Tag: 2016

  • John Glen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Glen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 35866, what the capital spend by (a) the Health Protection Agency on its National Incident Coordination Centre in 2011 at Buckingham Palace Gate and (b) Public Health England on its National Emergency Operations Centre in Wellington House was in 2015.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England was established in 2013. Therefore the Department has not been able to specifically identify the historical costs of creating the National Incident Coordination Centre (NICC) in 2011.

    The works to install the NICC was part of a wider refit of 5th Floor North in Wellington House. The project cost for this refit was £43,000; the cost of installing the NICC cannot be specifically identified.

  • Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many self-assessed tax returns which included employee share ownership schemes required investigation by HM Revenue and Customs in each tax year since 2010-11.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs is unable to provide this information as it is not a requirement to report employee share ownership schemes separately on Self-Assessment Tax Returns.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 40083, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of the British military conducting and supporting air drops of humanitarian aid in Syria.

    Mike Penning

    The Ministry of Defence shares the view of the Department for International Development that aid delivered by road, by trusted humanitarian partners who can ensure it gets to those who need it most, remains the best way of getting help to affected populations. The UK has been clear that the use of air drops to deliver aid is high risk and should only be considered as a last resort when all other means have failed, and if it is an effective way of getting humanitarian supplies to people. Air drops require certain conditions to be met for successful delivery that are unlikely to be present on the ground in most of Syria including clear drop zones, safe access for the intended recipients, and co-ordination with authorities on the ground to oversee distribution.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answers of 10 November 2015, 4 December 2015 and 12 December 2015 to Questions 17693, 18405 and 18552, when he plans to place in the Library the documents referred to in those Answers.

    Mark Lancaster

    The documents were placed in the Library of the House on Tuesday 19 January.

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

    Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the potential benefits for bus passengers of municipal ownership of bus companies.

    Andrew Jones

    There are a few towns and cities that have municipal bus operators, however no analysis has been undertaken by the Department for Transport to understand the potential benefits of those models for passengers.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by FALSE on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by the Prime Minister on 9 March that we have to make sure that we get cost-effective electricity and that we go green at the lowest cost” (HC Deb

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The negotiations regarding a Contract for Difference for the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal lagoon remain ongoing.

    Tidal Lagoon Power (TLP) have put forward a number of alternative proposals to their 35 year strike price proposal and as these would be a significant deviation from Government policy it is right that we take time to consider these proposals as part of the on-going due diligence process.

    Beyond the consideration of TLP’s alternative proposals the independent review, which Government announced on the 10 February, we will consider alternative approaches to financing tidal lagoons more generally, providing an evidence base to ensuring decisions are taken in the best interest of bill-payers – both today and in the future.

    While we have made good progress with the TLP the review will need to have been completed before a final decision can be made on the Swansea Bay proposal.

    Hinkley Point C would be a good deal for consumers – support for Hinkley would deliver around 7% of the country’s electricity needs with secure and reliable, low-carbon power.

    We remain confident that the deal on Hinkley Point C will go ahead. We intend to publish a summary of the Value for Money assessment for Hinkley along with the contracts, once the documents have been entered into.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to extend the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme to (a) Iraqi victims of Daesh and (b) members of the Yazidi community.

    James Brokenshire

    Only UNHCR registered Syrian refugees are eligible under the Syrian Resettlement Scheme, which has been expanded to resettle up to 20,000 during this Parliament. We work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify cases that they deem in need of resettlement according to seven agreed vulnerability criteria for the Syrian Resettlement Scheme.

    There are no current plans to widen the Syrian Resettlement Scheme but it is operated in addition to our global resettlement schemes: Gateway and Mandate, which are not nationality specific.

  • 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 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken in conjunction with the French government to ensure that unaccompanied child refugees have access to high quality legal assistance in order to submit claims for family reunion under the Dublin III Regulation.

    James Brokenshire

    Under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015, the UK and France have committed to ensuring that the provisions of the Dublin III Regulation are used efficiently and effectively. To assist the handling of such cases, the two Governments have established a permanent official contact group, agreed single points of contact within respective Dublin Units and the UK seconded an asylum expert to the French administration to improve all stages of the process of identifying, protecting and transferring relevant cases to the UK. The Home Office will review the existing arrangements as part of the work to implement relevant provisions of the Immigration Act 2016. Between the start of January 2016 and 30th April 2016 our records indicate that the UK has accepted over 30 requests from France under the Dublin Regulations to take charge of asylum seeking children on family grounds of which more than 20 have already been transferred to the UK.

    To assist with the identification of potential victims of trafficking and exploitation (including unaccompanied children) in Calais, the UK has funded a project run by a French non-governmental organisation which aims to identify and direct these vulnerable people to the appropriate support services in France.

    The UK and France are running regular joint communication campaigns in northern France which informs individuals (including unaccompanied children) of their rights to claim asylum in France and gives them information on family reunification. The frequency of these campaigns has been increased in line with the Joint Declaration signed in August 2015.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Schools of 4 July 2016, Official Report, column 210WH, what the evidential basis is for the statement that 77 per cent of UK employees say that they need more employees with foreign languages.

    Nick Gibb

    The figure to which I referred on 4 July was derived from a survey by the Confederation of British Industry’s Education and Skills Survey 2015[1] which found that only 23% of businesses said they had no need for foreign language skills among their employees.

    [1] http://news.cbi.org.uk/reports/education-and-skills-survey-2015/

    “

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many lion trophies were imported into the UK in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Before 1 January 2015 there was no requirement to obtain a permit to import a lion hunting trophy for personal use so no data is held. In 2015 the Animal and Plant Health Agency issued 19 import permits (all were returned as used) for the importation of lion hunting trophies into the UK from outside the EU. As at 28 September 2016 it has issued seven import permits this year (none have yet been returned as used). Where permits are returned as used, this confirms that the importation has taken place.