Tag: Adam Afriyie

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-16.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to deliver a faster payments infrastructure.

Harriett Baldwin

The Faster Payment Scheme (FPS) launched in 2008 and provides near-instant settlement for over one billion payments that consumers and businesses make every year.

FPS is one of the eight payment systems regulated by the new Payment Systems Regulator – which the Government launched in 2015, equipped with powers to ensure that UK payment systems are competitive and innovative. A key part of the PSR’s work is to ensure that UK payment systems work efficiently to deliver benefits for the individuals and firms that use them.

The Government is also working with the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Project Innovate – which looks to foster and support innovative financial technology (“FinTech”) firms, including firms that offer customers new and efficient ways to make payments in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will raise the ceiling at which aircraft may be vectored from 4,000 to 7,000 feet.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government is considering vectoring practices by air traffic controllers as part of a wider review of its policies on airspace and noise.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to promote action to remove space debris.

Joseph Johnson

The United Kingdom, through the UK Space Agency (UKSA), is one of the thirteen members of the Inter-Agency Debris Coordination (IADC) Committee, which considers the risks posed by space debris. Our national experts, along with more than a hundred experts from other agencies including NASA, met at Harwell in March 2016 for the annual IADC meeting to discuss many issues, including the need for the removal of space debris from orbit, and how that could best be accomplished.

The UK is leading studies in partnership with other national agencies to model the future space environment and identify the most effective ways of mitigating the future hazard of space debris.

UKSA is working with its international partners in technical forums such as the IADC to develop scientific consensus on the best way to manage the hazard posed by debris, such as how many objects might need to be removed, and from where. UKSA is also working to build political consensus within UN forums such as the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to enable such missions to go ahead with appropriate supervision and support from the international community. This includes developing appropriate regulatory/oversight frameworks within the UK’s Outer Space Act which allow such technologies to be tested and demonstrated safely in the increasingly congested and contested space environment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken to put in place the Government’s commitment to parity of esteem between mental health treatment and physical health treatment.

Nicola Blackwood

The Government welcomed the publication of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health and Future in Mind to transform mental health services by 2020. The recommendations in these reports represent a significant step forward in achieving parity of esteem between mental and physical health. We continue to work with NHS England and other arm’s length bodies to embed the recommendations set out in these reports into our national policies and we are committed to reporting regularly and transparently on our progress.

These reports are supported by additional investment for mental health of over £2 billion up to 2020. We will be holding NHS England to account through the NHS Mandate to ensure that we deliver the commitments set out in these reports.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-16.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the availability of bank accounts for (a) crowd funding and (b) digital currency businesses.

Harriett Baldwin

As the Chancellor announced at the Budget in March, the Government intends to bring digital currency exchanges into the scope of anti-money laundering regulation. The digital currency industry has highlighted the current lack of regulation as one of the obstacles firms face when trying to get bank accounts in the UK. The new regulatory regime will be designed to support firms’ access to these vital banking services, and to foster an environment in which legitimate digital currency businesses can flourish in the UK. The Treasury will consult on the detail of regulation shortly.

The Government has supported the crowdfunding industry by consulting on whether to extend ISA eligibility to debt and equity crowdfunding and helping equity crowdfunding through the tax efficient Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) – without which 24% of investors say they would not have invested.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of autonomous emergency braking systems in reducing the number of road traffic accidents.

Andrew Jones

The Department has not made any detailed assessment of the effectiveness of autonomous emergency braking systems, but we are aware that a number of studies have highlighted the potential for a reduction in collisions. Most trucks exceeding 8 tonnes and coaches registered after 1 November 2015 are fitted with it, and we support measures by EuroNCAP to encourage its fitment in new cars.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support and spread awareness of cyber security insurance amongst businesses.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government is committed to making the UK one of the safest places in the world to do business online and we recognise the role cyber insurance can play as part of a broader risk management strategy.

In March 2015 the Government published a report on the joint initiatives between Government and the insurance sector to tackle cyber risk. The report is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cyber-security-insurance-new-steps-to-make-uk-world-centre

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase awareness of the importance of (a) blood and platelet donation, (b) stem cell donation, (c) bone marrow donation and (d) organ registration among school-aged children.

Nicola Blackwood

NHS Blood and Transplant runs donor recruitment campaigns for blood, platelet, stem cell and organ donation throughout the year. Examples include the recently launched Missing Type campaign to promote blood donation; implementation of their Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020: A UK Strategy and management of the NHS Cord Blood Bank and British Bone Marrow Registry, working with Anthony Nolan.

Specific action addressing awareness of registration among school-aged children includes the introduction of new education resources designed to equip secondary school teachers with the knowledge to educate and engage students about organ donation and working with Anthony Nolan to run the Be a Lifesaver education programme which trains volunteers to educate 16-18 year olds about stem cell, blood and organ donation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to enable more looked-after children to go on to further and higher education.

Edward Timpson

This government believes that all children and young people in care should be provided with the support that they need in order to fulfil their potential.

That is why we require local authorities, as corporate parents,to fulfil a legal duty to promote the educational achievement of the children they look after, including supporting them to progress into further and higher education.All local authorities are required to appoint a Virtual School Head to ensure that that duty is discharged, and that each looked-after child has a personal education plan which sets out how their aspirations and educational needs, particularly around transition points, will be supported in the short and longer-term.

In addition, the government provides enhanced pupil premium funding of £1,900 each year for pupils who have been looked-after and we also ensure that looked-after children are given priority in school admission arrangements. Looked-after children and care leavers are also a priority group for receiving the 16-19 Further Education Bursary of £1,200 per annum.

For care leavers, local authorities must offer a personal adviser and a pathway plan if they are in education or training up to the age of 21 or up to 25 if they wish to resume their education and training. Care leavers who pursue a recognised course of higher education are also entitled to a one-off £2000 bursary, given by their local authority, as part of the package of support they receive on leaving care.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-02-22.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what revenue was received by the Exchequer from the total amount of food imported by the UK from other member states of the EU in the last 10 years.

Mr David Gauke

This level of detail is not collected on VAT or any other tax return.