Tag: 2016

  • 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 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 28328, what estimate his Department has made of the number of officials who will work in the unit dedicated to assisting negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement in each of the next two years; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    No such estimate has been made. The number of officials working in the Transatlantic and International Unit will vary according to the state of the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. There is no predetermined staffing level.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the discovery by the US Navy of an Iranian ship bound for Yemen containing a significant cache of weapons is a breach of UN Security Council Resolution 2216; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    UNSCR 2216 states that all Member States shall take the necessary measures to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of weapons to the named individuals and entities designated by the Yemen Sanctions Committee. We continue to urge Iran to desist any transfer of weapons particularly those that breach any UN Security Council Resolution and instead to play a constructive role in the region.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve take-up of the Pension Wise guidance service.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Since launch, there have been over 2.4 million visits to the Pension Wise website and over 61,000 appointments, with the latest data showing a record number of appointments in March. To drive awareness of the service, Pension Wise has run three national marketing campaigns across TV, radio, print and digital media, the latest of which finished in April 2016.

    In addition, pension providers are required to signpost to Pension Wise when issuing retirement wake-up packs and Pension Wise guiders engage with local businesses and services to further raise awareness of the service.

    The Government recognises that people should have the freedom to access information in a way that is suitable to them.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to seek a referral to the International Criminal Court of acts committed against religious and ethnic minorities in Syria and Iraq as genocide.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are appalled by these acts but we judge that such a referral to the International Criminal Court by the UN Security Council is not practical at this time. When efforts were made by the Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014, this was vetoed by Russia and China. We continue to look at every available option to ensure accountability in Syria and Iraq, and to work with our international partners on what can be done both to assist the victims and to bring those responsible to justice.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department plans to publish a list of its special advisers in post.

    Ben Gummer

    A full list of Government special advisers will be published in due course, in the usual way.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what mechanisms his Department plans to put in place to ensure that all the revenue raised from the social care precept will be spent on social care.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Section 151 officers of local authorities with social care responsibilities will be required to confirm whether their authority is using the flexibility to increase their council tax, and that any amount raised will be spent on adult social care services. The Department will expect that the figures provided will be reflected in established data returns to this Department during 2016-17.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel cultural advisers are currently deployed on overseas operations.

    Penny Mordaunt

    There are currently seven members of the Defence Cultural Specialist Unit deployed on operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the use of money laundering services abroad by UK citizens.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government believes that money laundering is a critical enabler of both terrorism and serious and organised crime. This is why the UK’s own anti-money laundering regime contains controls and supervisory mechanisms which aim to make the UK financial system a hostile environment for illicit finances, whilst minimising the burden on legitimate businesses and reducing the overall burden of regulation.

    The Government expects UK citizens to comply with anti-money laundering regulations both at home and abroad and works hard, particularly through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to improve global standards and combat money laundering.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support the Government provides to research into the causes and treatment of brain tumours.

    George Freeman

    The Department funds the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to increase the volume of applied health research for the benefit of patients and the public, drive faster translation of basic science discoveries into tangible benefits for patients and the economy, and develop and support the people who conduct and contribute to applied health research. NIHR cancer research expenditure has risen from £101 million in 2010/11 to £135 million in 2014/15 (the latest available figure). Most of this investment (£111 million in 2014/15) is in cancer research infrastructure where spend on specific disease areas such as brain tumours cannot be separated from total infrastructure expenditure. This infrastructure including NIHR biomedical research centres and the NIHR Clinical Research Network.

    The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. It is an independent research funding body which receives its grant in aid from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The MRC supports research through a range of grants and personal awards to scientists in universities, medical schools and other research institutes and welcomes investigator-initiated research proposals in all areas of research relevant to human health. Between 2010/11 to 2014/15 the MRC spent £10.9 million supporting research into brain and pituitary tumours, spanning basic discovery science, translational projects to progress treatments to clinics and early clinical trials.

    More brain tumour research is needed and, as announced on 18 April, Official Report, columns 258-59WH, I will be convening a working group of clinicians, charities and officials to discuss how working together with our research funding partners, we can address this.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the press release, PM hosts major summit as part of global drive to expose, publish and drive out corruption, published on 12 May 2016, whether he plans to publish information on the ownership of property in the UK owned by foreign companies.

    Anna Soubry

    At the International Anti-Corruption Summit in London on 12 May, my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister announced that we will require foreign companies that own or purchase UK properties or bid on UK government procurement contracts to provide details of their beneficial owners to a public central register. This will be the first register of its kind in the world.

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will consult on the detail of the policy later this year. The Prime Minister has committed to a publicly accessible register of foreign company beneficial ownership on which we plan to consult in due course.