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Tag: 2016

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what practical steps they are taking to achieve the maximum use of vacant residential, commercial, and industrial premises for temporary or interim housing, in particular for homeless people or refugees; and whether they have released government properties for such purposes.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government has taken a range of steps to increase housing supply by providing more homes for rent and ownership, as well as encouraging local authorities to bring empty homes back into use. As a result, the number of homes that stand empty for more than six months is at an all time low. The Government is committed to releasing surplus assets to drive economic growth and release land for housing. The Spending Review announced that departments have committed to release land for more than 160,000 homes.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the cost to the tourist industry in Keswick, Cumbria, of the closure of the A591 due to recent flooding.

    David Evennett

    No assessment has been made by DCMS of the direct cost of the closure of the A591. Work is currently underway to repair the major route between Grasmere and Keswick, and the Department for Transport has announced that the A591 is set to reopen by the end of May.

    In Cumbria on the 28th January the Prime Minister announced a £1m PR campaign to support businesses ready to receive visitors, and this is part of a wider package of immediate measures to help the area.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many incidents of laser pen attacks were recorded on road vehicles in the last five years.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England do not keep specific records of laser pen attacks. However, their records currently show that one incident involved the use of a laser pen.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress her Department has made in its programme to increase the use of Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets among children under five years of age and pregnant women in Uganda.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Results from the 2014-15 internationally recognised Malaria Indicator Survey indicate that the proportion of children under five in Uganda who slept under treated nets had gone up from 42% in 2009 to 74%; and that the proportion of pregnant women who slept under a treated net had gone up from 47% in 2009 to 75%. The UK has been a significant contributor to bed nets in Uganda. We have funded procurement and distribution of 5 million bed nets and distributed an additional 4.5 million bed nets.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has (a) invested in and (b) made an assessment of the potential merits of acquiring unmanned underwater vehicles.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Royal Navy (RN) currently deploys unmanned systems to enhance maritime surveillance and improve situational awareness in a number of operational theatres.

    Specifically for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV), the Hunt Class Mine Countermeasure Vessels employ a UUV for remote mine-disposal, known as the Seafox mine-disposal system. In addition, the Fleet Diving Squadron employs a small UUV for seabed searches.

    It is widely recognised that autonomous systems offer a unique opportunity to maintain our operational advantage and the RN will therefore continue to explore how such systems can further augment its capabilities into the future.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will increase her Department’s expenditure on water and sanitation.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK has increased its bilateral spend on water and sanitation year on year since 2004, from £31.2million (2004/05) to £180.8million (2014/15).

    The Department for International Development does not allocate a set proportion of the aid budget to water and sanitation. The UK Aid strategy commits the UK to helping at least 60million people get access to water and sanitation by 2020. We will allocate the resources required to achieve this to the relevant programmes.

  • Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the number of unaccompanied child refugees in Calais who have family in the UK; and when that assessment was carried out.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The management of asylum claims and the protection of unaccompanied children in Calais is primarily a matter for the French authorities. A French non-government organisation, France Terre D’Asile (FDTA) has been charged with identifying isolated children with UK links. Both Governments are clear that unaccompanied children in Calais in need of protection should claim asylum in France. The UK will consider requests to take responsibility of an asylum application made in France, when lodged by a minor with close family connections in the UK, and both Governments are committed to ensuring such cases are prioritised. There has been intense cooperation between the UK and French authorities to improve the operation of the Dublin process. We have established a permanent official level contact group and we will shortly be seconding another UK expert to the French Interior Ministry. We have already made significant progress in speeding up the Dublin process. Since the beginning of the year over 120 children have been accepted for transfer from Europe under the family reunion provisions of Dublin, over 70 of whom were from France.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate he has made of his Department’s spending on hospitality to date.

    Mr Robin Walker

    Information about spend on hospitality for Senior officials, Ministers and Special Advisers will be published in the usual way through the transparency data on gov.uk.

    “

  • 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 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what benefits aside from the 10 per cent price reduction that policy required have accrued from conducting the Lead Provider Framework procurement process to date.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Lead Provider Framework enables clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to run a simpler, legally compliant and more efficient process than typical European procurements in order to source high quality commissioning support from accredited, professional at scale providers.

    Sourcing commissioning support collaboratively with other commissioners enables CCGs to benefit from the economies of scale and the diverse range of smaller niche organisations that the nine Lead Providers bring together.

    The Lead Provider Framework has already led to consolidation within the market, driving efficiency and has improved the quality and range of services offered. CCGs are expected to benefit from further efficiencies as providers compete for their contracts.

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress she has made on amending the School Admissions Code to ensure that summer born children can (a) be admitted to reception at the age of five if this is in line with their parents’ wishes and (b) remain with that cohort as they progress through their education.

    Nick Gibb

    Subject to parliamentary approval, the Department for Education has decided to amend the School Admissions Code to support summer born children who are not ready to start school at the usual age. This will delay entry to reception year until they are five years old and enables those children to remain with that cohort as they progress through school. We want to make these changes as soon as possible; however, we are taking this opportunity to consider what other changes it would be appropriate to make to the Code at the same time. We will be conducting a full public consultation in due course.