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Tag: 2016

  • Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase the level of access to credit for businesses in Stafford constituency in the last 12 months.

    Anna Soubry

    The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 contained two specific policies to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in accessing finance.

    The first requires major banks to refer SMEs they reject for finance to designated ‘finance platforms’ that can help match SMEs with alternative finance providers. This will ensure that viable SMEs, including businesses in Stafford, that may not fit the major banks’ risk appetite can still get the finance they need to grow and expand. Three platforms have recently been designated by HM Treasury on the advice of the British Business Bank and are expected to come into operation later this year.

    The second requires the major banks to share information on their SME customers, with the SME’s permission, with other lenders through designated Credit Reference Agencies. This will improve the ability of challenger banks and alternative finance providers to conduct accurate risk assessments and level the playing field between providers and make it easier for SMEs to get finance from providers other than their bank.

    The Government is supporting the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and Crowdfunding sectors, which provide alternative sources of finance for both businesses and individuals. The British Business Bank, for example, has invested £100m in SMEs via five P2P platforms.

    In addition, the British Business Bank’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme has facilitated over £2.6 billion of bank lending and other finance to over 25,000 SMEs. Since the start of the scheme, 45 EFG loans have been drawn down in Stafford worth over £5 million. Government has also provided loans through the Start Up Loans Company to help new businesses in Stafford. 42 start up businesses in Stafford have secured a loan from the Start Up Loans Company, with a total value of over £218, 000.

    More widely, credit conditions for business continue to improve with net lending to SMEs in 2015 positive across the complete year, the first time this has happened since the financial crisis.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to Written Statement HCW588 on Infected Blood Payment Scheme, whether entitlement to the new annual payments for people infected with hepatitis C via infected blood and blood products will continue for the lifetime of the individual even if they are successfully treated for their hepatitis C.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The reformed scheme will provide a payment to all those with hepatitis C, even if they have been treated, for the current spending review period. A review of the scheme will take place towards the end of this spending review period.

    All those who are currently bereaved partners/spouses and all those who will be bereaved partner/spouses in future will receive a £10,000 lump sum payment and will have continued access to discretionary support. Discretionary support will continue to be available to the bereaved, as well as to infected individuals.

    All infected individuals who are registered with Skipton as having hepatitis C stage 1 (nearly 2,500 people) will be eligible for the new stage 1 annual payment.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the number of pigs which have died of disease or were put down on account of disease in each of the last five years.

    George Eustice

    Defra collects data on cases of notifiable or reportable diseases, as per a legal requirement. The department does not estimate the number of all cattle or all pigs which have died of disease or were put down on account of disease as the department does not collect cattle or pigs death data.

    There have been no pig deaths due to notifiable disease in Great Britain in the last 5 years. There were two cattle deaths in 2015 from Anthrax. The most recent data on Bovine Tuberculosis is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/incidence-of-tuberculosis-tb-in-cattle-in-great-britain

    “

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Colombian authorities about reducing the practice of locating military bases in rural villages.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) reached a number of agreements in September 2015, which I welcomed at the time. These agreements included one on rural development.

    I also welcomed the commitment made by both sides to sign a final peace deal by the end of March 2016. We continue to offer advice to the government of Colombia on implementation of the Peace Process and the potential role of the military in the post conflict phase.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many local authorities have applied for funding from the permanent pothole fund since the announcement of that fund in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015; and how many applications for such funding his Department expects to be approved in (a) 2015-16 and (b) the 2015-20 Parliament.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport is providing over £6.1 billion funding to local highway authorities in England between 2015 and 2021 for local highways maintenance. This includes repairing roads that might be damaged due to severe winter weather. This funding includes £50 million per annum from 2016 to 2021 for a dedicated Pothole Action Fund as announced in the recent Spending Review.

    The Department for Transport is currently working up criteria on how the Pothole Action Fund will operate and an announcement will be made in due course on this. Therefore no applications have yet been submitted nor have any decisions been made on how this funding will be allocated.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Prime Minister, which hon. Members have security clearance for access to 10 Downing Street.

    Mr David Cameron

    It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on security issues.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 27079, on Victory 1744, how many such meetings, on which dates, have been held between his officials and those in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

    Mark Lancaster

    Since my previous answer of the 22 February 2016 officials met on the 11 March and further meetings between officials from both Departments will be held as these discussions continue.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33196, whether his Department plans to place work coaches in other food banks.

    Priti Patel

    Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches undertake outreach work every day in local communities on a number of activities which includes supporting the Troubled Families Programme, homeless hostels, drug and alcohol dependency and ex-offenders. They have recently been helping people with back-to-work support and advice in Manchester at the Lalley Community Centre, where a food bank sits alongside other support services.

    The decision on engagement with food banks and other local community initiatives will continue to remain at local discretion; where Jobcentre Plus is invited to work with a food bank provider and where there is local need.

  • The Countess of Mar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The Countess of Mar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 27 April (HL7764), whether or not European Aviation Safety Agency certification standard 25.1309c, which requires warning systems for any unsafe operating system, applies to engine oil that leaks onto hot aircraft engines over which cabin bleed air” is drawn.”

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    European Aviation Safety Agency certification standard 25.1309c does not require this. However the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) standard for engine certification, CS-E 510, requires that a failure analysis and safety assessment is conducted by the engine manufacturer to show that hazardous concentration of toxic products will not enter the cabin bleed air.

    EU airlines are legally required to report any potential safety incident including where fumes or smoke are detected on board an aircraft. Although these incidents are rare, these reports are taken very seriously and reviewed thoroughly to identify any safety issues or trends.

    Passenger and crew safety is of paramount importance. The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority are constantly working to enhance safety standards.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what mission statements and priorities her Department has had in place in each of the last six years; and what recent changes have been made to those statements and priorities.

    Rory Stewart

    DFID’s mission and priorities have been set out in various publications since 2010 including the “UK Aid Changing Lives” publication, the DFID Results Framework, and the DFID Business Plan. Priorities and progress are updated periodically, including through DFID’s Annual Report to Parliament. Most recently the Government published the “UK Aid Strategy: tackling global challenges in the national interest” and DFID’s Single Departmental Plan.