Tag: 2016

  • Mary Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mary Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Robinson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department plans to take steps to extend eligibility for the Blue Badge scheme to the parents of children with autism.

    Andrew Jones

    Local authorities do not have powers to independently extend eligibility. The criteria are set by statutory instrument. The Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000 (as amended) contain a number of criteria covering those who do not qualify automatically, including a provision for any permanent and substantial disability that causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking. It is the responsibility of local authorities to assess whether applicants meet any of the criteria.

    People with autism are not excluded from being issued a badge. Any permanent and substantial disability that causes very considerable difficulty walking falls within the criteria. It is the responsibility of local authorities to assess the degree of difficulty and to issue badges accordingly. We have no plans to provide badges to carers.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many staff of the Department for International Development stationed in the UK are in receipt of support for private school fees; and what was the cost in 2015–16.

    Lord Bates

    DFID spend on education allowance for staff in the UK in 2015/16 was £133,892.21. The number of staff in receipt of education allowance in the UK is withheld as the number is so low that it has the potential to identify individuals.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to protect legally privileged communications from surveillance.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Covert Surveillance and Property Interference Code of Practice, which came into force on 10 December 2014 following approval by Parliament, set out the safeguards in relation to covert surveillance activity under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 which is likely or intended to result in the acquisition of knowledge of matters subject to legal privilege.

    There are similar safeguards in the existing Interception of Communications and Equipment Interference Codes of Practice which were approved by the House of Lords in December 2015 and the House of Commons earlier this month. The Investigatory Powers Bill and its associated codes of practice will replace the existing codes of practice for the interception of communication and equipment interference and will set out the powers available to public authorities to obtain communications and communication data and the safeguards that will apply.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many students began podiatry courses in the last three years; what assessment he has made of the reasons for trends in those numbers; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of applicants to such courses.

    Ben Gummer

    This table shows the planned number of podiatry courses available in the last three years, and the actual take up of those training places.

    Year

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    Podiatry (planned)

    365

    362

    362

    Podiatry (actual)

    339

    345

    –

    Source: multi professional education and training budget monitoring returns

    The number of podiatry students taking up courses for 2015/16 is not yet available.

    The Health Education England (HEE) annual Workforce Plan for England 2016/17 will be published by the end of February 2016.

    Ministers hold regular discussions with HEE on a broad range of workforce supply issues and puts out an annual Mandate to HEE setting its priorities for the coming year.

    The HEE commissioning and investment plan – 2016/17 includes a forecast increase in supply of podiatrists in the National Health Service workforce of 36.4% by 2020 which is an additional 1,084 full time equivalents coming out of training.

  • 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 the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the role of special advisers and describes the range of activities they may undertake. Copies of the Code of Conduct are available in the Libraries of the House and on-line at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468340/CODE_OF_CONDUCT_FOR_SPECIAL_ADVISERS_-_15_OCTOBER_2015_FINAL.pdf

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  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what attempts have been made to clean up contamination from bullets and shells used by UK forces in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Iraq and (c) Libya; what the cost has been of that work to date; and which UK companies have been awarded contracts to carry out that remediation.

    Penny Mordaunt

    In all operational theatres the UK, where practical and possible, records the use of all explosive ordnance and makes every effort to ensure no remnants, hazardous or otherwise, remain. This is done for both humanitarian concerns and operational imperatives as we would not wish to leave any ordnance which could fall into the hands of our adversaries and subsequently be used against UK forces.

    UK forces records the use of all munitions and protects civilians under the Geneva Conventions with marking, removal and destruction of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) wherever practical and possible: where troop movements may be affected or where ERW represent an immediate and significant danger to life. The Ministry of Defence does not hold information centrally on commercial ERW clearance: after the cessation of hostilities, the UK will normally contract commercial organisations, through the Department for International Development, to carry out the routine assessment, marking and clearance of ERW and risk education for humanitarian and developmental purposes.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department expects that all of Cheltenham will have access to superfast broadband of over 24 megabits per second.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Superfast broadband of at least 24 Mbps is available to 90 per cent of homes and businesses in the UK – up from 45 per cent in 2010. We currently estimate that 94% of homes and businesses in the Cheltenham constituency will have access to superfast broadband by December 2017. Government is also working with major broadband suppliers to encourage them to further extend commercial coverage, particularly in urban areas.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the NHS’s policy is on prescribing gluten-free food items to coeliacs; and whether any changes have recently been made to the allowance for such items.

    Alistair Burt

    Gluten-free foods are available on National Health Service prescription to patients with established gluten-sensitive enteropathies. The Department provides general practitioners (GPs) and other prescribers with a list of recommended gluten-free products to help patients, including those with coeliac disease, to manage their condition but does not issue guidance on the number of units that should be prescribed.

    Prescribing decisions are a matter for GPs and other prescribers. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) set local guidelines on the number of units to be prescribed for their patients, depending upon age, sex and individual clinical circumstances. A national charity – Coeliac UK – publishes guidelines on the dietary requirements for coeliac patients which can help inform CCG local decisions.

    GPs should always satisfy themselves that the medicines or other substances they consider appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed and that patients are adequately monitored.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the Answers of 10 June 2015 and 22 December 2015 to Questions 700 and 19860, when she plans to (a) publish the evaluation report on the pilot Access to Elected Office Fund and (b) make a decision on whether that Fund should continue.

    Caroline Dinenage

    An evaluation of the pilot fund is currently being undertaken and will be published when an announcement about the future of the fund is made in due course.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many people were (a) prosecuted for and (b) convicted of offences under the Badgers Act 1991 in 2015; and if he will make a statement.

    Robert Buckland

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of people who have been charged with, and prosecuted for, offences brought by way of the Protection of Badgers Act 1991. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

    Although it is not possible to identify the number of people charged with particular offences, records are held showing the overall number of offences in which a prosecution commenced in the magistrates’ courts. The table below shows the number of offences, rather than defendants, charged by way of the Protection of Badgers Act 1991 during 2015. A single defendant may be charged with more than one offence.

    2015

    Protection of Badgers Act 1992

    12

    Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System

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