Tag: 2016

  • Judith Cummins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Judith Cummins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that (a) there is a strategy for decommissioning offshore oil and gas rigs around the UK and (b) that decommissioning work is carried out in UK yards.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The UKCS Decommissioning Strategy has been prepared and will be published by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) shortly. The OGA is working through the Decommissioning, Supply Chain and Exports, and Technology Boards to ensure that the UK industry is ready and capable to undertake and safely deliver decommissioning of the UKCS.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide a schedule of documents held by his Department relating to the disappearance of Rebecca Coriam from the Disney Wonder cruise ship in March 2011 and the investigation into that disappearance.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    I am happy to provide the Honourable Member with full details about the documents held by the Department relating to the disappearance of Rebecca Coriam and have asked officials to write to him with this information.

  • Lord Porter of Spalding – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Porter of Spalding – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Porter of Spalding on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the cost pressures on local authorities, and whether in the light of that assessment they have plans to give local authorities greater freedoms to raise income locally by removing the requirement to hold referendums before raising Council Tax above two per cent.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Councils account for around a quarter of all public spending and have an important role to play in tackling the deficit. The 2015 Spending Review looked across all local government spending and as a result the Government provided a £3.5 billion package to tackle the pressures of adult social care. This included giving councils the additional freedom to introduce an adult social care precept worth 2 per cent, which could raise nearly £2billion by 2019-20. The Government remains committed to working with local authorities to keep council tax low for hard-working families and set out its proposals for council tax referendum principles for 2017-18 in the Local Government Finance Settlement Technical Consultation, published on 15 September 2016.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 21142, if he will make it his policy to make mandatory the recording of the diagnosis code in the accident and emergency data set.

    Jane Ellison

    Following a review of the Accident and Emergency Commissioning Data Set in 2014, a specific project was established to support the development of an improved data set for urgent and emergency care. This is a collaborative project which includes wide-ranging membership across our key partners. The mandatory recording of primary diagnosis within accident and emergency departments is expected to be considered within the scope of this project, which will report in due course.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what percentage optimism bias his Department applied to the Successor Trident programme.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Successor submarine is categorised as "Production of a Platform" for optimism bias purposes. In line with normal Ministry of Defence processes, the optimism bias will be addressed as part of the process of securing approval for the next investment point.

    I am withholding information for the current calculations for optimism bias, as the formal internal scrutiny process has not been completed.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 29560, what assessment he has made of trends in the number of active Daesh fighters in (a) Iraq, (b) Libya and (c) Syria in each of the last 24 months; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    As outlined in our response to PQ 29560 the latest available public figures on the number of Daesh fighters in Iraq and Syria come from the US. These put the number at approximately 19,000 – 25,000, compared to 20,000 – 31,000 fighters in 2014.

    Our current estimate for the number of Daesh fighters in Libya is between 3,000 – 6,000. We do not have earlier estimates from which we could extrapolate a trend. The vast majority of Daesh fighters in Libya are foreigners rather than Libyans. While some Daesh figures have called for foreign fighters to go to Libya rather than Iraq/Syria, we have not seen any evidence to suggest this has happened.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total amount of lost revenue to the United Kingdom from the tax avoidance of UK citizens revealed by the Panama Papers.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs does not have access to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ data, but are exploring every avenue, nationally and internationally, to obtain it, so they can pursue the dishonest minority who seek to hide and dodge their taxes.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Egyptian government on the disconnection of power lines providing electricity to Southern Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware that there are power shortages in Gaza, leading to severe power restrictions and blackouts. We have discussed this issue with Egyptian officials.

    We regularly raise the humanitarian situation in Gaza with the Egyptian government. The UK will continue to urge the parties to prioritise progress towards reaching a durable solution for Gaza, and to take the necessary practical steps to ensure Gaza’s reconstruction and economic recovery.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the extent to which current and planned staffing levels at the Equality and Human Rights Commission are sufficient to enable the Commission to fulfil its statutory obligations.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body. It makes its own decisions about the allocation of its resources and its procedures for planning changes to its staffing against its business needs as set out in its one-year Business Plan and three-year Strategic Plan.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the commitments in the Belfast Agreement 1998, what representations they have received from the Irish government about the continuing status of Northern Ireland as part of the UK.

    Lord Dunlop

    The Government has regular discussions with the Irish Government on a range of issues in accordance with the well-established three stranded approach laid out in the Belfast Agreement. As one of the negotiators of that Agreement, the Noble Lord is aware that Northern Ireland’s constitutional position is based on the principle of consent, which is fully supported by both the United Kingdom and Irish Governments.

    The Belfast Agreement stated that “the present wish of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland, freely exercised and legitimate, is to maintain the Union and, accordingly, that Northern Ireland’s status as part of the United Kingdom reflects and relies upon that wish”. The Government has no reason to believe that there has been any change in this position.