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Tag: 2016

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the public expenditure that is required to extend the life of RMS St Helena.

    Rory Stewart

    Through its commitment of Financial Aid to the Government of St Helena, DFID subsidises the costs of the service provided by the RMS St Helena. The subsidy is the difference between the actual costs of operating the service and the actual revenue generated. So it is not possible to calculate the subsidy in advance and without knowing, for example the levels of occupancy on each service and operating costs. For the period between April and July 2016 the RMS service returned a profit of £220,000 so no subsidy was required. The cost of subsidising the operations of the RMS St Helena in FY 2015/16 was £620,000.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) frail elderly people, (b) young people leaving care, (c) women fleeing domestic violence, (d) people recovering from alcohol and substance misuse, (e) people with mental health issues and (f) people with physical or learning disabilities live in supported housing and are eligible for housing benefit.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department of Work and Pensions have jointly commissioned the Supported Accommodation Review to better understand the scale, shape and cost of supported accommodation. The Review will provide more robust and up-to-date information relating to supported housing, including the principal user groups. The Review will report later this year.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to reduce levels of family debt; and what assessment he has made of current tends in those levels.

    Harriett Baldwin

    In Q3 2015 household debt fell to 142 per cent of household income, down from its peak of 168 per cent in Q1 2008. The Government’s plan for a higher wage, lower welfare society makes it easier for families and working people to save, and includes the new National Living Wage which will mean a pay boost for 1.7 million workers this year.

    Nonetheless, the Government recognises that there are those who face problem levels of debt. The Money Advice Service (MAS) is responsible for the coordination of publically funded free to client debt advice and is financed by a levy on the financial services industry. MAS is currently consulting on its business plan; it has proposed levying for a constant debt advice budget for 2016/17 providing around £45 million.

    The Government is currently reviewing how the public provision of free-to-client, impartial financial guidance, including consumer debt advice services, should be structured. The Public Financial Guidance consultation closed in December 2015 and the Government will report back by budget.

    Additionally, we have created the independent Financial Policy Committee within the Bank of England, to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole, including in relation to household debt, are identified, monitored and effectively addressed.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Prime Minister, if he will make representations to bodies campaigning on the EU referendum to ensure that members of the Royal Family are not referred to in the debate on that referendum; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Cameron

    This is a matter for the campaign groups. Government activities in respect of the EU Referendum will be in line with published propriety guidance.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the cases of organised grooming and sexual exploitation in Rotherham and elsewhere, whether police forces have been issued with new guidance on responding to allegations of abuse; and if so, what is that guidance.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The Government does not hold information on the faith of those accused or convicted of child sexual exploitation (CSE) offences.

    CSE is not exclusive to any single culture, community, race or religion, and anyone who abuses children must be stopped. It happens in all areas of the country and can take many different forms. However, the previous Government’s ‘Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation’ report of March 2015 makes it very clear that the issue of race, regardless of ethnic group, should be tackled as a priority if it is known to be a significant factor in the criminal activity of organised abuse in any local community.

    The College of Policing (CoP) has issued clear guidance on how police forces should respond to allegations of child sexual abuse and exploitation. This is available on the CoP website at: https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/major-investigation-and-public-protection/child-abuse/ .

    In addition the National Policing Lead for child protection has taken action to revise the national policing CSE action plan to take account of the learning from the Professor Alexis Jay report and other recent publications. All Chief Constables have committed to this action plan that aims to raise standards in tackling CSE so that the police are providing a consistently strong approach to protecting vulnerable young people. The action plan is available on the CoP website at: https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/major-investigation-and-public-protection/child-sexual-exploitation/cse-action-plan/

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34917, if he will provide a breakdown of the £25 billion total receipts from asset sales in financial year 2015-16 by (a) individual asset, (b) the amount raised by each asset and (c) the buyer of that asset.

    Mr David Gauke

    The following table provides a breakdown of major asset sales in 2015-16 excluding Lloyds:

    Asset

    Amount raised (£bn)

    Buyer

    Royal Mail

    1.3

    Sale of shares

    UKAR

    13.0

    Cerberus Capital Management LP

    Lloyds Banking Group

    7.4*

    Sale of shares

    RBS

    2.1

    Sale of shares

    King Cross JV

    0.4

    AustralianSuper

    Eurostar

    0.8

    Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Hermes Infrastructure

    *Figure reflects 2015-16 sales through the ongoing Lloyds trading plan as at most recent announcement date (4th December 2015).

  • Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to extend the operational life of the Type 23 frigate.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    There are currently no plans to extend further the out of service dates for the Type 23 Frigates.

  • Paul Farrelly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paul Farrelly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Farrelly on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff working for the Health and Care Transformation Boards in (a) Staffordshire and (b) other constituent parts of the UK receive a higher salary than the Prime Minister.

    David Mowat

    We are unsure what is meant by Health and Care Transformation Boards. However in regards to Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs):

    STP footprints are not statutory bodies, but collective discussion forums which aim to bring together health and care leaders to support the delivery of improved health and care based on the needs of local populations. They do not replace existing local bodies, or change local accountabilities. Each footprint has been asked to determine governance arrangements for agreeing and implementing their STP. Individuals who are leading the development of STPs within each footprint, which include National Health Service provider Chief Executives, Clinical Commissioning Group Accountable Officers, local authority senior leaders, are responsible for convening and chairing system-wide meetings, facilitating the open and honest conversations that will be necessary to secure sign up to a shared vision and plan. In the overwhelming majority of cases this is a voluntary, non-statutory role and they are not being paid over and above the remuneration they receive for their existing role. Their salary details will be available in the individual annual reports of the organisations by whom they are substantively employed.

  • Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reasons are for the proposal to reduce the number of benefit appeal cases in which (a) an appellant can appear in person and (b) the panel includes a member with direct experience of the relevant benefit; and what cost savings are expected to arise from that change.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    The Government is investing close to £1 billion to reform and digitise our courts and tribunals to deliver swifter and more certain justice.

    Technology will be at the forefront of our reforms but specific support will be provided to ensure tribunals remain accessible to all and physical hearings will continue to be used to resolve many cases.

    The impact assessment published alongside the Transforming our Justice System consultation paper sets out our estimate of potential savings from tribunal panel composition reform based on possible future scenarios.

    The panel composition reforms will ensure that the most appropriate panel is always selected to hear a case. As now, relevant expertise will always be available where needed, regardless of how a case is resolved. The Senior President of Tribunals will continue to determine when panel members are used.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which military assets provide fisheries protection within the UK’s exclusive economic zone.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels HMS TYNE and HMS SEVERN and the Survey Vessel HMS ECHO currently provide the Royal Navy’s contribution to fishery protection duties within the United Kingdom’s exclusive economic zone.