Tag: 2016

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government’s review of the Davies Commission on Aviation capacity in the South East includes an assessment of the costs and benefits of government investment in aviation biofuel.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government continues to consider the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report, including on reducing carbon emissions from an expanded airport, before taking any decisions on next steps. Separate to the work on airport capacity, the Government is also assessing the benefits of making aviation biofuels eligible for the incentives which currently apply to biofuels used in road transport through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). We aim to publish a consultation on legislative amendments to this scheme later this year including proposals for aviation biofuel.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the comments by the President of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists that hundreds of patients are going blind because hospitals cannot meet the demand for appointments.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Given the size of England, and the diversity of the health needs of different communities, we believe commissioning needs to be owned and managed locally.

    Therefore, there are no plans to develop a national strategy for eye care.

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning hospital eye services and for holding their providers to account in terms of contract performance. CCGs are also able to commission eye care services from community optometrists where they judge them to be needed in their areas over and above the sight tests commissioned by NHS England. Such services could include post cataract surgery reviews, glaucoma monitoring and low vision services which may reduce pressure on hospital eye departments, reduce waiting times and make patient care pathways more accessible in the community.

    There is scope for further work to be done by community optometrists and the Clinical Council for eye health commissioning is working with commissioners to develop commissioning guidelines in this area.

    CCGs have the ability to develop alternatives to hospital care. We would expect patients who require further planned stages of treatment in line with their agreed care plan, to receive this treatment without undue delay and in line with when it is clinically appropriate.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to allow postal voting ballot papers to be counted separately in order to more easily detect fraud.

    John Penrose

    The law provides for the checking of the integrity of completed postal ballots prior to them being included in the count. Returning Officers are required to check 100% of postal vote identifiers (signatures and dates of birth) returned with completed postal votes against those supplied by the elector when they applied for a postal vote. Any that do not match will not be counted in order to prevent any attempt at electoral fraud. The law requires that postal ballot papers are mixed with ballot papers from a ballot box before they can be counted as a necessary step in order to help protect the secrecy of the ballot.

  • 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 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what timetable she has set for resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Work continues with local authorities and international partners to deliver the Government’s commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees over the lifetime of this Parliament and we are on track to do this.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what financial support the Government has made available for local authorities to commission new nursery places in the event of current providers withdrawing or reducing their delivery of subsidised places.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Government is committed to extending the free entitlement to childcare from 15 to 30 hours a week for working parents. We are clear that we need to get the funding right to ensure that providers are funded on a fair and sustainable basis. Our recent consultation set out our proposals to allocate our record level of funding fairly and transparently, with the maximum amount reaching providers. We will publish our response this autumn.

    We have recently made a substantial capital investment to support the creation of new 30 hours childcare places and our recently closed capital bid round made £40million available to local authorities working in partnership with providers in their area. We intend to announce successful project bids in mid-December 2016. We will also shortly be announcing the outcome of a competition to appoint a delivery contractor, who will provide support to ensure that all local authorities are ready to deliver the required number of free places in September 2017.

  • Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the longest length of time is that a person has spent in an immigration holding or detention centre in the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    Information on the length of detention has been published since quarter 1 (January to March) 2010.

    The longest time a person has been detained in the immigration estate – a foreign criminal who left detention and was returned to Algeria in Q1 2012 – was 2,319 days. The individual in this case had accumulated 14 convictions from 32 offences committed between 1998 and 2004, including – but not limited to – convictions for firearms/ shotguns/offensive weapons, drug offences, offences relating to police/courts/prisons and theft. He was continuously non-compliant with the Home Office and Algerian authorities, using a false identity and nationality, which frustrated attempts to obtain travel documentation to facilitate his deportation. His continued non-compliance, deception and a history of absconding led to detention being prolonged. This information does not include those held in prisons solely under Immigration Act powers.

    The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of people detained in the United Kingdom for immigration purposes, within the Immigration Statistics release on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

  • Stephen Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to table 2.7 on page 85 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, which Departments will fund the cross-government overseas development aid spending set out in that table in each of the five years from 2015-16 to 2019-20.

    Greg Hands

    As set out in the strategy for official development assistance “UK Aid: tackling global challenges in the national interest”, published on 23 November, meeting our responsibilities to the world’s poorest while also serving and protecting the UK’s interests and security, requires us to harness skills from across government.

    The cross government ODA funding in “Table 2.7: Department for International Development (DFID)” is part of DFID’s total DEL settlement. DFID will transfer this to other government departments and cross government funds to spend on activities that can be classified as Official Development Assistance (ODA) according to the OECD definition.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department’s wellness strategy is.

    Harriett Baldwin

    HM Treasury takes the wellness of its staff seriously. Wellness is incorporated within the Treasury’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing policy.

    In 2015/16 the following wellness initiatives were given priority:

    • reducing levels of sickness absence relating to Mental and Behavioural Disorders (including stress, depression, anxiety) and Musculoskeletal Disorders;

    • increasing the usage of the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP); and

      In addition the Treasury has signed up to two key external initiatives:

    • the Public Health Responsibility Deal. Every April the Treasury reports to the Dept of Health on the activities carried out to meet the six pledges signed up to; and

    • the ‘Time to Change’ pledge. Following this a Mental Wellbeing Network was set up and a range of associated activities take place focusing on improving the mental wellbeing of Treasury employees.

      In addition we support and provide reasonable adjustments for a variety of physical and mental conditions and requirements.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve the assessment process for personal independence payments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Since its inception, the system of assessing claimants’ eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has been continually reviewed and refined in order to improve its efficiency, effectiveness and the claimant experience. We have worked extensively with PIP assessment providers and disability rights groups to make improvements to guidance, training and audit procedures in order to ensure a quality service.

    The Government’s response to Paul Gray’s independent review of the process can be found at:

    www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/478224/pip-assessment-first-independent-review-second-response.pdf

    The Government has committed in legislation to a further independent review which will report by April 2017.

    “

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of comments by the head of the IMF regarding threats to the global economy, whether they are preparing any contingency plans.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Since 2010 the UK has made significant progress in developing its economic security. The public finances have improved and the deficit as a share of GDP has now been cut by almost two-thirds from its post-war peak. The financial sector is more resilient, and household finances are more robust with interest payments as a proportion of income the lowest level on record in 2015.

    However, the UK is not immune from global risks, which is why, as I set out in the debate on the Economy last week, it is vital we continue with our long-term economic plan focused on ensuring sound public finances, while delivering the supply-side reforms necessary to boost productivity and deliver long-term sustainable growth.