Tag: 2016

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress her Department has made on the consultation into how the proceeds of the immigration skills charge should be spent.

    Robert Halfon

    The income raised from the Immigration Skills Charge will support the provision of skills for the resident population, to address the skills gaps that employers face. The amount of funding generated will depend on employer use of the Tier 2 route. Further information will be set out in due course.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken to fulfil their agreement in the August 2015 Joint Ministerial Declaration (Managing Migratory Flows in Calais) properly to protect children in refugee camps in Calais.

    Lord Bates

    The management of the camp – both in terms of humanitarian aspects and maintaining law and order – is the responsibility of the French Government and operational needs may require for them to restrict access under certain circumstances. Aid is not restricted as a matter of course, and we work with the French to ensure those who need help are able to receive it.

    To help protect vulnerable people (including children and other potential victims of trafficking) the Home Secretary and French Interior Minister agreed in the UK-France Joint Declaration in August 2015 to set up a project to identify and direct vulnerable individuals to existing protection, support and advice within France. The UK has contributed €750,000 (£530,000) to fund the project which formally launched in December 2015.

  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce country of origin labels for dairy products in (1) the UK, and (2) across the EU; and if so, when.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government supports the industry voluntary agreement for labelling origin of food, which has resulted in clear and honest origin labelling in the vast majority of dairy products sold in UK shops.

    We have also been pushing for improved origin labelling for dairy products in Europe, including a proper consideration of mandatory origin labelling for lightly processed dairy products such as butter, cheese and cream. Many producers and retailers in the UK provide this information voluntarily, reflecting consumer demand and the acceptable cost of such schemes, but consumers can feel misled where this information is not available.

    New Implementing Acts on origin labelling of the main ingredients of food where these are different from the place of production of the food itself have recently been proposed by the Commission and the UK will engage with the Commission to ensure that these measures are effective.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost was of transferring the services previously provided by the General Social Care Council (GSCC) to the Health and Care Professions Council after the GSCC was abolished in 2012.

    Alistair Burt

    The function for the regulation of social workers in England was transferred from the General Social Care Council (GSCC) to the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) on 1 August 2012.

    The final set of accounts from the GSCC show that the total cost to the public purse of closing down the Council was £16.5 million. The HCPC also received £1.4 million to support it take on the functions for the regulation of social workers in England. Therefore, the total cost was £17.9 million.

    On the assumption that the costs of the GSCC remained broadly similar, the Department estimated that the closure of the GSCC saves £13.5 million each year.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on establishing a new national centre of expertise on tackling child sexual abuse; and when that centre is expected to open.

    Karen Bradley

    Tackling child sexual abuse is a top priority for this Government and good progress is being made on delivering the commitments made in “Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation” – the Government’s response to address on a national scale the failures that had been seen in Rotherham and elsewhere. We are working collaboratively across Whitehall to deliver on our commitments and will publish an update to the “Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation” report later this year. This will set out our progress to date on what we have achieved in tackling offending, reducing vulnerability and supporting victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. It will also set out what future steps the government plans to take.

    As part of this work, we have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat, providing a clear mandate for police forces to safeguard children and to share intelligence and best practice. We have also rolled out to all UK police forces Child abuse image database (CAID) which provides law enforcement with effective tools to search seized devices. We have delivered a £7 million uplift in funding over the financial years 2014 – 15 and 2015 – 16 for non statutory organisations which support victims and survivors of sexual abuse and have announced that the same amount will be available in 2016 – 17.

    In January this year we launched a new national whistle-blowing helpline, operated by the NSPCC, for any employee who wants to raise a concern about how their organisation is dealing with a concern about a child. The establishment of the Centre of Expertise has formed part of discussions held at the Inter Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse, and we are currently working towards its procurement. In terms of the Centre working with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Inquiry is independent of Government, but the Government is, and will, continue to fully co-operate with it.

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

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the public sector spend on health per head of population (a) in real terms and (b) as a proportion of GDP in each year between 2015-16 and 2020-21.

    Alistair Burt

    Spend as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is stated on United Kingdom public expenditure figures and is produced by HM Treasury. The Department is responsible for reporting on health spend in England and is not in a position to provide equivalent spend figures for health by the devolved administrations in future years.

    The Spending Review settlement, delivered by the Chancellor on 25 November, set the Department’s overall budget for the remaining years of the parliament and the level of funding that will be available to the National Health Service. It set absolute spending totals, not spending as a percentage of GDP, providing certainty for financial planning over the period.

  • Calum Kerr – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Calum Kerr – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Calum Kerr on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he plans to take to protect UK science from the effect of uncertainty about access to European Research Council grants.

    Joseph Johnson

    The UK’s decision to leave the EU has no immediate effect on the right of researchers to apply or to participate in Horizon 2020 as the UK is still an EU member state. UK participants can continue to apply to the programme in the usual way. The Commission has made a public statement on its website to this effect. The future of UK access to European research and innovation funding will be determined as part of wider discussions with the EU.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assistance British police have provided to Bahrain in the last 12 months; what the (a) dates and (b) titles of those assistance projects were; which constabularies were involved; what type of assistance police forces plan to provide to Bahrain in the next 12 months; and if she will place copies of the relevant International Police Assistance Board referral forms in the Library.

    Brandon Lewis

    The British Government continues to provide support to Bahrain in a range of areas on their reform agenda.

    The provision of UK police advice and assistance is a key element in this as they progress towards being in compliance with international standards and best practice. Assistance has been provided to Bahrain by the police in the last 12 months.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the prevalence of the practice in the retail and leisure sectors of sending employees home during their shift without notice.

    Nick Boles

    We encourage employers to be clear with their staff up front on how work will be structured. However, the way in which work is arranged, or how shifts are decided upon will depend on each situation and sector. A ‘one size fits all’ solution would not be appropriate.

    Where appropriate, Government publishes guidance. For instance, we recently considered the issue of late notice cancellation of shifts for those on zero hours contracts and have published updated guidance on gov.uk.

  • Lord Inglewood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Inglewood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Inglewood on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many grey squirrels were culled on the public estate in each Forest District of England and Wales in each of the last three years; and how many were culled by (1) trapping, and (2) shooting, in each of the years in each of the Districts.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Forestry Commission does not hold records of the numbers of squirrels killed on the public forest estate in England. The Forestry Commission ceased to operate in Wales on 1 April 2013 with the creation of Natural Resources Wales and we do not hold any information on grey squirrel culling on the Welsh Government woodland estate.