Tag: 2016

Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the UK is taking to assist its allies in adapting to the recent use of hit-and-run tactics by Daesh.

Penny Mordaunt

We are aware that Daesh has deployed tactics, especially in Libya, to attack high profile targets like oil fields.

These, and other attacks on Libyan infrastructure and towns, demonstrate the threat that Daesh poses to the stability of Libya and the wider region, and potentially to the UK and our interests. We need to tackle this threat wherever it arises, and that is why we are engaging the new Libyan government on this issue as a high priority. The UK is working closely with international partners to develop a comprehensive approach to defeat Daesh.

01/01/2023
Stewart Jackson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve the timely conclusion of investigations by the Independent Police Complaints Commission; and if she will make a statement.

Mike Penning

In March 2013, the Home Secretary announced that increased resources would be transferred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to enable it to expand and undertake many more independent investigations, including all serious and sensitive matters involving the police. This change programme is under way. The IPCC has more than doubled the number of independent investigations opened (from 241 in 2014-15 to over 500 in 2015/16). The average duration of investigations reduced from 294 working days in 2014/15 to 225 working days in 2015/16.

This Government is legislating via the Policing and Crime Bill to increase the IPCC’s powers and to reform its governance structures. The reforms are designed to deliver a more capable, resilient IPCC with clearer lines of responsibility and decision making. They will further ensure that complaints and investigations are handled in a way that builds public trust and confidence.

01/01/2023
Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many trade negotiators are employed by his Department; how many such negotiators his Department plans to recruit; and what estimate his Department has made of the cost of those negotiations.

Mr David Jones

Britain has been at the forefront of the free trade-supporting countries in the EU for the last 40 years. The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and skill mix, are now under consideration. We will have the right resources in place so we can secure the best possible outcome for the UK as a whole.

01/01/2023
Lord Hay of Ballyore – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hay of Ballyore on 2016-10-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made working with retailers, supermarkets and farmers to ensure the future of the dairy industry in the UK.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government has continued to work closely with farmers, retailers and manufacturers to help with the prolonged period of low prices experienced by the dairy industry in the last 2 years. Wholesale prices have started to improve sharply and we have also seen some improvements in the UK farmgate milk price, albeit from a very low level.

The long-term outlook for our dairy industry remains positive with strong growth in global milk demand forecast to continue until 2025.

The Government cannot dictate prices but has sought to help dairy farmers manage risk. We have introduced a new system of extended tax averaging, allowing farmers to choose whether to spread their tax over a two or five-year period. We are exploring opportunities for a dairy futures market and better branding and labelling in supermarkets.

The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) appointed in 2013 oversees relationships between supermarkets and their suppliers to ensure large supermarkets treat their suppliers lawfully and fairly. We have invited evidence on the case for extending the remit of the GCA to provide more support for farmers and will consider any representation we receive. The dairy industry’s Voluntary Code of Practice has also made a positive contribution in developing a fair and balanced dairy supply chain, helping farmers to secure fairer contracts with their milk buyers.

The Government is committed to working with industry to develop new market opportunities. Government itself is now buying more British food as a result of our reforms – more than 90% of the butter and cheese bought is made from British milk generating £11m of business for our dairy industry. Further afield, we have been opening new export markets where we know there is a huge demand for quality British dairy products, and we are working to maximise this opportunity by pushing the British dairy brand with the launch of the Great British Food Campaign, and designating 2016 “The Year of Great British Food”.

01/01/2023
Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-05.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claimants of working tax credit (WTC) had an in-year change of circumstances to their income which required a change to their WTC entitlement in each year since 2009-10; how many such claimants’ entitlements (a) reduced and (b) increased; and what the net change in receipts to the Exchequer was as a result of these adjustments in that period.

Damian Hinds

The information requested could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to monitor and evaluate levels of cycling and attitudes to cycling in (a) London, (b) the Cycle Cities and (c) the rest of the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Transport is largely a devolved matter in the UK, and the delivery of scheme-level monitoring and evaluation is the responsibility of the transport authority implementing the intervention. In London, transport is the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL). The Department has no direct involvement and therefore does not undertake monitoring and evaluation of cycling levels or attitudes in London; this work is the responsibility of Transport for London.

