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Tag: 2016

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK offered support to Saudi Arabia for the process of that country being elected to the UN Human Rights Council.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Saudi Arabia was the only candidate put forward by the Asian Group for this seat in the UN’s Human Rights Council. So while the UK never publicises how it votes, this was not a contested election and the UK’s vote was immaterial.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis aged (a) 0-10, (b) 11-20, (c) 21-40, (d) 41-60, and (e) 61+ years old in each of the last five years.

    David Mowat

    This information is not collected. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimates that multiple sclerosis affects approximately 100,000 people in the United Kingdom.

  • Lord Balfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Balfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Balfe on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they gave to proposals to ban the advertising of unhealthy foods aimed specifically at children, and before the nine o’clock watershed, as part of their Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action and, if such proposals were not considered appropriate, why not.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    In developing Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action we have been clear that we considered a number of different policies and have focused on the ones that are likely to have the biggest impact on childhood obesity.

    The policies in the plan are informed by the latest research and evidence, including from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition report Carbohydrates and Health, Public Health England’s evidence package Sugar reduction: the evidence for action, other Government departments, debates in the House of Commons and various reports from key stakeholders including the House of Commons Health Select Committee.

    Current restrictions on the advertising of less healthy food and drink in the United Kingdom are amongst the toughest in the world. Alongside this, we welcome the action taken by forward thinking retailers on promotions. These voluntary actions mean that business can move more quickly and go beyond what regulation would permit.

    We are confident that the measures we have announced will make a real difference and estimate that childhood obesity rates could be reduced by around a fifth (330,000) over the next ten years. Though we are clear in our goals and firm in the action we will take, this plan represents the start of a conversation, rather than the final word.

    Copies of Carbohydrates and Health and Sugar reduction: the evidence for action are attached.

  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how aid disbursed by her Department’s Palestinian Programme tackles anti-Israeli incitement.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK deplores incitement on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We monitor any allegations of incitement closely and raise instances with both the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel. Our financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding which reaffirms the PA’s commitment to non-violence and a negotiated solution to the conflict. We accompany our support for UNRWA with stringent attention to their neutrality and values of peace. UNRWA continues to implement a human rights, conflict resolution and tolerance policy, which applies to all its schools in its five fields of operation, supplementing the host country curriculums. We take allegations of incitement very seriously and raise them with UNRWA whenever appropriate.

  • Baroness Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Crawley on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their reasons are for the delay in publishing their review of Trading Standards, outlined in the report on productivity Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, in the light of the fact that the competition plan A better deal: boosting competition for families and firms published in November 2015 stated that the review had been completed.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government is still considering the issues raised during this review and will respond in due course.

  • Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much the Government plans to provide to each local authority to meet the cost of the introduction of the living wage.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    All new Government policies which impact on local government are assessed for whether they will represent a new burden on local authorities, against the criteria published in the New Burdens guidance. The New Burdens doctrine does not apply to policies which apply the same rules to local authorities and to private sector bodies, such as the apprenticeships levy, the national living wage and changes to national insurance. The guidance is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-burdens-doctrine-guidance-for-government-departments.

    In setting the future funding settlement for local government at the Spending Review in November 2015, the Government took account of a wide range of factors, including some which fell outside the New Burdens doctrine but nonetheless represented new costs for local authorities such as the apprenticeships levy, the national living wage and changes to national insurance.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department takes to advise HM Revenue and Customs when an individual is moved from the employment and support allowance work related activity group into the support group.

    Priti Patel

    The Department does not automatically share information on moves between the work related activity group and the support group with HM Revenue and Customs.

    At the end of each financial year the Department reports to the HM Revenue and Customs details of the tax code operated, the total amount of taxable benefit paid and the total amount of tax deducted for that tax year.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2016 to Question 34372, whether Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence 189 was one of the licences included in the Deed of Variation dated 4 December 2013, allowing the drilling of 10 wells to a depth of 800 metres and three wells to 3,000 metres on 13 specified licences.

    Andrea Leadsom

    A Deed of Variation was made on 4 December 2013 in respect of Licence PEDL189. It amended both the Licence’s Initial Term Work Programme and the date at which the Licence’s Initial Term would expire. A further variation has been sought by the licensee, and while it remains the case as I said in the answer I gave the hon. Member on 22 April that no such variation has been agreed, that request is under consideration from the Oil and Gas Authority and a decision will be made shortly:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-04-18/34369/.

    “

  • Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Docherty-Hughes on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on steps to prevent counterfeit electrical goods from being sold in Scotland.

    David Mundell

    I have had a range of discussions with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and Scottish Government ministers.

    The UK-wide Intellectual Property Office works with law enforcement and industry partners across Scotland to reduce the availability of all types of counterfeits, including electrical goods.

    Recent successful joint-enforcement activity involving the Intellectual Property Office, Trading Standards, and Police Scotland, in the Barras Market area of Glasgow, achieved over £30 million pounds worth of fake goods seized. These items included not only counterfeit electrical goods, but fake eBooks, watches, clothing, footwear, and tobacco products.

    The operation saw the arrest of 100 traders, the removal of stalls selling fake goods and the return of legitimate business to the area, and is a superb example of the collective effort of Scotland’s two Governments using our powers and potential in a common endeavour.

    The Government does not hold data estimating the number of counterfeit electrical goods that were sold in Scotland during the last 12 months. However, we have recently launched a landmark Intellectual Property enforcement strategy in which we have set out how we will improve our data collection. The Intellectual Property Office are developing a robust methodology for measuring the harm caused by IP infringement and a comprehensive scoreboard to be published annually. This will mean better reporting in the criminal justice system, better reporting of court cases, and a deeper understanding of consumer behaviours and emerging trends.

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the feasibility of processing applications for registration certificates and residence cards through an online system; and if she will estimate the potential savings in administration costs to the public purse of such a system.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Data on the total number of EEA related applications made by people in the UK is published on a quarterly basis as part of the Migration Transparency Data release. The latest published figures (Q2 2016) can be found in the table ‘Temporary and permanent migration data’. See tab InC-01a. This data can be accessed via the link below.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/temporary-and-permanent-migration-data-august-2016

    With regards to the online processing of EEA applications, UK Visas & Immigration is undertaking a programme of transformation of which digitisation is a core part. UKVI is working towards digitising all application routes from existing methods of applying by paper for applicants from within and outside of the UK. The intention is to enable customers to apply online across the services and immigration routes in a straight-forward and customer-focused way.

    The online application service Access UK first launched for visit visa customers in China in June 2014, and has subsequently been rolled out to 180 countries globally for overseas visit routes in more than 15 languages. For those already in the UK, Access UK has launched for customers applying for tier 2 (work) and tier 4 (study) extensions and is preparing for further services to go online. UKVI is currently trialling the online service for some EEA applicants. As the programme matures we expect benefits to security, customer service and efficiencies to be identified and realised.