt response to correspondence from both Members of Parliament/Peers and the public is of high importance to the Department, and is a personal priority for me. We aim to respond to all correspondence within 15 working days.

    Our last published statistics for the calendar year 2015 were at 70%, far below our preferred level of 90%. We are trialling new reforms to improve our response rate, such as more comprehensive statistics per unit within the Department, and board-level scrutiny of monthly statistics.

    The Guidance on handling correspondence from Members of Parliament, Peers, MEPs and Members of devolved Administrations was updated in March 2016

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/handling-government-correspondence-guidance

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  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-10-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what long-term plans he has to secure the future of the oil and gas industry in the North Sea.

    Jane Ellison

    The long-term success of the sector is dependent on a tripartite approach between industry, government and a dedicated regulator, as set out in Sir Ian Wood’s review.

    The Government has provided substantial support to the oil and gas sector over the past two years, through measures worth £2.3 billion. This includes significant cuts to tax rates, the introduction of the Investment and Cluster Area Allowances and funding for seismic surveys to support exploration. The UK now has one of the most competitive fiscal regimes in the world for oil and gas.

    On 1 October 2016, the Oil and Gas Authority was formally established as a strong, independent regulator for the sector. Its new powers will allow it to act with greater speed and flexibility to attract investment, support jobs and further the UK’s competitive edge.

  • Peter Dowd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Peter Dowd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Dowd on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the number of patients who went to A&E after being unable to make an appointment with their GP in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Alistair Burt

    Of those patients who either were not able to get an appointment or get a convenient appointment in the last GP Patient Survey, 9.9% indicated that they went to accident and emergency or a walk-in centre (an increase of 0.5 percentage points since 2013-14).