Tag: 2016

  • 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 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to bring forward separate legislative proposals on the proposed extension of High Speed 2 from the West Midlands to Crewe.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Government intends to deposit a hybrid Bill for HS2 from West Midlands to Crewe (HS2 Phase 2a) before the end of 2017. This will enable this section of route to open in 2027, six years earlier than originally planned. This means that cities across the North West and Scotland will realise more of the benefits of HS2 sooner.

  • Chris White – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Chris White – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris White on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures her Department has implemented to support children who are permanently excluded from school.

    Edward Timpson

    Exclusion from school is not the end of a pupil’s education. Where a pupil has been permanently excluded, the Local Authority must arrange suitable full-time education for them to begin no later than the sixth school day following the exclusion.

    In the White Paper ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’ we announced reforms to the system of alternative provision which will strengthen the accountability of schools when permanently excluding pupils. Under these changes schools will remain accountable for the education of pupils in alternative provision and will be responsible for commissioning high quality provision. In addition to this, the reforms include a number of measures to raise the standards of alternative provision providers so that every child is given the best possible opportunity to fulfil their potential. The full text of the Educational Excellence Everywhere White Paper can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/educational-excellence-everywhere.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many visits (a) by Ministers and (b) officials from his Department were made to Coventry in each of the last five years.

    Joseph Johnson

    This information can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to publish its strategy for halving inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions by 2020.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Optimising prescribing is a key priority in the UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Strategy 2013-2018.

    Public Health England and NHS Improvement are in the process of establishing a Joint Advisory Group to establish a central authority of national and local experts in the field to take forward the Government’s ambition to halve inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. This Group will produce a detailed implementation plan for delivery of this ambition. The Department will publish progress on halving inappropriate prescribing through its annual progress reports on the AMR Strategy.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if the Government will publish online near real time information collected from radars showing the flight paths of Russian and Syrian fighter jets in Syrian airspace.

    Mike Penning

    I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

    However, Russia appears to be partnering with the Syrian regime in the attacks on Aleppo which are causing large numbers of civilian casualties. Indiscriminate attacks which fail to distinguish between civilians and legitimate military targets would be a violation of International Humanitarian Law and we welcome the UN’s recent decision to establish an Internal Board of Inquiry into the attack on a UN aid convoy on 19 September.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Bahraini authorities about the release from prison of Mahdi Abu Dheeb, President of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have raised Mahdi abu Dheeb’s case with the Government of Bahrain, including at the highest levels. We continue to monitor this case closely as we do with a number of other trials, including through attendance at hearings by a member of staff from the British Embassy. The UK continues to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments and to appropriately address all reports of ill-treatment of detainees. In parallel, we encourage all those with concerns about their treatment in detention to report these directly to the Ombudsman.

  • Huw Irranca-Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Huw Irranca-Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2016 to Question 22432, whether a case considered by the Serious Fraud Office must meet all Statement of Principle considerations.

    Robert Buckland

    The Criminal Justice Act 1987 provides that “The Director may investigate any suspected offence which appears to him on reasonable grounds to involve serious or complex fraud.”

    Each case is assessed on its own facts and merits.

    The Statement of Principle sets out some of the factors that the Director will take into account when considering the matter for investigation. All of these will be considered, and there is no minimum requirement or measure in respect of the different factors.

    Each on its own or taken in combination can establish sufficient grounds for the Director to decide that the case is sufficiently large, complex or of wide public interest that it should be dealt with by the Serious Fraud Office.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what checks his Department has in place to ensure that credit reference firms do not sell-on electoral roll data.

    John Penrose

    Under the Regulation 115 of the Representation of the People (England and Wales)(Amendment) Regulations 2002, anyone who is supplied with the full register is not permitted to sell a copy to any person, disclose any information contained in it, or use it for anything apart from the specified purpose for which the full register has been supplied. In contravening this provision, a person would be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, which currently stands at £5000.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30367, on vocational guidance, whether schools in Jobcentre Plus Districts in which Jobcentre Plus Support for Schools is being rolled out will be contacted by Jobcentre Plus or the Careers and Enterprise Company.

    Priti Patel

    Initial contact is planned to be through the Careers & Enterprise Company to keep communications and contact lines in one co-ordinated process. However, some schools, on hearing about Jobcentre Plus Support, have made direct approaches to JCP to request inclusion in the initiative.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what basis the equality analysis undertaken under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, which showed that certain features of the new contract for doctors in training will disproportionately impact on women, would not amount to indirect discrimination as those impacts can be comfortably justified.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Equality Assessment refers to a number of important objectives the new contract pursues and explains how it delivers fairness for all junior doctors. The Government considers that the new contract is entirely consistent with the Equality Act 2010.