Tag: 2016

  • 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 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the waiting times for treatment in the accident and emergency department of the Royal Blackburn Hospital.

    Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

    No such assessments have been made. The provision of accident and emergency (A&E) services at the Royal Blackburn Hospital is a matter for the local National Health Service. The NHS in East Lancashire has established an A&E delivery board to oversee system performance and the effective delivery of urgent and emergency care locally.

    Ministers consult weekly with NHS Improvement and the Care Quality Commission about A&E performance.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether contractors have housed asylum seekers in properties with doors that are all uniform or nearly uniform in colour in regions other than the North East.

    James Brokenshire

    Home Office officials are working closely with our housing providers to ensure that asylum seeker accommodation is not easily identifiable. I am not aware of a uniform door colour being the practice in any other region. My officials have also spoken to our housing providers to tell them that such a practice is not acceptable.

    I was first made aware of this issue when The Times contacted the Home Office in mid-January. G4S has investigated correspondence and discussions on the issue of external door colour in the North East and has confirmed that it was raised in 2012 by a Middlesbrough local councillor and was considered by the G4S audit and assurance team, no complaints from asylum seekers relating to this matter were found and a response was issued.

    As I said to the House on 20 January, I instructed officials to look into this issue as a matter of urgency and I expect that the audit will be concluded on the Home Office side very shortly.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding its latest land appropriation in the Jordan Valley.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not raised this issue with the Israeli authorities. However, we have been clear that Area C (including a significant proportion of the Jordan Valley) is an integral part of a future Palestinian State. Our Consul-General in Jerusalem recently authored an article in the Israeli press about Area C. Officials from our Consulate General have also hosted several events in Area C, including in the Jordan Valley, highlighting our support for Palestinian communities in Area C.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-03-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of why the UK retail sector is predicted by the British Retail Consortium to lose up to 900,000 jobs in the next decade.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    • The Government recognises the great contribution the retail industry makes to the economy, to employment and to communities. We are in regular touch with the British Retail Consortium and major retailers on a wide range of policy issues, including those raised in the report.
    • The report shows that the retail sector is going through a period of major adjustment as it is responds to developments such as changing demography and consumer preferences, and automation and digital technology.
    • Government has supported business, including retailers by taking action to help employers and workers to improve productivity, including raising the Annual Investment Allowance to £200,000 to its highest ever permanent level, reducing national insurance contributions for small firms, going further by cutting corporation tax to 18% in 2020 for all companies, and significantly increasing investment in apprenticeships.
    • At the same time, the government is making sure workers in Britain get a pay rise by introducing the National Living Wage from April this year. Now is the right time to do this as we are seeing record employment rates and more than 2 million jobs created since 2010. And taking into account the National Living Wage the independent Office of Budget Responsibility expects employment to rise by a further 1.1 million by 2020.
  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made towards realising receipts through the disposal of high-value Ministry of Defence estate in Scotland since the 2011 Basing Review.

    Earl Howe

    The receipts received by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) through the disposal of parts of the MOD estate in Scotland since the financial year 2010-11 are shown below:

    Financial Year

    Disposal Receipts (£ million)

    2010-11

    4.09

    2011-12

    4.08

    2012-13

    1.32

    2013-14

    12.66

    2014-15

    0.92

    2015-16

    0.41

    Total

    23.48
  • Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what incentives her Department (a) is providing and (b) is planning to provide for (i) biomass and (ii) gas generation to create additional capacity.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Support is provided for biomass under a range of renewable financial incentives: the Renewables Obligation (RO), Feed in Tariff (FIT), Contracts for Difference (CfD) and Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The RO closed to co-firing and conversions last year and any future support will be via CfD.

    The government announced it will hold three auctions for Contracts for Difference of up to £730 million this Parliament. Details of the future CFD allocation rounds will be published in due course.

    The Government confirmed increased funding for the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme in November 2015 as part of the Spending Review, with the annual budget rising from £430m in 2015/16 to £1.15bn in 2020/21.

    Getting new gas-fired stations built is a priority for Government and we are confident that the Capacity Market is the right mechanism to bring forward new capacity as older less efficient plants close. We have announced that we are going buy more capacity in December’s auction, tighten delivery incentives and bring forward the first capacity market delivery year to 2017/18. This should improve the chances of new gas (CCGTs, OCGTS and gas engines) capacity clearing in future auctions. Subject to a forthcoming consultation, closing unabated coal by 2025 will further strengthen investment signals for new gas. In addition, DECC is working with the planning inspectorate to arrange a workshop in June to explain how developers can use the pre-application project planning process to ensure applications for new gas plants are progressed as swiftly as possible.

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

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the local management structure is of the NHS in West Sussex.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS Improvement advises that the following National Health Service organisations operate in West Sussex and each has its own management structure:

    ― Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust:

    https://www.bsuh.nhs.uk/about-us/

    ― Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation:

    http://www.westernsussexhospitals.nhs.uk/your-trust/about/plans-strategies/

    ― Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust:

    http://www.qvh.nhs.uk/about-us/

    ― Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust:

    http://www.sussexcommunity.nhs.uk/downloads/services/about-us.pdf

    ― Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust:

    http://www.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/about-us

    ― South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust:

    http://www.secamb.nhs.uk/about_us.aspx

    ― Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust:

    http://www.surreyandsussex.nhs.uk/about-us/about-the-trust/

    ― Coastal West Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG):

    http://www.coastalwestsussexccg.nhs.uk/about-cwsccg

    ― Crawley CCG:

    http://www.crawleyccg.nhs.uk/about-us/

    ― Horsham and Mid Sussex CCG:

    http://www.horshamandmidsussexccg.nhs.uk/about-us/

    “

  • Lord Ramsbotham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Ramsbotham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the final report of the review of the youth justice system will be published.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The estimated total cost of the review of the youth justice system is £350,000. This figure is subject to audit at the end of the 2016-17 financial year and may change.

    Ministers are currently considering Charlie Taylor’s review of the youth justice system. The final report and the government’s plans for reform of the youth justice system will be published later in the autumn.

  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the maximum amount of time his Department has determined as a reasonable time for court users to have to travel to their nearest court by public transport when making decisions on court closures.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Access to justice is not just about proximity to a court. To ensure that access to justice is maintained, we are committed to providing alternative ways for users to access our services, including the use of other civic buildings for video links or hearings.

  • Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice has been provided this Session for ministers or senior officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on whether to use secondary legislation or primary legislation for significant legislation.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    There has been no change in approach to the use of primary and secondary legislation since the General Election. Each piece of legislation is approached within the context of the policy and the existing legislative framework. There is no evidence of an increase in the number of statutory instruments laid since 2010 or since the General Election. Briefing produced by the House of Commons Library (CBP 7438) shows that the number of statutory instruments laid before the House of Commons peaked at 1,885 in the 2005-06 session, compared to 1,378 last session and 540 so far this session.