Tag: 2016

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect of individual electoral registration on jury selection and composition.

    John Penrose

    The rules governing jury selection and composition are unaffected by the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration (IER). Potential jurors’ names are still selected at random from the electoral register.

    IER means that we can prove electors are genuine for the first time and is crucial in ensuring the registers used for jury selection are as accurate as possible.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK rail operators who may lose their franchise as a result of the recently announced proposals to transfer the responsibility for inner suburban rail services in London from his Department to Transport for London maintain and improve their services while this change takes place.

    Claire Perry

    No current franchises will be affected by the proposals, therefore we would not expect to see any operator lose their franchise as a result. The proposed transfer will take place at the start of, or within the, successor franchises.

  • Baroness Scott of Needham Market – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Scott of Needham Market – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Scott of Needham Market on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role they envisage for town and parish councils in the new devolution deals.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government is engaging with areas across the country to explore how devolution to neighbourhood level can enable more effective co-ordination and tailoring of services and engage communities in delivery and design of services. However, agreeing devolution deals is a bottom-up process – it is up to areas to determine the nature of devolution and the role of town and parish councils, as well as other local groups.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with Tourism NI on increasing the level of tourism from the UK mainland to Northern Ireland.

    David Evennett

    Tourism Ireland, a body established under the Good Friday Agreement, has responsibility for marketing Northern Ireland as a visitor destination in all markets outside of the island of Ireland, including in Great Britain.

    We want more tourists to visit Northern Ireland, and experience all that it has to offer, from the Giant’s Causeway to the film set for Game of Thrones. My officials have regular discussions with their counterparts in each Devolved Administration on tourism.

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    There are Memoranda of Understanding in place between VisitBritain, Tourism Ireland and the Tourism Northern Ireland, which set out their respective roles and responsibilities.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the factors underlying decisions to leave the armed forces early; and what he is doing to address the most significant factors behind such decisions.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continually monitors the reasons for voluntary outflow of Service personnel through methods such as the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS). We recognise that the impact of Service on family and personal life remains the most important factor influencing an intention to leave. The New Employment Model Programme (NEM) is at the centre of activity being developed to address the underlying reasons individuals leave the Armed Forces and to help mitigate the impact of Service life on the family. The NEM was established to review the Terms and Conditions of Service to deliver a more modernised offer that allows personnel and their families more choice and reduce the impact of Service life on individuals and their families whilst still meeting the Services’ needs.

    The NEM has already introduced a number of changes to address personnel concerns about better opportunities outside the Service, including a set of Career Management Principles and Practices designed to support greater consistency in how careers are managed and realistic lifestyle choice based on employment, stability and location factors. This will enable personnel to access employment readiness training for spouses/civil partners through the new Career Transition Partnership contract; pilots are now running in the Royal Air Force and Joint Forces command. The Department has also secured LIBOR funding to support a business start-up programme designed specifically for Armed Forces families and a course to deliver vocational assessment and employability training for Service spouses. We are also working with financial services providers to tailor their products for the Armed Forces community including banking, insurance and credit history and have also introduced loans for deposits for Service personnel to either buy their own home or for a rental deposit.

    At the beginning of the year, the MOD published its first UK Armed Forces Families’ Strategy. The Strategy recognises that to recruit and retain capable and talented Service personnel that Defence must do more to listen, talk to and empower Service families. The Strategy is based on the principles of supporting fairness in line with the Armed Forces Covenant. It aims to provide greater choice where possible, empowering families by providing information and access to support when they need it, and engendering resilience in families, supporting self-determination and independence preparing families for their eventual transition from Service life.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the benefits of localised general practice federations.

    David Mowat

    The majority of general practitioner (GP) practices are now working in practice groups or federations. This provides opportunities to expand services, stabilise practice income and work at scale which has benefits for patients, practices and the wider system. These include: economies of scale; quality improvement; workforce development; enhanced care and new services; resilience; and system partnerships.

    The GP Access Fund specifically has enabled groups of GP practices, often collaborating with others such as community pharmacies or ambulance services, to provide new and expanded services together. Operating under a single contract in a local area and sharing work and resources has enabled the 2,500 practices in the programme to significantly develop their networks.

    Most of the GP Access Fund schemes have, through the programme, strengthened their arrangements for collaboration, developed a more prominent identity with patients, and grown their leadership and management capabilities. This has been facilitated by the support programme put in place by NHS England, helping the networks to make faster progress on issues such as IT, governance and care redesign. It has also built a legacy of more cohesive and capable teams for the future.

  • Alasdair McDonnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alasdair McDonnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alasdair McDonnell on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will detail how his Department provides support for a not-for-profit training programme for drivers in administering first aid; and how many drivers this programme has trained.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Department has provided a grant payment of £70,000 to Driver First Assist for its 2016-17 programme.

    Driver First Assist is a not for profit organisation training large goods vehicle drivers to provide lifesaving first aid and manage the scene at a road traffic collision prior to the arrival of the emergency services. So far the organisation has trained 738 drivers to act as first responders.

  • 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 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what actions have been undertaken in response to finding reference TRF0195 of the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator’s assessment of the Astral Climb 12 nuclear emergency exercise; and on what dates each such action was closed out.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Finding TRF 195 from the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator’s assessment of Exercise Astral Climb 2012 called for documented arrangements to be reviewed and updated to reflect two changes in practice: the responsibility for the medical response and the monitoring instrumentation. This action was completed in August 2013. The finding also called for a review of Convoy and Station Nuclear Emergency Organisation Team response arrangements; this review was carried out in 2015.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2016 to Question 23581, who the best official is to contact with credible reports from an external organisation of civilian casualties.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Any credible concerns or evidence relating to the possibility of civilian casualties caused by air strikes may be submitted to the Ministry of Defence Ministerial Correspondence Unit, Main Building, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2HB, or by email to ParliBranch-Treat-Official@mod.uk

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the local licensing authorities on the introduction of five-year private hire operator licences by local authorities.

    Andrew Jones

    Five-year private hire vehicle operator licences were introduced in October 2015. Since that time, local licensing authorities have not made any representations to me on the subject.