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Tag: 2016

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent representations she has received from scientists and other experts on the use of neonicotinoids and their effect on the bee population.

    George Eustice

    Defra has not received recent expert representations on this issue. However we do consider new studies on neonicotinoids carefully, taking advice from the independent UK Expert Committee on Pesticides, Defra’s Chief Scientific Adviser and experts in the Chemicals Regulation Division within the Health and Safety Executive.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has for employees’ representation on company boards; and what conditions will be set for such representation.

    Margot James

    UK companies are able to appoint employees to their company boards presently, but very few do. Many UK companies deploy alternative approaches to engaging their employees. The issue of employees’ representation on company boards will be included in a discussion document that will be published by Government later this year.

  • 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 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Prime Minister’s announcement of 11 January 2016, how much of the proposed £1.4 billion mental health support funding for young people over the next five years has already been allocated.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government has committed to making available the full £1.4 billion over the course of this Parliament to improve children and young people’s mental health.

    In this financial year (2015/16), the Government has already allocated £173 million. This includes:

    – £75 million for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to improve local services;

    – £30 million to CCGs to develop evidence based community eating disorder services for children and young people;

    – £28 million to fund the expansion of the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Programme;

    – £15 million for improvements to perinatal mental health care; and

    – £25 million for investment in inpatient services for children and young people, to build workforce capability, and to support innovation and development of online support.

    A targeted and phased approach to the additional investment over future years will enable local areas to develop additional capacity and a collaborative approach across health, education and children’s services so that the money can be spent effectively. This is what is needed to make a real difference. The Government remains committed to spend the whole £1.4 billion over the course of this Parliament to improve children and young people’s mental health.

  • Lord Touhig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Touhig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the speed at which reservists will be able to fill front-line combat roles.

    Earl Howe

    Volunteer Reservists (VR) on the trained strength (26,560 as at 1 December 2015) are required to respond to a mobilisation call-out at 28 days’ notice and may then carry out additional training for an operation. The length of time required for this training will depend on the complexity of the operation, which may require familiarisation training on equipment which they will be required to operate, and procedural training to prepare for the environment they will encounter. Further preparations may be required, such as vaccinations, which depend on the environment of the operation and which will affect the length of time between mobilisation and deployment.

    For a medium scale intervention operation we would expect the period between mobilisation and deployment for VR to be around 180 days. However, the use of intelligent mobilisation means that willing and available VR are routinely mobilised in around 90 days for specific tasks and this can be significantly shortened in some circumstances.

    No estimate has been made of the number of Reservists who would be able to serve at short notice in the event of a major conflict.

  • John Mc Nally – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    John Mc Nally – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mc Nally on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 17357, when in 2016 he plans to introduce the new reporting requirement to report on payment practices and performance.

    Anna Soubry

    The reporting requirement will come into force later this year. Further information on timings will be published in due course.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether an impact assessment has been undertaken of the proposal in Question 35 of his Department’s consultation on the extension of charging overseas visitors and migrants using the NHS in England.

    Alistair Burt

    In relation to the Department’s recent consultation on extending charging to overseas visitors using the National Health Service in England, a lack of available data means that it has not been possible to estimate the cost to industry of the proposal to remove the exemption from charge category for overseas visitors working on United Kingdom-registered ships. However, the proposal was included in the Impact Assessment and is thought to be small overall.

    We are currently analysing responses to the consultation.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34477, whether it is possible to correct errors in PAYE real-time data submitted by employers before the point at which such errors affect universal credit claimants.

    Mr David Gauke

    Data validation rules are built in to stop obvious errors at the point of filing and allow customers to correct submissions. Where errors are made, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a dedicated team who work with employers. If HMRC spots something is incorrect, it and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will work with the employer to correct that information. If the employer realises they have made a mistake, they have the opportunity to submit correct information. In addition, HMRC and DWP continually monitor the quality of Real Time Information to understand why errors occur

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if the Government will retain the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers in 2017-18.

    Nick Boles

    The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) is available until the end of the 2016/17 academic year to businesses with fewer than 50 employees, who have not employed an apprentice in the last 12 months. Eligible employers can receive a £1,500 grant per apprentice (aged 16 to 24) for up to five new apprentices undertaking an apprenticeship framework.

    Further details on how small businesses will be supported to take on apprentices from April 2017 will be published at the end of June.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the Chinese government on disputed islands in the South China Sea.

    Alok Sharma

    We raise our concerns about maritime tensions in the South China Sea regularly in bilateral meetings with China, including at Ministerial level. The former Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed the South China Sea directly with his Chinese counterpart a number of times this year, for instance during his visits to Beijing in January and April, emphasising the importance of compliance with international law and the need to settle disputes by peaceful means. We have also made our views known to China and other claimants through supporting public statements on the issue by the G7 and the European Union.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff in his Department are working on the Great Repeal Bill; and how many staff in his Department he expects to be working on that Bill by the time of its Second Reading.

    Mr David Jones

    The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 250 staff plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels. This includes teams working on the Great Repeal Bill, and the Department is growing rapidly.