Tag: 2016

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to consult stakeholders in the development of proposals for a post-Common Agricultural Policy system of farm support.

    George Eustice

    Following the decision to leave the European Union, we now have an unprecedented opportunity to redesign our policies to ensure that our agricultural industry is competitive, productive and profitable and that our environment is improved for future generations. We look forward to hearing from the industry, NGOs and the public on what is needed to drive agriculture and the environment forward to help us develop new policies.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce interim payments under the Basic Payments Scheme for farmers who have not received their payments by the end of January 2016.

    George Eustice

    When part payments have been made in the past this has led to years of confusion for farmers and additional costs in processing and disallowance for the Rural Payments Agency. This is why the RPA continues to focus on making full payments on the remaining claims as quickly as possible.

    As at 18 January the RPA had paid around two thirds of eligible Basic Payment Scheme claims received. The Agency continues to focus on making payments on the remainder of claims as soon as possible and remains on track to pay the vast majority of claims by the end of this month.

  • Lord Greaves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Greaves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their technical or legal definition of a rogue landlord”.”

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The term "rogue landlord" is widely understood in the lettings industry to describe a landlord who knowingly flouts their obligations by renting out unsafe and substandard accommodation to tenants, many of whom may be vulnerable. The Housing and Planning Bill contains a number of measures to help local authorities crack down on rogue landlords and force them to either improve or leave the sector.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-03-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have a plan in place to rebuild the lost capacity in the UK to design and build civil nuclear reactors.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Government has established a policy framework that facilitates new nuclear build in the UK. Within that framework it is for developers to propose and deliver projects. Government’s focus in relation to UK capacity and capability is to maximise UK content in the supply chain for new build. To that end Government works closely with industry to develop the skills and supply chain capability to meet the demands of the new build programme, including through bodies like the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG) and with organisations like the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Centre (NAMRC), which helps UK companies win work in the civil nuclear sector.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much production work there has been for the order for the Boeing Poseidon P-8A (a) by value and (b) by number of jobs that will be undertaken by employees (i) in the UK, (ii) in the US and (iii) elsewhere; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 April 2016 to Question 33058 to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock).

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of implementation of the Health and Safety Executive’s strategy, Helping Great Britain work well on the number of workplace accidents.

    Justin Tomlinson

    HSE regularly reviews the implementation of its strategies – including the new strategy for the health and safety system – and reports the findings in its annual report. HSE’s latest annual report is available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/ara-2014-15.pdf

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  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many reports of non-compliant vehicles were sent by the DVLA to NSL Services Ltd in the last year for which information is available; and how many such reports resulted in enforcement action being taken.

    Andrew Jones

    During the last financial year, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) received a total of 191,715 reports from members of the public about vehicles that were potentially unlicensed. These reports are passed to NSL Services Ltd for action, as appropriate.

    In addition, the DVLA also provides NSL Services Ltd with information about vehicles which could potentially be non-compliant. This information includes instances where vehicles have been declared off road.

    During the last financial year, enforcement action was taken in 87,844 cases.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 3 March 2016 to Question 29007, what recent estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the badger culls in 2016.

    George Eustice

    Defra published an updated badger control policy value for money assessment on GOV.UK in August 2016, including estimated costs to government per licensed area.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to protect Christians in Syria from persecution by Daesh.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We recognise the situation is desperate for many communities within Syria and Iraq. We condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against all civilians, including Christians and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim population in Syria and Iraq.

    The International Syria Support Group (ISSG) has agreed that protecting the rights of all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious denomination is fundamental. This means that Syrian minorities will be included as the political process progresses. Through our membership of the ISSG, we will ensure that this is adhered to.

    The Global Coalition has provided air support to the Syrian Democratic Forces (which include Syrian Christian members) in their fight against Daesh.

    Ultimately, the best way of safeguarding minority rights is by defeating Daesh and establishing peace and stability in the region. The UK has been at the forefront of these efforts and, together with our allies, has a comprehensive strategy to deal with Daesh.

  • Baroness Jowell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Jowell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jowell on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what policies they intend to implement in recognition of the contribution of the first 1,000 days of a child’s life to its subsequent academic and other attainment.

    Lord Nash

    As the Prime Minister made clear in his speech on 11 January 2016, the government understands the importance of those first crucial years of life and that we need to get parenting and the early years right if we are to improve children’s life chances. The government will be publishing a Life Chances strategy in the spring which will set out a comprehensive plan to fight disadvantage and extend opportunity, including policies to give children the best start in life.

    The government is already implementing a range of policies which recognise the contribution of the first 1001 days of a child’s life to its subsequent academic and other attainment, which are detailed below.

    Healthy Child Programme

    The evidence based Healthy Child Programme is the universal service offered to every family. Delivered by health visitors, the programme centres on a series of screening tests, immunisations, developmental reviews, and information and guidance to support families of children aged 0-5 years. Since October 2015 there have been five mandated child development reviews, to provide a national standard format to ensure universal coverage and ongoing improvements in public health. Effective implementation of the Healthy Child Programme should lead to readiness for school and improved learning.

    Best Start in Life programme

    One of Public Health England’s (PHE) national priorities is to ensure that every child has the best start in life, so that they are ready to learn at age two and ready for school at five. The Best Start in Life programme provides national leadership to support local areas to take a whole system approach to commission and provide evidence based services and interventions which improve child health outcomes and reduce inequalities. PHE also has has also published a range of professional guidance for best practice to support families in the first 1001 days.

    Integrated Review (IR)

    In 2013, DfE ran a joint Integrated Review pilot with the Department of Health (DH) which focused on two-year-olds in registered childcare settings. This was to test out the most effective way of undertaking the early years progress check with the universal DH Healthy Child Programme and providing parents with a holistic review of their child’s development. In 2015, we provided funding to support the roll out of the IR by all local authorities in England. We are currently piloting the second phase of the IR with eight local authority pilot areas to test different local models of how early years practitioners can collaborate with health professionals to identify parents of two year-olds not in registered childcare settings, so that their children can also benefit from an Integrated Review.

    Early Learning for Two Year Olds

    There is a strong body of evidence that shows good quality childcare and pre-school provision, especially from age two and upwards, has positive benefits on children’s all round attainment and behaviour. For this reason the government introduced the early learning for two-year-olds programme in September 2013 for 130,000 of the most disadvantaged children in England. In September 2014, the programme was later expanded to 260,000 of the most disadvantaged children in England. The programme is becoming increasingly popular amongst eligible parents.