Tag: 2016

  • Craig Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Craig Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Williams on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department’s review of Atos contracts will be completed by summer 2016.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Atos contracts with an annual spend over £10 million with central Government are currently being reviewed. Data collection was completed by the end of April. Interviews with departments and Atos are taking place. Interviews are expected to be completed by mid-June 2016.

    The Cabinet Office will write to the PAC summarising the findings of the review and it will be completed in summer 2016.

  • Helen Grant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Grant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Grant on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for the UN Security Council’s policies on children and armed conflict of the delisting of the Saudi-led coalition in the UN Secretary General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict, published on 2 June 2016.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of the UN Secretary General’s annual report on Children in Armed Conflict which was published on 2 June and included a section outlining the impact of the conflict in Yemen on children. We consider all these reports very carefully. We note the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that removed the listing of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition from the report’s annex, pending the conclusion of a joint review by the UN and Saudi Arabia on the cases and numbers cited in the text. We welcome co-operation between the UN and Saudi Arabia to look in to this matter. The UK Government continues to support the work of the United Nations on Children and Armed Conflict.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Reserves recruits made it through Phase 1 of the recruitment process in the last 12 months; and whether the target for such recruitment was met.

    Mark Lancaster

    Information on how many members of Future Reserves 2020 have completed Phase 1 training and commenced Phase 2 training in the 12 months to 31 July 2016 is shown below:

    Maritime Reserve 160

    Army Reserve FR20 1,830

    Royal Auxiliary Air Force 270

    There is no target for completing Phase 1 training but targets exist for trained strength, new entrant inflow and ex-regular trained joiners.

    Notes

    • 1. Future Reserves 2020 includes volunteer reserves who are mobilised, High Readiness Reserves and those volunteer reserves serving on Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) and Additional Duties Commitment (ADC). Sponsored Reserves who provide a more cost effective solution than volunteer reserve are also included in the Army Reserve FR20.
    • 2. Professionally Qualified Officers have been excluded for the Army Reserve FR20 as they may be simultaneously completing Phase 1 and Phase 2 training.
    • 3.Figures represent the number of personnel who have completed Phase 1 training and commenced phase 2 training the following month in the 12 months ending 31 July 2016.
    • 4.Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest 20 to avoid systematic bias.
  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is being taken, both by them internationally and through voluntary agencies, to prevent refugees now in transit through south-eastern Europe from dying of cold; and whether they consider that action is sufficient.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK is providing £46 million of humanitarian support to address the needs of refugees and other irregular migrants transiting through Europe and the Balkans. This support is enabling host governments and international organisations including the Red Cross, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organisation for Migration, and non-governmental organisations to provide basic care, assistance, protection, and information to people on the move, with a particular focus on children and the most vulnerable. Of this, £30.5 million is specifically targeted at meeting needs during the Winter. This includes 178,000 warm blankets, 1,700 ‘winterised’ tents to shelter people from the cold weather, warm clothing, hot food, medicines and medical support where low temperatures mean more people will get sick.

    DFID continually reviews humanitarian needs and has deployed experts to countries along the route to assess conditions first-hand. Their assessment is that UK support is appropriate and well targeted, although they remain concerned by the conditions being experienced by already vulnerable people, particularly those who become stranded. DFID will keep the humanitarian situation under review and adapt the UK’s response to emerging needs.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to tackle the refugee crisis on the Turkish-Syrian border.

    Mr David Lidington

    The UK continues to work closely with the Turkish government, including through implementation of the EU-Turkey Action Plan, to ensure that refugees continue to receive support and protection. We welcome Turkey’s generosity in hosting more than 2.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, and the ongoing support it is providing bilaterally to refugees amassing at its border with Syria. On 4 February 2016, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) announced that the UK will more than double our total pledge to the Syria crisis from £1.12 billion to over £2.3 billion. This is the UK’s largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans and funding her Department has for projects to prevent flooding of the River Lune in the Lancaster and Morecambe area.

    Rory Stewart

    In Morecambe, Lancaster City Council will soon complete a £10 million Government funded scheme, which will reduce the coastal flood risk to more than 8,000 properties.

    Lancaster City Council, Lancashire County Council and the Environment Agency are currently developing a business case which will investigate the potential of a new scheme to reduce flood risk within the city of Lancaster.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with which countries the UK has signed a defence (a) treaty, (b) formal agreement, (c) Memorandum of Understanding and (d) Letter of Intent in each year since 2011.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The Ministry of Defence has signed several hundred Treaties, Agreements, Memoranda of Understandings and Letters of Intent with foreign governments since 2011. These agreements are a key part of our defence engagement work and a list of the countries that are party to these agreements will be deposited in the Library of the House shortly.

  • Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the cost of (a) collecting and (b) enforcing the soft drinks industry levy in each of the next five years; and from which of his Department’s budgets those costs will be met.

    Damian Hinds

    We will consult on the appropriate compliance arrangements for the levy and will plan resource allocation in due course.

  • Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to make a decision on the drug Nivolumab becoming available under the Early Access to Medicines Scheme to treat patients with renal cell carcinoma.

    George Freeman

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a positive scientific opinion concerning the use of nivolumab for renal cell carcinoma under the Early Access to Medicines Scheme on 11 February 2016. This scientific opinion has now lapsed as nivolumab has received its marketing authorisation for use in for renal cell carcinoma from the European Commission.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made on developing the digital system for employers to pay the Apprenticeship Levy.

    Mr David Gauke

    The apprenticeship levy will be paid by employers alongside their other Pay As You Earn (PAYE) payments. This means employers will use the software they use for other aspects of their PAYE to report the apprenticeship levy to HM Revenue and Customs. A specification for the data items required for Real Time Information internet submissions for 2017-18 including the apprenticeship levy has been published and is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/real-time-information-online-internet-submissions-support-for-software-developers.

    Employers will be able to use a digital service to spend the levy on apprenticeship training and assessment. The development of the digital service is being led by the Skills Funding Agency and it will be available for employers to register their account from January 2017.

    “