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Tag: 2016

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on (a) the National Adaptation Programme and (b) businesses and organisations’ climate change resilience of the withdrawal of the Climate Ready Support Service.

    Rory Stewart

    The first National Adaptation Programme sets out more than 370 actions to help the UK better prepare for climate change – we continue to deliver on these actions and make sure adaptation is integrated across government policy making. We will carefully review how we work with business and industry as part of the preparations for the next National Adaptation Programme report which is due around 2018.

    The Environment Agency continues to play an important role in helping businesses adapt to climate change, in particular as part of its core role on flooding, coastal risks, water management, freshwater habitats, and as a statutory adviser in the land-use planning system. In addition, the Environment Agency will continue to provide advice to businesses and other organisations on using the UK climate projections and it will continue to contribute to a range of stakeholder groups. Over 70 online tools developed by the Climate Ready Support Service are still available for use by businesses.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) average amount in tax relief paid per higher rate tax relief payer and (b) total amount of tax relief for personal pension payments was in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15.

    Mr David Gauke

    Information on the cost of pensions tax relief is published in HM Revenue and Customs’ National Statistics table PEN6, available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/registered-pension-schemes-cost-of-tax-relief

    “

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to support people who are addicted to the psychoactive substances prohibited by the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.

    Jane Ellison

    Local authorities are responsible for assessing the local need for drug treatment and commissioning services to meet that need. This involves developing services that can help people with a range of drug problems; which can also respond to emerging problems, such as new psychoactive substances.

    Public Health England works with local authorities to support them in commissioning alcohol and drug services, providing guidance and materials, bespoke data, value for money tools, topical briefings and advice on good practice. This includes guidance on new psychoactive substances for substance misuse commissioners, including a toolkit which can be found at:

    http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/nps-a-toolkit-for-substance-misuse-commissioners.pdf

    “

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people who suffer from aphasia are given the support needed to communicate effectively.

    David Mowat

    Rehabilitation services, specifically speech and language therapy, provide much of the National Health Service support for people with aphasia. As clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning these services, they should be taking steps to ensure that support for people with aphasia is available and improve these services where appropriate.

    Stroke is the most common cause of aphasia developing in adults. The vast majority of patients are admitted to hospital after a stroke and over 90% are managed on a stroke unit. All stroke units in England have access to speech and language therapy. After discharge from hospital about three quarters of areas in England have access to stroke specific early supported discharge teams of which 91% have a speech and language therapist.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the planned replacement of student bursaries by loans, how many grants for higher cost students will be made to universities in respect of degree courses in nursing in 2017–18.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    Institutional autonomy and academic freedom are key strengths of our higher education system. To protect these, the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 prohibits Ministers from being involved in decisions about funding for individual institutions or particular courses. Details on teaching grant funding will be set out in the normal way in the annual grant letter from ministers to The Higher Education Funding Council.

    As part of the changes announced at the Spending Review, we will lift the cap on the number of students that can get on to nursing courses and provide nursing students with access to around 25% more financial support. We expect this reform to enable universities to provide up to 10,000 additional nursing, midwifery and allied health training places over this parliament.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 26100, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of the £349 million spent in support of Palestinian development from 2011 to 2015 which has gone to support projects which promote coexistence.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The DFID Palestinian Programme supports the HMG objective of protecting the viability of a two state solution. DFID’s work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories tends to consist of large-scale and strategic programmes that fit within our three priority areas; state building, economic development and alleviating poverty and vulnerability. Through the cross-government Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), the UK continues to support several projects which promote coexistence. These projects include support for the Peres Centre for Peace Training Doctors Programme which brings Israelis and Palestinians together through medical care and training to combat stereotypes and build trust. Additionally we work on projects with youth groups and through sport to encourage engagement between Israelis and Palestinians.

  • Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tommy Sheppard on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department plans to spend on emergency aid relief in Fiji in response to the recent cyclone in that country.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK is assisting Fiji in response to Tropical Cyclone Winston. We are contributing technical support to strengthen United Nations Children’s Fund capacity with water, sanitation and hygiene coordination and are ready to consider further requests for humanitarian experts should it be required. DFID has also offered to provide support to the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Co-ordinations team and will remain in contact with Agencies in the region.

    The UK is also funding MapAction, a UK-based NGO. Two of their volunteers have now deployed to Fiji to provide GIS and Mapping capability. The UK also makes core contributions to the UN Agencies, the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department and the Red Cross, all of whom are contributing to the response. Stephen O’Brien, Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has recently announced US $8 million for Fiji from the Central Emergency Response Fund, to which the UK is biggest contributor, having donated in excess of $855m in the last 10 years.

  • Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Colombian counterpart on the number of human rights defenders and community leaders who have been killed in the last 30 days.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I raised the issue of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) on 29 September 2015 when I met Deputy Foreign Minister Holguin of Colombia during the UN General Assembly, and in March when I met the Colombian Ambassador in London. We take every opportunity to raise our concerns with contacts in Colombia. Our Embassy officials raised our concerns with the Colombian Interior Minister and with the Presidential Advisor for Human Rights in February. The Minister of State, my noble Friend the Rt Hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns, raised her concerns about the situation of HRDs in Colombia with the Interior Minister and Deputy Foreign Minister during her visit there last month. On 1 April, our Ambassador to Colombia accompanied the Minister of Interior to a regional Human Rights roundtable, where the role of local authorities in taking effective action on HRD cases was discussed. The UK was the only member of the international community invited to this event.

  • Jon Cruddas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jon Cruddas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Cruddas on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the report Three years on: an independent review of Local Council Tax Support Schemes by Eric Ollerenshaw OBE, published in March 2016, if he will commission in-depth academic research on the effect of Local Council Tax Support Schemes within the wider context of other welfare and socio-economic changes.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Eric Ollerenshaw’s independent report recognises the successful implementation of Local Council Tax Schemes by local government and makes a number of recommendations to improve their efficiency and effectiveness, whilst remaining a local discount. The Department for Communities and Local Government will consider these recommendations carefully.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he or officials of his Department have had with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the process to ensure that ports effectively monitor ship energy efficiency management plans; and how many ships have been found not to possess an updated plan in the last five years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans come under the purview of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Inspectors when carrying out Port State Control inspections. They have been mandatory since 1 January 2013.

    The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has carried out 4018 Port State Control inspections since the requirement became mandatory and 24 vessels have been identified with deficiencies relating to energy efficiency.