UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2016

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to maintain a strong commercial bus market.

    Andrew Jones

    Buses play a vital role as the backbone of our public transport system and are key to a healthy growing economy. We want to see the bus industry thrive and are introducing a Buses Bill which will provide local authorities and bus operators with a wider, more effective range of tools to improve local bus services. The Bill will include arrangements to allow commercial bus operators to work more effectively in partnership with local government and other local stakeholders.

    Furthermore, the Government decided that financial support for bus services provided through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) system – around £250m a year – should be protected as part of the 2015 spending round, preserving millions of bus passenger journeys. Around £200m of that is paid to individual bus operators, according to how much fuel they use in running their services. The remaining funding is paid to local authorities to help support bus services in their areas. DfT is reforming BSOG to make it more effective, and plans to publish details of changes to the system in early 2016. This should improve the grant’s effectiveness in supporting bus services, and provide better value to the taxpayer.

  • Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce changes to make motor vehicle tax proportionate to the emissions of gaseous and particulate pollutants from motor vehicle engines.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Motoring taxation generally reflects the environmental impact of driving. In particular, Vehicle Excise Duty and Company Car Tax vary by CO2 emissions and reduced rates of fuel duty are available for low-emissions fuels.

    From 1 September 2015, all new cars sold in the UK must be compliant with new European-wide air pollutant standards, known as Euro 6 standards, which include gaseous and particulate pollutants.

    The combination of new Euro 6 standards and tougher vehicle approval regulation for air quality pollutants known as Real World Driving Emissions Testing (RDE), which come into force from 2017, will significantly reduce air pollutant emissions from all new vehicles including diesel models.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government provides to Kurdish authorities in (a) Iraq and (b) Syria to support refugees in those regions.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    I have been asked to reply.

    Since June 2014, the UK has committed £79.5 million of humanitarian aid to Iraq. This support is needs-based and provides life-saving assistance for the most vulnerable, including those in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). All UK humanitarian aid in Iraq is delivered through UN agencies, NGOs and other trusted humanitarian partners. We are providing funding to UNDP to build the capacity of the Joint Crisis Centre (JCC) within the Kurdistan Regional Government as part of this support. The JCC works closely with the UN, the Government of Iraq, and the international community to provide life-saving coordination.

    To date, we have allocated £561 million to support vulnerable people inside Syria. Roughly half our support is delivered by agencies and INGOs working out of Damascus with the consent of the regime, and half is delivered across borders from neighbouring countries without regime consent, under the authorisation of the UN Security Council. In line with the key humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality, we work with trusted humanitarian partners with experience of operating in fragile and conflict affected states. These include UN agencies, international organisations, NGOs and civil society organisations. Through these partners, our support is reaching vulnerable Syrians in areas controlled by Kurdish groups.

  • Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Public Health England will be responsible for drafting and publishing the obesity strategy.

    Jane Ellison

    The Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, is being led by the Department with input from across Government, including Public Health England.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to undertake a review of the sentencing guidelines for traffic offences.

    Dominic Raab

    Sentencing guidelines are issued by the independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales. Following the announcement by the previous Justice Secretary of a government review of driving offences and penalties, the Sentencing Council have paused their review of sentencing guidelines for causing death by driving.

    The government is aware of concerns about a number of sentencing issues and is committed to making sure sentencing for driving crimes is proportionate within the context of our wider sentencing framework. It is our intention to commence a consultation in due course which will look at driving offences and penalties.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to introduce a paternal allowance for people who do not qualify for statutory paternity pay; and if he will make a statement.

    Margot James

    The Government is taking a range of steps to improve provision for working parents . The eligibility rules for statutory paternity entitlements balance the needs of parents and the cost both to employers and to the taxpayer.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of girls were (a) White British, (b) White British eligible for free school meals, (c) White Non-British, (d) White Non-British eligible for free school meals, (e) Black, (f) Black eligible for free school meals, (g) Indian, (h) Indian eligible for free school meals, (i) Chinese ethnicity, (j) Chinese ethnicity eligible for free school meals, (k) other Asian, (l) other Asian eligible for free school meals, (m) any other ethnicity and (n) any other ethnicity eligible for free school meals received a place in a grammar school in each of the last five years.

    Nick Gibb

    Proportion of Year 7 pupils in Selective schools by selected ethnic groups, gender & FSM eligibility

    Girls

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    2016

    White
    British

    3.80%

    3.80%

    4.10%

    4.00%

    3.90%

    White
    British – Eligible for FSM

    0.60%

    0.60%

    0.60%

    0.70%

    0.70%

    White
    non-British

    3.40%

    3.30%

    3.50%

    3.40%

    3.40%

    White
    non-British – Eligible for FSM

    0.20%

    0.60%

    0.60%

    0.60%

    1.30%

    Black

    2.70%

    3.20%

    3.60%

    3.30%

    3.90%

    Black –
    Eligible for FSM

    0.40%

    0.50%

    0.80%

    0.50%

    0.90%

    Indian

    12.20%

    12.90%

    13.90%

    15.80%

    15.80%

    Indian –
    Eligible for FSM

    2.00%

    1.80%

    1.90%

    2.50%

    2.40%

    Chinese

    20.00%

    18.10%

    19.70%

    18.20%

    18.00%

    Chinese –
    Eligible for FSM

    11.50%

    5.40%

    9.70%

    12.50%

    4.40%

    Other
    Asian

    5.10%

    5.60%

    5.40%

    5.80%

    5.60%

    Other
    Asian – Eligible for FSM

    1.40%

    0.90%

    1.30%

    1.30%

    1.30%
  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.

    Mike Penning

    Within the Ministry of Justice, only the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have offices within the Stoke-On-Trent postal address. There is one Juvenile Centre with a Stoke-On-Trent postal address, HMYOI Werrington. No posts have been abolished or relocated since 2010. There are currently no plans to abolish or relocate any posts by 2020. There are three National Probation Service (NPS) locations with a Stoke-on-Trent postal address. The NPS has only existed from 1 June 2014. Since that date there are no records of any posts being abolished or any relocation activity in the NPS Midlands Division which includes Stoke-on-Trent. There is an organisational change programme within the National Probation Service, that is ongoing and that will impact all area of NPS activity. It is too early to define the impact on a particular geographical location. HMCTS are unable to disaggregate information collected for the North Staffordshire area, so the following includes staff based within Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. Since 2010, there has been a net reduction of 8 posts. There are currently no plans to further change the staffing in the North Staffordshire area.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the effectiveness of adult social care in facilitating an efficient return to the community after hospital treatment.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    I meet regularly with colleagues at the Department of Health, including discussions about the £5.3 billion Better Care Fund, which has a key role in helping people get home quickly after they have been in hospital.

  • Baroness Golding – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Baroness Golding – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Golding on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what independent reports, if any, they have commissioned from Ecofys in the past five years; when they received those reports; whether those reports were published; and if not, whether they will now publish those reports.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Data on the number of smart electricity and gas meters installed in Great Britain is set out in the Government’s ‘Smart Meters, Great Britain, Quarterly report to end September 2015’, published on 22 December 2015:

    The roll-out is making good progress with more than 2 million meters now operating under the Programme which covers Great Britain. Northern Ireland is undertaking a separate roll-out programme.

    Currently, data is published only at Great Britain level. Data is not collected from energy suppliers in a way that allows constituency or regional-level data to be produced.