Tag: 2016

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the DVLA on the implications of the Supreme Court case, Beavis vs ParkingEye.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government is aware of the public concern at the way some private parking companies operate.

    Whilst we have not held any specific discussions with the DVLA or representatives of the private parking companies, we are currently reviewing responses to the discussion paper, “Parking Reform: Tackling Unfair Practices”.

    We will issue a response in due course.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the freeze on housing benefit rates, combined with an extended benefit cap and rising rents, on homeless families, and especially children, in particular in cases where local authorities have to place families in temporary housing far away from their local areas.

    Lord Freud

    The Government routinely publishes cumulative analysis of the impacts of its tax, welfare and public spending policies on households. The most recent assessment was published at Budget 2016 and is available on gov.uk. Nevertheless, such static analysis is limited in that it cannot robustly capture the behavioural changes encouraged by these policies. Considering welfare measures in isolation, such as Housing Benefit changes, would fail to recognise the impacts of tax and spending decisions such as the increase to the personal allowance and the provision of early years’ childcare, which are benefitting families up and down the country.

  • Peter Bottomley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Peter Bottomley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bottomley on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the reasons given for the dismissal of Mr Agrawal were related to clinical concerns.

    Mr Jeremy Hunt

    This is an employer and employee matter between the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and Mr Aditya Agrawal respectively. The Department cannot comment on individual employment matters that are the responsibility of independent organisations, and that are subject to ongoing legal proceedings or on matters relating to individual clinical cases or other personal information. We understand that the cost to East Lancashire Trust of legal proceedings concerning Mr Agrawal is £296,848.42 to date, and that the Trust does not have insurance costs for legal awards in the event of the Trust or one of its employees being subject to legal action for defamation.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many times her Department has used the services of Denford Associates in each of the last five financial years; what work was so undertaken; and what the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Department’s financial systems have no record of Denford Associates as a supplier, and it has not made any payments to them in the last five financial years.

  • Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 11893, when her Department plans to publish an assessment of the effectiveness of the Soil Protection Review and cross-compliance inspection regime in reducing soil erosion; and what penalties there are for landowners who do not take steps to reduce soil erosion.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra published the report ‘An Assessment of the implementation of the Soil Protection Review (SPR) 2010 and soil management practices in England’ in 2012. The report considered the overall impact of the SPR on soil management practices in England including on erosion.

    Defra introduced new national standards for agricultural soils under cross compliance in January 2015 which apply to recipients of Common Agricultural Policy funding. The Government is monitoring the implementation of the new rules.

    The penalty regime for cross compliance is set out in the Cross Compliance Guidance 2016 at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guide-to-cross-compliance-in-england-2016

    “

  • George Howarth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    George Howarth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s press release of 28 December 2015, Insurers vow to pass on whiplash reform saving, what the evidential basis is for the Government’s statement that whiplash claims cost the country £2 billion a year.

    Dominic Raab

    As noted in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, the figure of £2 billion a year is an insurance industry estimate of the cost of dealing with road traffic related personal injury claims.

    The Government will be publishing an impact assessment alongside its consultation on the whiplash reforms announced in the Autumn Statement in due course.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.

    Mike Penning

    The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the role of special advisers and describes the range of activities they may undertake. Copies of the Code of Conduct are available in the Library of the House and online at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468340/CODE_OF_CONDUCT_FOR_SPECIAL_ADVISERS_-_15_OCTOBER_2015_FINAL.pdf

    “

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the guidance note on public sector pay and terms published by his Department on 5 February 2016, whether he plans to place that guidance on a statutory footing; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Hands

    There are no current plans to place the guidance note on public sector pay and terms on a statutory footing.

    The note is a reminder of the rules that are in place and the Government’s expectations on public sector employers.

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what research HS2 Ltd has (a) produced and (b) commissioned since 17 July 2013 on the potential effect of the construction of High Speed 2 on the aquifer in Eddisbury.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    HS2 Ltd have not produced any detailed work specifically examining the potential effect of the construction of High Speed Two on the aquifer in Eddisbury.

    HS2 Ltd has commissioned desktop studies using existing survey work for the whole of the route from Crewe to Manchester which will examine interactions with landfill and mining and other ground conditions.

    Following a route decision in autumn 2016 HS2 Ltd will begin production of a full Environmental Impact Assessment.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of legislation for protecting children from in-game selling and promotions when playing games online.

    Nick Boles

    The Government is committed to ensuring that consumers are properly protected and that children’s vulnerability and inexperience is not exploited by aggressive commercial practices. We welcomed the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) investigation into whether children have been unfairly encouraged to spend money in online games and apps, in breach of consumer laws. The OFT’s subsequent Principles for Online and App-based Games, which are based on the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008), were published in January 2014. The Competition and Markets Authority subsequently referred 3 games to the Advertising Standards Authority for further enforcement action. The Government continues to take a close interest in this issue.