Tag: 2016

  • Lord Rooker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Rooker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rooker on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 25 February (HL5950 and HL6117), when their consultations, if any, on amending the rules of property ownership will commence.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    A discussion paper on proposals to require foreign companies to provide beneficial ownership information when purchasing or owning property or bidding for public contracts was published on Friday 4 March.

    The document has been published here: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/property-ownership-and-public-contracting-by-foreign-companies-improving-transparency and copies of the discussion paper have been placed in the libraries of both Houses.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to consult on the proposals to reform attendance allowance that were referred to in the consultation on the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2016-17 and an offer to councils for future years, published in December 2015; whether that consultation will include an assessment of the potential effects of those proposals on older people; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    In December, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced that the Government will be consulting on giving councils in England “more responsibility to support older people with care needs – including people who, under the current system, would be supported through Attendance Allowance”. We want to explore if there is a better way to provide support for older people with care needs through local integration and we intend to launch a consultation on this in due course. Any change would not affect those already receiving Attendance Allowance. The consultation will be an open process that will give everybody a voice in determining the nature of any reform and will inform the decision about whether and how to proceed with any reform.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, of the Consent Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) submitted to the National Crime Agency in each year since 2011-12, how many involved suspected contraventions of (a) the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and (b) Part 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000; and how many Consent SAR requests in each such category were permitted because they were not responded to within the seven-day time limit.

    Mr John Hayes

    The below table provides figures on the number of Suspicious Activity Reports received by the National Crime Agency (NCA) between October 2011 and September 2015 which requested consent under Part 7 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) and Part 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT). The table also includes figures on the number of consent requests where the reporter received no reply from the NCA.

    POCA Total Consent Requests

    POCA – No Reply within 7 Days

    TACT Total Consent Requests

    TACT – No Reply within 7 Days

    Oct 2011 – Sept 2012

    12915

    10

    75

    Nil

    Oct 2012 – Sept 2013

    14103

    8

    77

    Nil

    Oct 2013 – Sept 2014

    14155

    7

    102

    Nil

    Oct 2014 – Sept 2015

    14672

    110

    198

    Nil

  • Yvette Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Yvette Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yvette Cooper on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of minors in Calais who are eligible to claim asylum in the UK under the Dublin III arrangements for family reunion.

    James Brokenshire

    A project to identify and protect vulnerable people in the camps in Calais is being delivered by a French non-government organistation, France Terre D’Asile (FDTA). FDTA finds potential victims of trafficking and exploitation (including children), and directs them to existing protection, support and advice within France. The managment of asylum claims and the protection of children in Calais is primarily a matter for the French authorities but the UK has contributed £530,000 towards the costs of this project, which launched formally in December 2015.

    The FDTA has carried out a survey of children in the camps in the Calais area, which indentified, within the scope of the survey, 43 children with claimed family links to the UK. We are working closely with the French Goverment, UNHCR and FDTA to ensure that where family links are established, transfers take place efficiently under the Dublin Regulation.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her policy to allow police officers to cover their faces for religious purposes.

    Brandon Lewis

    Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are best placed to decide the uniform requirements for different roles within their force.

    The police remain operationally independent and it is for local leadership to ensure that officers can perform their duties effectively whilst taking officer safety, appropriate risk assessments and effective engagement with the public into consideration.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of how much additional surgical and diagnostic capacity independent sector healthcare organisations are able to make available to NHS patients over the remainder of 2016-17; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    No assessment has been made. Decisions about whether to use independent sector capacity are generally made at local level. Use of the independent sector will depend on a range of factors including the needs of individual local health systems, patient choice and availability of suitable independent sector capacity.

  • Baroness Manzoor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Manzoor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Manzoor on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people with multiple sclerosis have scored a minimum of half their points for (1) standard rate, and (2) enhanced rate, of Personal Independence Payments daily living through aids and appliances descriptors.

    Baroness Altmann

    For Multiple Sclerosis:

    3,500 individuals were awarded Standard Daily Living, of which 3,050 (87%) scored at least half of their daily living points from aids and appliance descriptors.

    3,110 individuals were awarded Enhanced Daily Living, of which 790 (25%) scored at least half of their daily living points from aids and appliance descriptors.

    These figures relate to PIP normal rules awards made during the period April 2013 to 30th September 2015.

    DWP are currently running a consultation to seek views on the way that aids and appliances are taken into account when determining entitlement to the daily living component of PIP. The department wants to make sure that the policy on this is meeting the intent of focusing support on those with the greatest needs and is keen to hear views from all interested parties, especially disabled people and disability organisations.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library copies of each Local Education and Training Board’s workforce investment plan for 2016-17.

    Ben Gummer

    This information is not held centrally.

    Health Education England (HEE) will be publishing the local plans as an appendix to the HEE commissioning and investment plan – 2016/17 and will be published on the HEE website before the end of February 2016.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Attorney General, what criteria he uses when deciding whether to make public legal advice made available to Government; and on what occasions such legal advice has been made public since May 2015.

    Jeremy Wright

    It is a longstanding constitutional convention, set out in the Cabinet Manual and the Ministerial Code, that the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised, and the content of their advice, must not be disclosed without their authority. The convention exists for fundamental constitutional reasons and to promote the public interest in the Rule of Law. Whether the Law Officers have advised and the content of that advice is part of the collective Cabinet decision-making process. The convention reflects the public interest in collective Cabinet responsibility. It also reflects the fact that Law Officers’ advice is confidential legal advice and, as with all professional legal advice, it is subject to legal professional privilege. In addition, it acknowledges the feature of Law Officers’ advice which sets it apart from other legal advice, namely that it is sought in relation to issues of particular complexity, sensitivity and constitutional importance. It is a matter of constitutional importance that the provision of advice in these circumstances should be protected in the public interest.

    A decision to disclose would require an exceptional countervailing public interest. No such case has arisen since May 2015.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what consultation took place with patient representative groups and charities representing older people on the changes to attendance allowance proposed in the provisional local government finance settlement 2016-17.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    In December, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced that the Government will be consulting on giving councils in England “more responsibility to support older people with care needs – including people who, under the current system, would be supported through Attendance Allowance”. We want to explore if there is a better way to provide support for older people with care needs through local integration and we intend to launch a consultation on this in due course. Any change would not affect those already receiving Attendance Allowance. The consultation will be an open process that will give everybody a voice in determining the nature of any reform and will inform the decision about whether and how to proceed with any reform.