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Tag: 2016

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the total untaxed capital gains that will accrue to the beneficiaries of the starter homes scheme by 2020, taking into account the discount and any anticipated rise in house values.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The 2015 Conservative manifesto had the clear objective to build affordable homes, including Starter Homes to support young people into home ownership. They will be sold at a minimum 20 per cent discount on open market value and for no more than the price cap of £250,000 (£450,000 in London). The amount of discount will vary according to local property prices. No separate assessment on capital gains has been made.

  • Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reported concerns about (1) the use of ordinary pencils for ballot papers as opposed to pens or pencils with indelible ink, and (2) ballot papers being changed, during the EU referendum ballot; and whether they are planning to ensure that polling stations are provided with special ballot pens or pencils using indelible ink.

    Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

    The Government has noted the Electoral Commission’s comments on this issue in its report on the EU Referendum. The rules governing the conduct of the referendum, which were based on the legislation in place for UK Parliamentary elections, did not specify the type of writing implement that electors must use to complete their ballot paper and voters were able to use the pencil provided or mark their ballot paper with a pen if they preferred. There were also specific safeguards in place to protect the integrity of the ballot.

    We are not aware of any cases of ballot papers being changed at the referendum.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to (a) invest in research on rehabilitation, health and social care models to improve the quality of life for ill Gulf War veterans and (b) communicate the results of US research on those issues to Gulf War veterans living in the UK.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Government greatly values the service of all 1990-91 Gulf War veterans, particularly as we reach the 25th anniversary of the start of combat operations. We have long accepted that the ill health of some veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War is associated with their service in the Gulf. In such cases compensation may be claimed under the War Pensions Scheme with appropriate medical care provided by the National Health Service across the UK .

    The Department has funded extensive research into Gulf War illness including some research into rehabilitative therapies for those veterans with persistent symptoms.

    Our strategy on research topics and studies has been informed and overseen by independent scientific experts nominated by the Medical Research Council taking account of published peer-reviewed international literature and international studies. We have no plans to undertake further research on Gulf War issues. We continue to monitor any Gulf War research that is published round the world including from the United States.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2015 to Question 2241, what the reasons are for there being no assessment undertaken of the safety implications of excluding cyclists from the Northern Entrance to the parliamentary estate; and if he will review that policy to take account of the forthcoming opening of the segregated cycle superhighway along the Embankment.

    Tom Brake

    A generic risk assessment for the movement of pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles around the Parliamentary Estate was undertaken in August 2015; the assessment considered the risk of collisions between vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. A dedicated cycle entry gate has been installed at Derby Gate as this entrance has the width to allow safe vehicle, cycle and pedestrian access, whereas the Northern Entrance does not. This is under constant review by the relevant House Authorities.

    An assessment of the implications for both vehicle and bicycle entry at the Northern Entrance is planned to be conducted to reflect the construction of the East-West Bicycle Superhighway. The results will be reported to the hon. Lady by the Serjeant at Arms, once the work is complete.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to provide additional funding for projects identified by the forthcoming Northern Transport Strategy.

    Greg Hands

    The government will need to consider the proposals from both Transport for the North and the National Infrastructure Commission before taking any funding decisions. The Government looks forward to the publication of both reports in the coming weeks.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect on traffic congestion in (a) Brentford and Isleworth constituency and (b) the London borough of Hounslow of the proposed third runway at Heathrow.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Airports Commission undertook a range of detailed assessments to support its Final Report published in July 2015. The analysis included a detailed assessment of transport network impacts for each of the Commission’s three short-listed options.

    Copies of the Commission’s Surface Access: Dynamic Modelling Report its Local and Strategic Roads Modelling Study for the Heathrow Airport North West Runway Proposals, and the Commission’s Freight Impact Study were published alongside its Final Report, and are available from the Commission website at the following links:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/437460/surface-access-dynamic-modelling-report-heathrow-airport-north-west-runway.pdf

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/437459/surface-access-local-and-strategic-roads-modelling-study-heathrow-airport-north-west-runway.pdf

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/437276/surface-access-freight-impacts-study.pdf

    The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out when making a decision on the location of additional runway capacity.

