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Tag: 2016

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times he has visited Scotland in an official capacity since the 2015 General Election; and what meetings were held on each such visit.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Transport in Scotland is in large part a devolved matter. However, the Secretary of State has met members of the Scottish Parliament in London and other Department for Transport ministers have visited Scotland on the following dates:

    Robert Goodwill 5 November 2015 and 21 March 2016

    Claire Perry 8 January 2016

    Andrew Jones 7 September 2016

    The visits included meetings on a variety of transport-related issues.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what value for money assessment the Government has made of the Public Duty Cost Allowance.

    Ben Gummer

    The Public Duties Cost Allowance is to assist former Prime Ministers with the costs of continuing to fulfil duties associated with their previous position in public life. A copy of the policy and guidance on the allowance is in the Library of the House. The costs are a reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary office costs and secretarial costs arising from their special position in public life. The allowance is not paid to support private or parliamentary duties. Civil servants are not entitled to claim this allowance.

    Current recipients of the allowance are published in the Cabinet Office Annual Reports and Accounts. Previous recipients have included Lady Thatcher; the current recipients who are former Prime Ministers are Sir John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. I also refer the Hon. Member to my answers to him of 9 September 2016 to (UIN 44045, 44048, 44049, 44053, 44054, 44055, 44056).

    The Public Duties Cost Allowance rate is currently set at a limit of £115,000 per annum. When originally introduced, the Government stated that it would be the equivalent in amount to the Parliamentary Office Costs Allowance. I would note that that allowance is now known as the Parliamentary Staffing Allowance, determined by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority and that is currently set at the rate of £148,500 per annum.”

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether consideration is being given to prohibiting the use of tasers in detained settings for people with mental health conditions.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The deployment of police officers to mental health settings and the tactics used are an operational matter for the police.

    Any use of force by police officers must be appropriate, proportionate, necessary and conducted as safely as is possible. If police officers need to use force, it is right that they are expected to account for their actions.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Donoughue – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are arrangements in place to prevent funding from the Department for International Development’s 2014–16 Programme Partnership Arrangement indirectly subsidising other elements of charities’ expenditure.

    Earl of Courtown

    Programme Partnership Arrangement funding is provided to organisations to meet objectives set out in robust performance frameworks, agreed between the organisation and DFID, but it is not tied to specific initiatives or interventions. Organisations formally report against these performance frameworks on an annual basis.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the effect of the palliative care currency will be on statutory funding for children’s hospices.

    Ben Gummer

    NHS England is responsible for the annual grant to children’s hospices and for determining how it will be allocated each year. The palliative care currency is designed to provide a basis for local commissioning discussions, by clearly identifying the costs of care. The currency is being tested by NHS England locally, to ensure it makes sense to commissioners and providers, and the results will be published later in the year. The intention is that there will be an appropriate transition to local commissioning of children’s hospices, but they have pledged to continue the grant until a sustainable alternative means of local funding is in effect.

  • Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord MacKenzie of Culkein on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are funding research into terrestrial enhanced position navigation and timing systems.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Her Majesty’s Government is researching terrestrial technology that could supply positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) needs. For example, Innovate UK is working with other agencies to research the use of quantum technology for PNT applications. In addition, there is research into technologies that supply only some elements of PNT, including ranging mode and radar absolute positioning.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to maximise engagement of children and young people in the arts.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Culture White Paper published last month makes clear that this Government is committed to ensuring that the arts should be an essential part of every child’s education both in and out of school. This includes working with the Department for Education on a range of music and cultural education programmes since 2012, supporting the Arts Council’s Cultural Education Challenge to create a network of cultural education partnerships and a new Cultural Citizens programme which will be piloted in three areas to support the engagement of disadvantaged young people with arts and culture in their local community.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to place the offences committed by offenders who participate in out-of-court restorative justice on the Police National Computer and make them available to courts dealing with any future offending.

    Mike Penning

    It is vital that victims see swift and certain justice delivered to their offender. It is also vital that victims of crime get the help they need to cope with, and recover from, crime.

    That is why we have protected the victims’ budget and given Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) greater flexibility to decide which services are needed in their local area.

    Restorative Justice can be a part of a wide range of services offered to victims of crime, and we are providing advice and guidance to help PCCs deliver it.

    Restorative justice is not a disposal in its own right and there are no plans to record participation in restorative justice on the Police National Computer unless this is already recorded as part of a conditional caution or other formal disposal.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Highways England traffic officers have been (a) trained to move heavy goods vehicles from live motorway lanes on Smart motorways to emergency refuge areas and (b) not so trained but issued with an instruction manual to move such vehicles.

    Andrew Jones

    As at 6 June 2016, 910 Highways England Traffic Officers have been trained in the activity of carriageway clearance. This training is appropriate for all vehicle types as it is designed to provide specific criteria which Traffic Officers must follow to determine whether it is safe to remove any vehicle from a carriageway to a place of relative safety.

    In addition, all Traffic Officers who work on smart motorway sections are trained in the specifics of that operational environment before they are designated as safe to operate. No operational activity is undertaken by Highways England Traffic Officers without appropriate training and supporting safe systems of work.

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

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department took to publicise its consultation on the West Coast Mainline franchise.

    Paul Maynard

    The public consultation for the next InterCity West Coast (ICWC) rail franchise was launched on 10 May and enabled passengers to have their say on rail services. We want to make sure that passengers’ views are taken into consideration in developing the specification for the future franchise.

    The consultation was widely publicised through a range of channels including posters, leaflets, websites, social media and key stakeholder communication channels. There was also coverage in the regional and trade press. My predecessor also wrote to all MPs, MSPs and AMs with constituencies on the ICWC route and the Scottish and Welsh Government Transport Secretaries to ensure they were informed of the consultation which serves their parts of the UK. The consultation document and associated material was published in English and Welsh both on the web and in hard copy.

    We also organised a series of events for the public and stakeholders in Scotland, Wales and England for people to come along to speak to the project team about the consultation and ask any questions to help inform their response.

    The consultation closed on 2 August and we are now reviewing and analysing the information. A summary of the responses will be published in due course.