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Tag: 2016

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve the diversity of (a) public appointments and (b) staffing in his Department.

    Matthew Hancock

    All public appointments are made on merit following a fair and open competition in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointment’s Code of Practice. The Government is committed to increasing the diversity of public appointments. The Centre for Public Appointments in the Cabinet Office supports departments on all issues relating to the diversity of public appointments. Steps we are taking to increase diversity include streamlining the application process, placing an emphasis on ability over previous experience​ and increasing awareness of opportunities by using a central website, social media and engaging with a variety of diversity networks and groups.

    The Cabinet Office recruits staff in line with the Civil Service Commissioners Principles which ensures that candidates are selected based on fair and open competition and on merit. To reduce bias in selection, the Cabinet Office will be implementing name-blind recruitment methods from 1st April. In addition, recruitment and selection training, which has a core focus on raising awareness of unconscious bias, is also offered to all Chairs of recruitment panels.

    On 24 March, we published our 2016 Talent Action Plan for the Civil Service. It provides a progress update on initiatives to increase diversity in the Civil Service, including cross-Government talent programmes aimed at under-represented groups. It also sets out how we will increase social mobility in the Civil Service. The 2016 Talent Action Plan is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/talent-action-plan-2016-removing-the-barriers-to-success

    “

  • 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 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department has made a detailed assessment of the effect of the Government’s energy policy carbon dioxide emissions in the UK in each year since 2010; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Provisional statistics for 2015 indicate that greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 38% since 1990 and 17% since 2010.

    Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990

    Units: MtCO2e

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015(p)

    Emissions reduction since 1990

    -24%

    -31%

    -28%

    -30%

    -35%

    -38%

    Source: DECC (2016) Provisional UK greenhouse gas emissions national statistics 2015

    A significant proportion of this reduction is being driven by policies. For those policies where we have been able to estimate the emissions impacts, annual estimates are detailed in Annex D of our Energy and Emissions Projections, available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-energy-and-emissions-projections-2015.

    “

  • Lord Palmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    Lord Palmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Chairman of Committees how much it cost to refurbish the Cholmondeley Room toilets, and why those toilets were out of service so soon after their six-month refurbishment.

    Lord Laming

    The works to the Cholmondeley Room toilets are not yet completed. They should be completed in the next month. The estimated budget is £650,000 (of which the Lords’ share is 40%).

    A number of unforeseen technical difficulties mean that the works are slightly behind schedule; although two of the toilets have re-opened, some underlying problems are still being resolved.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many sightings of unidentified flying objects have been reported in each of the last five years.

    Mike Penning

    The Ministry of Defence does not maintain a central record of the number of unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings reported, following the closure of the UFO Desk in 2009.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2016 to Question 43488, what the reason is for the discrepancy between the figure provided in that answer and data in recent research published by Women’s Aid on 13 September 2016 on the proportion of survivors of domestic abuse that had access to a separate waiting room in the family court.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    These two pieces of data are not comparable. Question 43488 refers to the Crown and Magistrates’ courts specifically, and family courts were not included. We are clear that security in the family courts is taken extremely seriously and we have robust arrangements in place to protect court users.

  • Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether full funding for the implementation of the new access target for early intervention in psychosis is included in the Government’s commitment to an additional £600 million of funding for mental health in 2016-17.

    Alistair Burt

    No decision has yet been reached on how the additional £600 million of funding for mental health in 2016-17 will be allocated.

    A key element of achieving parity across mental and physical health care is in people having timely access to evidence-based and effective treatment.

    One focus of the first set of mental health standards for 2015/16 is that from 1 April 2016, 50% of people experiencing a first episode of psychosis are treated with a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved package of care within two weeks of referral. This is being supported by £40 million recurrent funding from NHS England to support delivery of the early intervention in psychosis (EIP) standard. Health Education England are focusing £5 million for workforce development towards meeting the EIP standard.

  • Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what modelling his Department has undertaken on potential transitional arrangements for women born in the period 1951 to 1953 who are affected by accelerated equalisation of the state pension age; and if he will publish the results of any such modelling.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Of the group stated in the question only women born on or after 6 April 1953 are affected by the changes in State Pension age in the 2011 Pensions Act.

    The faster increase to 65 under the Pensions Act 2011 affect an estimated 230,000 women born between 6 April 1953 and 5 December 1953. This figure, rounded to the nearest 10,000, is for Great Britain and is based on DWP calculations using ONS statistics.

    During the passage of the Pensions Bill 2011 the Government tabled an amendment so that the maximum delay to State Pension age relative to the previously legislated timetable that any individual faced was 18 months. This amendment affected people born between 6 January 1954 and 5 September 1954. The analysis accompanying this amendment is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/182066/pensions-bill-spa-info.pdf

    “

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of applicants for disabled students’ allowance (DSA) used supporting notes from (a) medical professionals connected to and (b) medical professionals not connected to their higher education institution to back up their application; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of people who claim DSA without the knowledge of their higher education institution.

    Joseph Johnson

    Students wishing to apply for Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) need to provide evidence of their disability to Student Finance England (SFE) in order to demonstrate their eligibility. Depending on their disability, this needs to come from a medical doctor or other suitably qualified professional. Information about whether this evidence is provided by someone connected to the students’ HE provider is not held centrally.

    Students are encouraged to speak to their institution’s disability adviser, to ensure they are receiving all the help that is available to them. However, students do not need to disclose their disability to their HE provider in order to apply for DSAs.

    All disabled higher education students who are eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowances are referred to an independent assessment centre so as to identify the type and level of support they require.

    Students are free to choose which assessment centre they wish to attend. They can find a centre via the DSAs Quality Assurance Group’s website:

    http://www.dsa-qag.org.uk/students/find-an-assessment-centre

    “

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will appoint an independent commission to investigate the role of PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Ernst & Young and Deloitte in designing, selling and implementing tax avoidance schemes.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is committed to countering tax avoidance to ensure all taxpayers pay their fair share. At Budget 2016, the Chancellor announced a comprehensive package of measures to tackle tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning, and tax evasion by individuals and businesses. Overall, this will raise £12 billion by 2020-21.

    We keep our policy on countering tax avoidance under continuous review to respond to emerging risks.

  • 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 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

    Mr David Lidington

    The UK is deeply concerned about the recent upsurge in fighting on the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact. I issued a statement on 2 April calling for the sides to halt the fighting and to exercise restraint. After four days of intense fighting, a ceasefire was announced on 5 April; although the situation remains tense. While the UK has no direct role in negotiations, we strongly support the work of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs, who have recently visited the region. We will continue to urge the sides to work with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to reach a negotiated peace settlement.