Tag: 2016

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the unallocated financial reserves level was of Kirklees Council in the most recent local authority data outtrun held by his Department.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The most recent local authority data outturn held by the Department for Communities and Local Government show the position as at 31 March 2015; Kirklees Council reported unallocated reserves of £38.0 million (this excludes other reserve balances for schools, public health and other earmarked reserves).

    The usual measure of reserves used is non-ringfenced revenue reserves, which comprises the sum of unallocated and other earmarked reserves: in Kirklees case £114.2 million.

    Full details can be found on the Department’s webpage at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2014-to-2015-individual-local-authority-data-outturn

    “

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has sought from or been given permission by the Italian government for use of the Sigonella air station in Sicily.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK Government has permission to operate from Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella. We make frequent use of it, for example in 2015, three Merlin helicopters were based there as a part of Operation WEALD, which provided search and rescue capability in the Mediterranean.

    We are currently operating from NAS Sigonella as part of a NATO anti-submarine warfare exercise, Exercise DYNAMIC MANTA.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward measures for Vehicle Excise Duty rates on motorcycles to be based on carbon dioxide emissions where such data is available.

    Damian Hinds

    It has only been since 1 January 2016 that it has been mandatory for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions data to be included as part of the type approval process for motorcycles. Therefore, it has not been possible to base VED rates for motorcycles on CO2 emissions.

    The current engine capacity based rates offers the most practical and easy-to-understand way to reflect the respective emissions of motorcycles.

    The Chancellor of the Exchequer keeps all taxes under review as part of the regular Budget process.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that new guidelines on the recognition and treatment of Lyme disease are made available by July 2018.

    Jane Ellison

    As services for the treatment of Lyme disease are commissioned locally information on the costs associated with laboratory testing and treatment of late stage Lyme disease is not collected centrally. Nor is information collected centrally on the average time to diagnose cases of Lyme disease.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing a clinical guideline on Lyme disease and reports progress on its website. NICE recently consulted on a draft scope for the guideline, and expects to publish final guidance in July 2018.

    Public Health England and NHS Choices publish information on their websites to raise awareness of Lyme disease and encourage timely medical consultation because early diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease is the best way of limiting complications from infection. Given the need to maintain public awareness these or similar mechanisms are expected to continue beyond 2018. Increased awareness is likely to encourage early consultation but no information on the time taken to seek medical advice is available.

    There are no plans to set targets for diagnosis and treatment as most cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed empirically by general practitioners using their clinical judgement rather than relying on a laboratory test, thus treatment can start immediately. Diagnosis of patients with late or complicated Lyme disease can be difficult and the National Health Service will continue to provide care taking account of the existing evidence base.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on his Department’s expenditure of the UK leaving the EU.

    Michael Fallon

    None.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in the Middle East on steps to tackle the refugee crisis in that region.

    Sir Desmond Swayne

    The UK is at the forefront of international efforts to support over 4.8 million Syrian refugees to remain in host countries in the region until it is safe to return to Syria, and to support host countries to accommodate them.

    As part of this, we are working in partnership with host countries to help them to expand job and education opportunities for refugees in a way that will enable them to better support themselves and give them skills for the future, and we are helping host countries to cope with the impact of refugees on local services.

    The UK co-hosted the “Supporting Syria and the Region” conference in London in February, at which neighbouring governments made bold commitments to open up their labour markets to refugees, to improve regulation and the investment climate in their countries, and to ensure all children in their countries have access to quality education.

    The Secretary of State for International Development continues to lead engagement with regional partners on tackling the refugee crisis, including by delivering on the commitments made at the London Conference, which will help to create 1.1 million jobs and provide quality education to 1.7 million children by the end of the 2016/17 school year. At the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in April she convened meetings between regional governments, the UN and World Bank and held bilateral discussions with key Ministers. And at the World Humanitarian Summit in May, she and other London Conference co-chairs convened a meeting of all interested parties to discuss and review progress.

    Looking forward, we will be using UN General Assembly in September as an important moment to review progress with key leaders on the Syria Conference implementation, including how all parties are all delivering on their commitments to support refugees in the region.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what advice his Department offer local authorities on issuing Hackney carriage or private hire driver licences to people based outside their local authority area.

    Andrew Jones

    Local authorities can issue licences to prospective Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle drivers irrespective of where the driver lives. The Department provides Best Practice Guidance for local authorities to help them develop their own standards for taxi and PHV operators, drivers and vehicles.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the Iraqi army have been trained by British servicemen since 2003.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Since 2003, the UK has played an important role in delivering training to the Iraqi Army through a range of training, mentoring and advisory activities. Due to the varied nature of the training it is not possible to give an exact figure of the numbers trained, but we do have figures for some specific areas of training.

    Between 2004 and 2009 – as part of Operation TELIC – British Service personnel in the south of Iraq trained over 20,000 Iraqi Army soldiers. During this period the UK also supported the NATO training mission in Iraq, with British Forces providing advice and training to the Iraqi Ministry of Defence. The UK was the lead for officer education and training, and British mentors provided training and advice to the Iraqi Security Forces.

    Under Operation SHADER, during 2015 and 2016, the UK has trained approximately 5,000 members of the Iraqi Army. This training has mainly focused on the delivery of Counter-IED training to support the Iraqi Security Forces in defeating Daesh.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students are taught in schools rated by Ofsted as good or outstanding in (a) Calder Valley constituency and (b) West Yorkshire.

    Nick Gibb

    As at 31 August 2015, 78% of pupils attended maintained schools and academies that were rated by Ofsted as good or outstanding in Calder Valley parliamentary constituency. This percentage has increased from 2010 when it was 74%, representing an increase of 1,531 more pupils attending good or outstanding schools.

    In West Yorkshire[1], 76% of pupils attended maintained schools and academies that were rated by Ofsted as good or outstanding as at 31 August 2015. This percentage has increased from 2010 when it was 60%, representing an increase of 69,359 more pupils attending good or outstanding schools.

    The percentages above include children attending all open primary schools, secondary schools, special schools, nurseries and pupil referral units as at 31 August 2015.

    [1] West Yorkshire consists of five local authority areas: Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how often he reviews the level of threat to each of the UK’s overseas territories.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Ministry of Defence undertakes regular assessments of potential threats to each of the UK overseas territories and ensures that we retain an appropriate level of defensive capability to address any such threats. We remain vigilant and committed to the protection of our overseas territories.