Tag: 2016

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason not all the monthly announcements of Freedom of Information releases for 2015 have been published on his Department’s website.

    Dominic Raab

    The Freedom of Information Act does not require the Ministry of Justice to publish all our responses to Freedom of Information requests. The Ministry of Justice maintains a disclosure log on GOV.UK, and we review what is published on the log on an ongoing basis: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/freedom-of-information-disclosure-log#history

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if the Prime Minister will take steps to secure exclusion of the NHS from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership by way of a blanket exemption within the main text of that agreement.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government has always been clear that protecting the NHS is of the utmost importance for the UK. We believe, as does the European Commission, that provisions in the current texts of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) achieve this protection.

    Over several decades the UK and EU have signed numerous trade agreements. These treaties have helped both UK and EU businesses grow and create high quality jobs. They have also ensured that it remains for the UK to decide how our public services are run.

    TTIP will be no different. Decisions on how to deliver public services for the best outcomes for UK citizens are and will be made by UK governments, not our trade partners. The Prime Minister, the European Commission and the US Government have all confirmed this. The NHS is not at risk from TTIP or any other trade and investment agreement.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the new junior doctors’ contract on elective weekend care.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department does not routinely collect this information. However NHS Employers conducted a survey of employers in January 2016, which asked what percentage of junior doctors worked 1 in 4 weekends or more frequently. The data returned reflected a snapshot (rather than the last six months).

    Based on a response from 14 employers in England, 40% worked more frequently than 1 in 4 Saturdays.

    Our manifesto commitment, which was translated into the mandate that shaped the contract negotiation, was for the National Health Service to standardise urgent and emergency care, it is not about elective care. It is true that some hospitals do elective work at weekends. That is part of the trust’s local decision-making and it is right for the hospital to make that decision.

  • Byron Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Byron Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Byron Davies on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish all responses received to the Chief Medical Officer’s consultation on the revised alcohol guidelines.

    Jane Ellison

    As with all consultations of this sort, individual responses to consultations are treated as confidential so not usually published.

    However, the Department will provide a summary of all the responses for each of the consultation questions in the Government response to the advice that the UK Chief Medical Officers’ guidance.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Pensions Regulator about the length of time it will require to report on the BHS pension scheme; and whether they plan to communicate that information to fund managers.

    Lord Freud

    The right approach is to allow the Pensions Regulator to get on with its investigations into the use of its anti-avoidance powers. There is a clear legal process that must be followed and this can sometimes take a considerable amount of time. The Pensions Regulator’s Chief Executive has given a commitment that it will have made significant progress by the end of 2016. It has said that when it becomes appropriate to do so it will consider publishing a report of the case under Section 89 of the Pensions Act 2004. The Regulator is independent and Ministers cannot become involved in its decisions on whether or not to exercise its powers or seek to influence its investigations in any way.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of restrictions of water supplies on the humanitarian situation in the West Bank.

    Rory Stewart

    The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs assessed in November 2015 that 400,000 people in the West Bank required humanitarian water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) assistance. UK officials are in regular dialogue with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the UN, World Bank, EU and other development actors on this issue.

    DFID is funding UNICEF to lead on developing and updating the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) WASH Sector Contingency Plan at the national level. This brings together the Palestinian Water Authority and other partners to monitor the water situation in the OPTs and ensure preparedness and effective response in case of an emergency.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government over what period, and under what headings, the €3 billion offered by the EU to Turkey in respect of refugees and migrants will be spent; and what verification of expenditure there will be.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    At the EU-Turkey summit on 29 November, the EU committed €3 billion of additional support to Turkey to help ease its refugee burden and prevent further irregular migration to the EU. The European Commission has proposed a Refugee Facility for Turkey to coordinate the €3 billion in 2016 and 2017, which will be financed in part by Member State contributions and in part from the EU budget.

    The details of the Refugee Facility, including the financing, governance and monitoring arrangements, are currently being discussed by Member States. All contributions from the EU budget will be fully consistent with the spending limits set out in the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the annual cost of the Probate Registry and the yield from fee income.

    Lord Faulks

    The cost of the Probate Registry in 2014/15 was £42.5m and the yield from fee income (after remission) was £41.5m.

    The costs relate to probate for “non-contentious” cases, that is where the Will is not in dispute.

  • 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 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26134, what the reason is for the difference between the data series given in that Answer in relation to suicides and suicide attempts on the Strategic Road Network and the data given in the Answer of 15 December 2015 to Question 19015 asked by the hon. Member for Huddersfield; and if he will update the figures given in the Answer of 15 December 2015 to include the number of suicides and suicide attempts on the Strategic Road Network in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016 to date.

    Andrew Jones

    The difference in the data given is due to the ‘Command and Control’ database, used by Highways England to record all incidents on the Strategic Road network, being reconfigured in April 2013 to improve the consistency of the data recorded. This has led to improved accuracy, particularly when logging types of incidents and the method for recording ‘suicides’ or ‘attempted suicides’ was also adapted.

    In 2015 there were 790 incidents logged as suicides or attempted suicides.

    In 2016 – from 1st January to 21st February – there have been 120 such incidents.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which non-governmental organisations have been involved in developing training materials for the training and accreditation of work coaches.

    Priti Patel

    The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is a registered centre for endorsed learning accreditation and has been delivering endorsed learning programmes for a number of years.

    The accredited learning for Work Coaches builds on the qualifications developed for the Operational Delivery Profession, in association with City and Guilds and the Chartered Management Association.

    DWP currently has a contract with Pearson Education Ltd to accredit the Work Coach learning journeys and to secure standards for those qualifications they certificate.