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Tag: 2016

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make an estimate of the potential average cost for a typical family of their weekly shopping in the event of the UK leaving the EU without securing any preferential trade agreements and reverting to standard World Trade Organisation tariffs.

    Mr Robin Walker

    My Department, working with officials across government, continues to undertake a wide range of data analyses to inform the UK’s position for the upcoming negotiations with our EU partners. We have been clear that we will not provide a running commentary that might undermine our negotiating position.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have been provided with advance payments of universal credit in each of the last 12 months.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not currently available.

    The range of statistics published for Universal Credit has increased as quality assurance has been carried out. This process will continue on a wider range of breakdowns and Departmental statisticians anticipate being able to start releasing these, in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, during 2016.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the independence of the legal system in the Maldives.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We are concerned about the erosion of judicial independence in the Maldives. A 2013 UN report by the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers raised serious questions about the impartiality of judges, the fact that many interventions by courts were arbitrary and that due process was not being followed. We do not believe that the situation has improved since. I raised the issue of judicial independence when I met key members of the Maldives government, including President Yameen, during my visit to the Maldives on 17 and 18 January.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26859, if she will update her Department’s response to e-petition 104867, on legalisation of medicinal cannabis, in respect of the information on availability of the drug Sativex.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government’s position is unchanged. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has issued a marketing authorisation and the Home Office has amended the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 to enable Sativex to be available to patients via health care practitioners.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of which fuel source is the most efficient for national electricity grid re-starts following power cuts; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC officials routinely work with National Grid to assess the resilience of response processes, including the failure of the National Electricity Transmission System.

    This work includes assessment of how different fuel sources can deliver this ‘Black Start’ capability.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has made to the government of Saudi Arabia on the designation of the Yemeni cities Sa’da and Marran as military targets by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition on 8 May 2015.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Government takes all allegations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations very seriously and we have emphasised the importance of full compliance with IHL to the Saudi Government and other members of the military coalition on several occasions. We have provided training and advice to the coalition to support continued compliance with IHL and minimise civilian casualties.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what response he has made to HM Inspectorate of Probation’s Transforming Rehabilitation, Early Implementation 5 report, published in May 2016.

    Andrew Selous

    We are confident our reforms to probation services are being successfully implemented but are not complacent and are working to improve the issues identified in this report. The National Offender Management Service have developed an action plan and we are addressing the Chief Inspector’s recommendations.

    We continue to closely monitor and robustly manage providers to make sure they fulfil their contractual commitments to maintain service delivery, reduce reoffending, protect the public and provide value for money to the taxpayer and will continue to support probation staff to deliver these important changes.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many accident and emergency visits there were for minor ailments in each clinical commissioning group in each year since 2012-13.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is attached.

    NHS England publishes information on the number of attendances at all types of accident and emergency department. A type 3 accident and emergency department is one that treats minor injuries and illnesses (sprains for example) and can be routinely accessed without an appointment. In this context, minor ailments have been interpreted as a type 3 accident and emergency attendance.

    Data are reported to NHS England by all organisations providing National Health Service funded emergency care services and averaging more than 200 attendees per month. It is not possible to aggregate these data to clinical commissioning group, and the 10 strategic health authorities were abolished in March 2013. Published data for type 3 attendances are only available from 2011-12 onwards. These data are presented by 13 commissioning sub-regions, which are not legal entities but are sub-divisions of NHS England.

  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people in (a) Croydon North constituency and (b) the London Borough of Croydon are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

    Chris Skidmore

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

    I would add that the Government’s National Living Wage was introduced in April 2016 for all working people aged 25 and over, and is set at £7.20 per hour. We have asked the Low Pay Commission to recommend the National Living Wage rate that should apply from April 2017, towards a target 60% of median earnings by 2020. By then, around 2.9 million people are expected to have had a pay rise, thanks directly to the National Living Wage. The Government recognises the important work undertaken by the Living Wage Foundation and we encourage employers to pay above the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage where it is affordable to do so.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of evidence that Ugandan police, in the run-up to the election in February 2016, have used live ammunition to disperse opposition gatherings, and have committed other serious human rights violations.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In our regular dialogue with the Ugandan government we stress the importance of protecting public order in a way that also protects the rights to freedom of expression and assembly. We are reinforcing that point with the Government of Uganda, bilaterally and with EU partners, in the run up to the February 2016 elections. The use of live ammunition by the Ugandan police to disperse crowds raises serious concerns about public safety.

    Peaceful exercise of freedoms of speech and assembly is fundamental to any democratic society and is provided for and protected under Uganda’s constitution. During his visit to Uganda on 15 December, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), underlined that it is vital for Uganda’s future that the elections in 2016 are credible, inclusive and transparent, and that they are underpinned by a respect for human rights. An EU election observation mission will be deployed to Uganda later this month.