Tag: 2016

Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate he has made of savings to his Department as a result of (a) ISSC1 and (b) ISSC2 in each year since 2013.

Matthew Hancock

Cabinet Office does not hold current financial information for Independent Shared Service Centre 1 (ISSC1). As the sole customer receiving services as part of ISSC1, responsibility for the majority of the programme and contract management is now undertaken by DfT.

ISSC2’s Founding customers achieved net savings of £0.9 million in financial year 2013-14 and £8.19 million net savings in financial year 2014-15. There was a 17% reduction in costs of service in 2014-15 compared with the 2012-13 baseline.

The Cabinet Office achieved £0.12 million net savings in 2013-14 and £0.31 million net savings in financial year 2014-15 as a result of receiving services through ISSC2. The figure for 2014-15 represents a 17% reduction in costs compared with the 2012-13 baseline.

01/01/2023
Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2016-02-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to improve access to mortgages for self-employed people.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government is committed to ensuring that the mortgage market delivers for creditworthy borrowers.

On 1 December 2015 the Government launched the Help to Buy: ISA to help all first time buyers saving for their first home.

Beyond the requirements set out in the regulations, decisions around the availability of individual mortgage loans are commercial decisions for lenders, including what evidence is required to validate income. The Government does not seek to intervene in these decisions.

01/01/2023
Amanda Milling – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Milling on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to maintain the position of the UK internationally in dementia research and the design of dementia-friendly communities.

Jane Ellison

We will spend more than £300million on dementia research this parliament, aiming to double overall investment by 2025. Additionally, we have spearheaded the £130million Dementia Discovery Fund and plan to invest up to £150million to develop a national Dementia Research Institute by 2020. By 2020, over half of people will be living in dementia friendly communities – of which there are already 147 such communities across England.

01/01/2023
Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-04-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure the effective operation of the electoral office of Northern Ireland following the decision by the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance to ballot its members in the electoral office on strike action following the decision to close six electoral branch offices.

Lord Dunlop

The delivery of elections is an operational matter for the Chief Electoral Officer.

It is disappointing that the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance has decided to ballot its members in Area Electoral Offices for industrial action. While two Area Electoral Offices are due to close in October with staff relocating to other offices, no decision has been taken on others. This action is hard to justify in advance of final decisions on wider reform which will only be taken following consideration of responses to a consultation later in the year.

01/01/2023
Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data from which year of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey has been used to inform the development of the soft drinks industry levy.

Damian Hinds

A wide range of data shows that children in the UK are consuming too much sugar, and this is a cause of obesity and a driver of obesity-related disease. A single 330ml can of cola may contain 9 teaspoons of added sugar, which is more than a child’s daily recommended intake. This is why the government has announced an industry levy designed to encourage producers to reduce the amount of added sugar in drinks.

The most recent published National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) includes data from 2008 to 2012. It reports that sugar sweetened soft drinks are a major contributor to daily sugar intake for children, accounting for about 30% of the daily sugar intake alone.

01/01/2023
Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the breeding and selling of pet animals.

George Eustice

Defra is currently reviewing the laws on the breeding and selling of pet animals. Earlier this year we held a consultation on a number of proposals for improving the legislation in this area. Later this year we will be publishing a summary of the responses and will then work towards drafting regulations to replace the existing laws.

01/01/2023
Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 46000, when the pre-concept phase activity for the General Purpose Frigate program began.

Harriett Baldwin

The pre-concept phase activity for the General Purpose Frigate programme began in November 2015, following the publication of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.

01/01/2023

Graham Brady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Brady on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on average, how many patients were admitted to A&E on a (a) Monday, (b) Tuesday, (c) Wednesday, (d) Thursday, (e) Friday, (f) Saturday and (g) Sunday in the last 12 months for which data is available.

Jane Ellison

The average (mean) number of patients who died in accident and emergency (A&E) and who attended A&E on a (a) Monday, (b) Tuesday, (c) Wednesday, (d) Thursday, (e) Friday, (f) Saturday and (g) Sunday in 2013-14 is shown in the following table. These figures are taken from the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). Final data for 2014-15 will be published on 28 January 2016.

Weekday	Average (mean) deaths in A&E department	Average (mean) attendances at A&E
Monday	59.3	55,212.7
Tuesday	54.0	49,660.8
Wednesday	56.0	48,667.0
Thursday	53.7	48,600.3
Friday	55.6	47,932.3
Saturday	55.8	48,614.6
Sunday	57.1	50,202.9

Source: (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Notes:

1. The table shows the mean of A&E attendances, and the mean of A&E attendances where the patient died in the department, by weekday for 2013-14. The HES A&E database is recorded at attendance level, not patient level.

2. The data cannot be described as an average number of people as the same person may have had more than one A&E attendance within the time period presented.

3. The data excludes planned follow-up attendances.

01/01/2023

Tom Tugendhat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Tugendhat on 2016-01-27.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to ensure transparency of commission and other charges levied by financial advisers on individual pension plans.

Harriett Baldwin

Adviser remuneration is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Through the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), introduced at the end of 2012, the FCA has taken a number of steps to ensure that adviser remuneration on retail investment business is disclosed in advance of any services required. Product providers no longer have any influence over the remuneration received for advising on investments. Where commission remains on investments sold prior to the RDR, this will have been disclosed as required by the rules in force at the time the product was sold.

01/01/2023
Chuka Umunna – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of proposals to impose mandatory rent reductions on social landlords of one per cent each year for four years on housing co-operatives which have had a policy of maintaining low levels of rent.

Brandon Lewis

The Housing Benefit bill for England in the social sector now has risen by a quarter over the last 10 years, reaching £13.2 billion in 2014/15. Rising rents in the social housing sector are fuelling this increase in Housing Benefit, with average social rent increases of 55% over the last ten years, compared to 23% in the private rented sector. In the interests of fairness the Government plans to bring rent increases within the social sector back into line with the private rented sector by cutting rents for social housing tenants by 1% a year, for four years.

The Government recognises that rent reductions may have a bigger impact on some providers and some specific types of housing and has decided to put in place a one-year exception from the rent reduction for fully mutual co-operative housing, almshouses, community land trusts and supported housing while we consider the approach for the second year of the reductions onwards.

01/01/2023