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Tag: 2016

  • Baroness Jolly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Baroness Jolly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jolly on 2016-07-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the current anticipated outturn costs and in-service dates for (1) Project Mensa, and (2) Project Pegasus, at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

    Earl Howe

    The anticipated outturn costs cannot be provided. The current approved costs and in-service dates for Project Mensa and Project Pegasus are shown below.

    In-service dates are shown in bandings to avoid prejudice to national security and defence.

    The Main Gate business cases for Projects Mensa and Pegasus include estimates for risk and uncertainty, which are contained within the approved costs.

    Project

    In-service period

    Approved cost (£million)

    Project Mensa (warhead assembly/disassembly)

    2016-20

    734

    Project Pegasus (uranium components)

    2016-20

    634

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people using mobile phones while driving; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The government’s recent consultation on bringing in tougher sanctions received near unanimous support for tougher penalties. The Secretary of State for Transport has pledged to bring tougher sanctions in as soon as possible, we expect them to take effect in the first half of 2017.

    Anyone using a hand-held device while driving will face higher on the spot fines and more points on their driving licence than they do today.

    The government is also developing a hard-hitting THINK! campaign to tackle this issue, to make it socially unacceptable like drink driving or not wearing a seatbelt.

  • Byron Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Byron Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Byron Davies on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support the Government is providing to tackle people-smuggling in the Mediterranean.

    Mrs Theresa May

    We have established an Organised Immigration Crime Taskforce of 100 officers from the NCA, Crown Prosecution Service, and the Home Office to disrupt organised immigration crime groups upstream, including through the Mediterranean routes, and in the UK. The UK is also supporting the EU Naval Forces Operation in the Mediterranean. We are determined to disrupt organised immigration criminal activities which impact adversely on our security and have such a wanton disregard for human life.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to raise awareness of the public health and public order effects of excessive drinking.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government, through the Public Health Outcomes Framework, measures alcohol harm and the impact of local authorities’ actions on public health. Public Health England (PHE) produces local alcohol profiles which provide local authority level data to enable professionals and the public to see the harms that alcohol contributes to in their area.

    PHE has recently run a campaign, Health Matters, aimed at public health professionals and others to highlight the costs of harmful drinking and dependent use of alcohol, and the benefits that come from local areas investing in interventions to reduce those harms.

    For the last two years, PHE has worked with the charity Alcohol Concern, in promoting the ‘Dry January’ campaign. This mass participation event encourages people to ‘go dry’ for a month. In 2015, 50,000 people signed up, with 67% of participants reporting lower drinking levels six months later. PHE has continued to support Dry January in 2016.

    PHE also offer specific marketing programmes aimed toward young people to reduce the uptake of risky behaviours, including alcohol consumption.

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

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26407, what funding for cycling in London is included within the (a) £925 million of capital funding and (b) £659 million of resource funding paid to Transport for London.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The annual funding grant paid to the Greater London Authority by the Department is not ring-fenced and it is a matter for the Mayor to determine how it is spent.

  • Liam Fox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Liam Fox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Fox on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been paid in personal independence payments to (a) UK and (b) non-UK citizens in each of the last five years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has been available in Great Britain since April 2013 and will be introduced in Northern Ireland later this year. A person’s nationality is not a consideration when assessing entitlement to PIP; rather it is whether they have a right to reside in Great Britain and whether they have met the presence conditions which are material. Information on the amount of PIP paid to UK and non-UK citizens is not available. Information on benefit expenditure as is available is published on Gov.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables.

    “

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions Government officials have accompanied representatives of British overseas territories or Crown dependencies to meetings with the European Commission in the last five years.

    James Duddridge

    The UK is responsible for the international relations of the Overseas Territories, which have a specific status within the European Union Treaties. The Overseas Association Decision is the instrument which sets out the relationship between the European Union and the Overseas Territories of the Member States. In 2015 I attended the annual Forum bringing together Territory leaders, senior representatives from the European Commission and the Member States. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials meet approximately six times a year with the Territories and the Commission to take forward cooperation under the Overseas Association Decision. Other government departments provide officials when required if the subject matter falls within their area of competence.

    The United Kingdom is also responsible for the international relations of the Crown Dependencies which have a special relationship with the European Union under Protocol 3 to the United Kingdom’s Treaty of Accession to the European Community.

    United Kingdom Government officials meet regularly with Crown Dependency and Overseas Territory representatives to discuss forthcoming business; information sharing is a matter of routine. The Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories make their own preparations for meetings with the European Commission but Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials assist when asked to do so. Support is also available from other government departments and the UK Permanent Representation to the European Union should it be required.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, in the light of the recent Panama papers scandal, of how many of the illegal assets subject to confiscation orders they will now be able to claim.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    On 10 April 2016 the Prime Minister announced a new cross-agency taskforce to obtain, analyse and take action on the information that has been made available from Mossack Fonseca and to take rapid action on any form of illegality that emerges.

    A number of investigations are underway and the taskforce, which is accountable to the Home Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will report on its progress later this year.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-07-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average age of the child refugees they propose to take in from the conflicts in Syria and North Africa; what assessment they have made of the dominant religion of those children; whether it is their policy that priority should be given to Christian children; and, if not, why not.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Syrian Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement Scheme prioritises the most vulnerable Syrian refugees, including families with dependent children of any age. Of the 1,602 Syrians who arrived between October 2015 and March 2016, around half were aged under 18. The Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme, announced in April, will resettle vulnerable children under the age of 18 from the Middle East and North Africa region, with their families or carers where appropriate. One of the reasons for creating the scheme was to allow the inclusion of children at risk from nationalities other than Syrian, including, for example, Yazidis from Iraq.

    For both schemes, we work closely with the UNHCR, who identify refugees for resettlement using their established vulnerability criteria rather than seeking to include children of a particular age. While membership of a minority religion is not in itself one of the vulnerability criteria, members of minority religions may qualify under one of the vulnerability headings. It is important that we base our selection criteria on those most in need, rather than on the basis of membership of a particular religious group.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria determine whether personal independence payment assessors receive financial bonuses in addition to their salary.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Department does not prescribe providers with criteria on how they should pay salary or bonuses to their staff. That is purely a commercial decision for the assessment provider.