Tag: 2016

Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether parity of esteem as established in the Belfast Agreement 1998 applies to people who live in the Republic of Ireland.

Lord Dunlop

This Government understands the concept of parity of esteem, as set out in the 1998 Belfast Agreement, as placing a general obligation on the UK Government to treat people of different traditions in Northern Ireland fairly and with equal respect. In the Agreement it is clearly expressed and defined in relation to people living in Northern Ireland.

As a general obligation there is no definition of particular circumstances in which it does or does not apply.

As I have set out in previous replies to the Noble Lord, this Government is firm in its commitment to the protection of people against any form of discrimination, and the promotion of opportunity for all, across the whole of our United Kingdom.

In respect of the Noble Lord’s question about those who might march wearing army uniforms but who are not members of an army, the concept of parity of esteem clearly does not absolve people from upholding the law. This Government has made clear many times that we will never accept any form of equivalence between members of the security forces and those who engage in terrorism or other forms of paramilitary activity.

January 1, 2023
Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of hate crime were reported in Croydon in each of the last 12 months.

Sarah Newton

The Home Office collects information on the number of hate crimes recorded by the police at the police force area level. The Metropolitan police force recorded 13,889 hate crimes in 2014/15.

Further information on hate crime can be found in Hate Crimes, England and Wales, 2014/15, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2014-to-2015

Data for 2015/16 are due to be published in October 2016.

This Government is committed to tackling hate crime. The UK has one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to tackle hate crime. We are working across Government with police, (including National Community Tensions Team), the Crown Prosecution Service and community partners to send out a clear message that hate crime will not be tolerated and we will vigorously pursue and prosecute those who commit these crimes.

January 1, 2023
Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many UK medical students entered undergraduate training in each year since 2000.

Mr Philip Dunne

Information on the number of United Kingdom medical students is not held centrally; this is collected by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

January 1, 2023
Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she has taken to protect recipients of Green Deal funding from companies whose work is not of an acceptable standard.

Andrea Leadsom

All authorised Green Deal participants must adhere to the Green Deal Code of Practice which clearly stipulates their roles and responsibilities in relation to carrying out energy efficiency measures and dealing with consumers. A Green Deal provider offering Green Deal finance must also hold the appropriate FCA permissions to do so and comply with the relevant elements of that regime. Any measures installed under a Green Deal, the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund, or Green Deal Communities must be installed to the standards required in the Publicly Available Standard 2030 (PAS 2030). Green Deal Certification Bodies exist to certify and audit Green Deal Installers against PAS 2030 and the Green Deal Code of Practice.

Consumers with Green Deal finance plans who have a complaint can contact the Green Deal Ombudsman if their Green Deal provider is unable or unwilling to help when something goes wrong with a Green Deal Plan.

My rt. hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for DECC and DCLG, have also commissioned Dr Peter Bonfield to chair an Independent Review of Consumer Advice, Protection, Standards and Enforcement for UK home energy efficiency and renewable energy measures. The Bonfield review will be submitting its recommendation in April 2016.

January 1, 2023

Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what property and land assets his Department holds in Greater Manchester.

Mark Lancaster

The property and land assets held by the MOD in Greater Manchester are shown below:

Ardwick Green Army Reserve Centre

Ashton-under-Lyne Army Reserve Centre

Belle Vue Street Army Reserve Centre

Bolton Army Reserve Centre

Bury Army Reserve Centre

Defence Business Services Cheadle Hulme

Failsworth Oldham Road Army Reserve Centre

Haldane Barracks Army Reserve Centre

Holcombe Moor Training Area

Holcombe Moor Training Camp

Kings Road Army Reserve Centre

Manchester Road Army Reserve Centre

Norman Road Army Reserve Centre

Ramsbottom Weekend Training Centre

Stockport Territorial Army Centre

Upper Chorlton Road Army Reserve Centre

University Barracks Territorial Army, Army Cadet Force & Army Cadet Force Headquarters

Wigan Territorial Army Centre, Army Cadet Force & Air Training Corps

January 1, 2023

Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people applied to the Pubs Code Adjudicator vacancy; and how many such people were (a) longlisted and (b) shortlisted.