    “

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from other EU countries were refused entry to the UK in each of the years between 1990 and 2005.

    James Brokenshire

    The table below provides the total number of nationals of EU and non-EU member states that have been initially refused entry to the UK since 2004. Information prior to 2004 is not available.

    Year

    Total EU refusals (3,4)

    Total non-EU refusals

    2004

    6,342

    32,049

    2005

    635

    29,375

    Notes:

    1) Information prior to 2004 is not available.

    2) Passengers initially refused entry relates to non-asylum cases dealt with at ports of entry.

    3) Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU on 1 January 2007.

    4) Croatia joined the EU on 1 July 2013.

    Figures for 2014 and 2015 are provisional.

    The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of passengers initially refused entry by country of nationality within Immigration Statistics. The data are available in the latest release, Immigration Statistics: October to December 2015, table ad.04 from GOV.UK on the statistics web pages at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are employed as specialists by the NHS to assist people with gambling addictions.

    Alistair Burt

    The Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust provides the only specialised national problem gambling clinic. However, specialised addiction services, which mainly deal with substance misuse, do tend to accept people with gambling problems referred to them. People can also access addiction services in primary care and secondary care, which may provide support for problem gambling.

    People may also access psychological therapies through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. Although problem gambling is not listed amongst the provisional diagnosis categories that IAPT treats, IAPT practitioners would be able to treat common mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety, which may be present in people with gambling addiction problems.

    Data is not collected centrally on the number of specialist National Health Service professionals which provide support and treatment for gambling addiction.

    Data is not collected on the funding of services to treat people with gambling problems. Funding to provide NHS mental health services is allocated to clinical commissioning groups which are best placed to commission local health services based on the needs of their local populations. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning local alcohol and drug treatment services which may also refer people to gambling support services where they identify people with gambling issues.

  • Baroness Finlay of Llandaff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Finlay of Llandaff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimates they have made of the costs of road traffic accidents associated with alcohol to (1) the NHS, (2) the emergency services, (3) the police, (4) the justice system, (5) the benefits system, and (6) individual victims.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport publishes estimates of the average cost to society of road traffic accidents as part of the Transport Analysis Guidance (called WebTAG). The cost is broken down into six elements. Three of these elements are casualty-related:

    • lost output/cost to the economy
    • medical and ambulance costs
    • human costs

    The remaining three are accident-related:

    • police costs
    • insurance and administration costs
    • damage to property

    The human cost element is estimated using evidence of individuals’ willingness to pay for a marginal reduction in their risk of suffering a road traffic accident. The other components are estimated using official data sources.

    The Department has not made any estimate of the costs of road traffic accidents to the justice system or the benefits system. However, it is likely that these will be small in comparison with human and lost output costs.

    The table below gives an estimate of the costs for each of the six WebTAG elements for all reported personal-injury accidents in Great Britain where at least one driver was over the alcohol limit. The figures are based on accidents that occurred in 2014 as this is the most recent year for which final drink drive accident statistics are available. The totals are in 2016 prices.

    Total value of prevention of reported accidents when at least one driver is over the alcohol limit, Great Britain, 2014

    £million in 2016 prices

    Accident severity

    Police costs

    Insurance and admin

    Damage to property

    Lost output

    Human costs

    Medical and ambulance

    Total

    Fatal

    4.4

    0.1

    2.7

    150.6

    287.3

    0.3

    445.4

    Serious

    2.1

    0.2

    4.9

    25.9

    178.0

    15.7

    226.7

    Slight

    2.7

    0.6

    15.0

    17.6

    84.0

    7.5

    127.4

    799.5

    “

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff of his Department are involved in the renegotiations of the UK’s tax treaties with developing countries.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs’ Tax Treaty Team, which at October 2016 has 10.3 full time equivalent members of staff, is responsible for negotiating the UK’s tax treaties. The make-up of the negotiating programme will vary from year to year which means it is not possible to put an exact figure on the number of staff involved with negotiations with developing countries.