Outside of London, there are a number of work-streams that the Department is involved in which directly or indirectly monitor uptake of and / or attitudes to cycling. These are listed below. Much of this monitoring and evaluation work applies to England only; where the work expands geographically, this is clarified below.
- The Department is working with the Eight Cycle Cities on the Cycling Ambition to capture evidence on levels of cycling and attitudes to cycling.
- Active Lives Survey (formerly known as the Active People Survey) publishes data on cycling by adults in England. This is available at Local Authority level, and DfT is currently funding a temporary boost in numbers of people completing the survey in Cambridge, Norwich and Oxford.
- On attitudes to cycling, we fund a specific transport module on the British Social Attitudes survey.
- The National Travel Survey (NTS) also captures information on uptake of cycling. From 2013 onwards, the National Travel Survey has covered England only.
- The Department will deliver an analysis of programme-level findings (also known as a ‘meta-analysis’) from the twelve Large Projects from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) 2011 -15. We estimate around a third of LSTF funding is invested in cycling interventions. An interim meta-analysis was published in November 2015 and a final meta-analysis is due Spring 2017.
01/01/2023
Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals work for the European External Action Service; and what proportion of the total number of employees in that service they represent.

Mr Philip Hammond

The European External Action Service (EEAS) has not published statistics on numbers of permanent staff by nationality since 2013, when a total of 133 British citizens were working for the EEAS. As of April 2015, our records show there were a total of 119 British citizens working for the European External Action Service, representing 4.8% of approximately 2500 total staff (excluding approximately 1000 local agents in Delegations) employed by the EEAS in 2015.

01/01/2023
Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate how much revenue will be accrued from business rates in each local authority in each financial year to 2020.

Mr Marcus Jones

Local authority estimates of business rates yield for 2016-17 are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/500899/NNDR1_2016-17_drop_down.xlsx

Estimates for future years are not available.

“

01/01/2023

Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34010, what the cost of providing NHS dental services in the West Midlands was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

The table below shows the expenditure on National Health Service dental services in the West Midlands. The total expenditure figures have been broken down into primary care (delivered by high street dentists through General or Personal Dental Services contracts (GDS/PDS)) and other services (delivered in community and secondary care settings).

		2010/11 £000	2011/12 £000	2012/13 £000	2013/14 £000	2014/15 £000
1	GDS/PDS Cost	279,997	290,274	286,385	197,166	200,904
2	Fees Charged	(63,328)	(65,765)	(66,682)	(47,667)	(50,014)
3	Net Cost	216,669	224,509	219,703	149,499	150,890
4	Other (community and secondary care)	69,132	65,093	139,583	71,233	73,131
5	Total Expenditure	349,129	355,367	359,286	220,732	224,021

Source: Rows 1, 2, 3 – Primary care expenditure, Department of Health accounts (2010/11, 2011/12 and 2012/13) and NHS England accounts (2013/14 and 2014/15); Row 4 – other programme budgeting NHS England.

Notes:

Figures provided are the expenditure incurred by primary care trusts (PCTs) within the former West Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA), and, from April 2013, NHS England West Midlands Area Teams regional teams, in commissioning dental treatment. The balances show the gross expenditure incurred in providing GDS and PDS, which are alternative models of dental care, and the fees charged to the recipient in providing the treatment.
Total expenditure is the sum of rows 3 and 4.
Expenditure figures between years are not directly comparable owing to changes in commissioning arrangements from PCTs to NHS England from April 2013. The 2013/14 and 2014/15 columns do not include areas formerly known as Shropshire and Staffordshire, and Telford and Wrekin, which were part of the West Midlands SHA footprint.
In addition, responsibility for public health and prevention programmes moved from PCTs to local authorities in April 2013.

01/01/2023

Caroline Spelman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Spelman on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has provided to (a) the UNHCR and (b) other organisations to support Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia in each of the last three years.

Mr Nick Hurd

Over the past three financial years DFID has disbursed £16,999,196 to UNHCR in Ethiopia (of which £7,010,225 was in 2013/14, £9,896,334 in 2014/15 and £91,637 in 2015/16).

From this total, £1,108,571 was allocated for child protection services for Eritrean refugees (£368,068 in 2013/14 and £740,503 in 2014/15).

A further £1,846,027 from this total was allocated over the three years in question for core relief items (basic household goods) for all refugees in Ethiopia, including Eritreans.

Funding for Eritrean refugees was not provided directly to any other organisation in Ethiopia.

01/01/2023