Anna Soubry

I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East on 10 March, Official Report, Vol 607, Col 428.

January 1, 2023
Crispin Blunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what forecast he has made of the number of households within the 55 day-evening-night equivalent level noise contour of aircraft arriving and taking off at Gatwick Airport in the event that a second runway at that airport was to become operational.

Mr Robert Goodwill

On 14 December 2015, the Government formally announced that it accepted the Airports Commission’s case for new runway capacity in the South East, as well as the Commission’s three shortlisted schemes.

The Airports Commission undertook a thorough assessment of the noise impacts of each of the three shortlisted schemes, across a wide range of metrics, including the 55 day-evening-night sound level.

The Government continues to consider the comprehensive evidence published by the Airports Commission, including on the noise impacts of the three schemes.

January 1, 2023

Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average hourly earnings were of her Department’s (a) BME and (b) non-BME employees in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2016.

George Eustice

Defra employees are paid within salary bands according to their grades, they are not paid by the hour. The tables below set out a calculation of average hourly pay for all employees within the central department, by grade, and by BME, Non-BME, and Undeclared ethnic status (employees that have not declared their ethnicity).

2015	BME	Non BME	Undeclared
AA	*	*	£8.96
AO	£12.15	£12.17	£11.43
EO	£14.96	£13.92	£13.80
HEO	£17.29	£16.79	£15.98
SEO	£20.54	£19.96	£20.05
G7	£27.43	£27.33	£26.30
G6	*	£32.62	£33.10
SCS	*	£39.77	£46.42


2016	BME	Non BME	Undeclared
AA	*	*	£9.84
AO	£12.06	£12.17	£12.16
EO	£14.89	£14.41	£13.99
HEO	£17.23	£16.66	£16.05
SEO	£20.47	£20.51	£20.42
G7	£27.40	£27.35	£26.65
G6	*	£33.04	£32.84
SCS	*	£42.62	£48.85

*Number of staff in this group are below publishable level

Good progress is being made on actions in the Government’s Talent Action Plan and Defra’s Diversity Strategy to ensure that Defra is able to recruit and retain employees from a diverse range of backgrounds, and to enable them to develop and progress on merit.

January 1, 2023

Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason his Department deploys speed cameras that photograph vehicles from the front in addition to speed cameras that photograph vehicles from the rear; and for what reasons his Department does not have a single policy on the deployment of such cameras.

Andrew Jones

It is for local authorities and police to decide how they wish to operate speed cameras. The Department issued guidance in 2007 entitled “Use of speed and red-light cameras for traffic enforcement: guidance on deployment, visibility and signing”. I wrote to all local authorities in England and Wales on 20 October 2015 to remind them of the guidance which is available on gov.uk.

January 1, 2023
Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many trainee GPs have been informed by Capita and Primary Care Support England that they are no longer allowed to practice as they are not currently on the national list for medical performers.

David Mowat

NHS England advises that, currently, there are approximately 720 applications for general practitioner (GP) trainees to be added to the performers list.

The processing of applications to join the National Performers List was taken over by Capita in September 2015, and there have been some delays in Capita’s processing of applications. NHS England is working closely with Capita to identify all cases which may be affected by delays in processing applications, and those identified are being investigated and urgent cases prioritised. NHS England expects all GP trainees to be on the performers list by the end of October when their grace period for inclusion ends.

The decision to admit a GP trainee to the performer list is the sole responsibility of NHS England rather than Capita. There have been some instances where Capita have informed GPs that they cannot practice because their application to the performer list has not been completed. Where we are aware of such instances, those GPs have been contacted by NHS England and provided with the correct advice relating to their individual circumstances. Where necessary, NHS England has taken further action to expedite the performers’ list process.

January 1, 2023