Tag: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2016-05-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many licensed firearms there are in the UK broken down by police force area.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The table provided contains statistics on the number of licensed firearms and shotguns, by police force area, in England and Wales as at 31 March 2015.

At this time there was a total of 1.34 million licensed shotguns and 0.53 million licensed firearms.The Home Office does not centrally hold any estimates for unlicensed firearms.

Figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are a matter for the devolved administrations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current account deficit in trade.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The current account deficit was 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2014. The trade balance has been broadly stable, while the UK’s net investment income has fallen, as weakness in the euro area has depressed the returns on the UK’s holding of foreign direct investment. Figures for Q2 2015 show that the deficit has narrowed, driven by an improvement in the trade and investment income balances. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts a narrowing of the current account deficit over the forecast period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2016-05-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of unlicensed firearms in circulation in the UK.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The table provided contains statistics on the number of licensed firearms and shotguns, by police force area, in England and Wales as at 31 March 2015.

At this time there was a total of 1.34 million licensed shotguns and 0.53 million licensed firearms.

The Home Office does not centrally hold any estimates for unlicensed firearms.

Figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are a matter for the devolved administrations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the recommendations of the Cole Commission on UK exports they have implemented.

Lord Maude of Horsham

As ministers take forward plans to reform and improve the UK’s export and investment effort, they will take into consideration recommendations in the Cole report, as well as advice and suggestions from a broad range of stakeholders.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the International Aid budget is spent by departments other than the Department for International Development, and which are those departments and how much they are spending.

Lord Young of Cookham

The estimated proportion of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to be spent by Departments other than the Department for International Development based on the Spending Review 2015 settlement is 18% in 2016/17. The other departments spending ODA (including allocations from cross-Government funds) are: the Department of Health; the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy; the Foreign & Commonwealth Office; the Department for Energy, Food & Rural Affairs; HM Revenue & Customs; HM Treasury; the Office of National Statistics; the Department for Education; the Department for Work and Pensions; Department for Culture, Media & Sport; the Ministry of Defence; the Department for Transport; and the Home Office.

Outturn figures are not yet available, but a detailed breakdown of the 2016 ODA spend by department will be published in April 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that migrant workers are not exploited or paid less than the minimum wage.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The appointment of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement, due shortly, will strengthen our ability to find and stop exploitative employers. We are currently consulting on proposals to create a new offence of an aggravated breach of labour market legislation and to widen the remit and strengthen the powers of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to enable it to tackle serious exploitation.

Migrant workers who are entitled to other employment rights in UK law are also entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rate relevant to their age. Anyone concerned about underpayment of the NMW should call Acas’s confidential helpline on 0300 123 1100 or visit http://www.acas.org.uk/nmw. HMRC will investigate every complaint it receives.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role the Department for International Development plays in monitoring how international aid is spent by other government departments.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Departments are responsible for ensuring their Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget offers high value for money.

DFID is committed to supporting other government departments to help them ensure that all their ODA spend is value for money for the UK tax payer. We provide advice and training to other departments on the international definition of ODA, we co-chair a cross-government senior officials’ group with HM Treasury, whose role is to ensure value for money of all UK ODA, and we work with other government departments to support them in setting up their systems of programme management.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the rates of flu vaccination so far this winter, and how that compares to previous years.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Flu vaccine uptake rates for groups recommended to be immunised as part of the national flu immunisation programme as at 26 November are shown in the table below for this season and the two previous years. The figures for 2015/16 are provisional and from a sample of about three-quarters of participating general practitioner practices in England.

Flu vaccine uptake rates

Eligible groups	2015/16 (%)	2014/15 (%)	2013/14 (%)
Adults aged 65 years or older	64.6	66.7	67.0
At risk groups aged six months to under 65 years (excluding pregnant women without other risk factors)	36.4	42.4	43.6
Pregnant women (including those in risk groups)	35.6	36.6	34.0
Children aged two years old (including those in risk groups)	25.9	28.5	34.1
Children aged three years old (including those in risk groups)	26.9	30.5	30.6
Children aged four years old (including those in risk groups)	21.9	23.9	N/A

Data source: PHE ImmForm weekly sentinel influenza vaccine uptake data collection.

For two to four year olds, vaccine was available about one week later than last year and this seems to be the main explanation for the apparent lower uptake. Communications activity to promote flu immunisation continues – this includes Stay Well This Winter roadshows visiting 67 locations across the country providing advice on flu vaccinations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the procedures and priorities to agree the spending of public money on international aid are the same across all government departments, and if there are differences, what they are.

Lord Young of Cookham

The allocation of Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding was agreed at the 2015 Spending Review in line with the strategic objectives set out in the UK aid strategy. Departments spending ODA are required to demonstrate how they are using rigorous evidence to underpin spending decisions. There must be clear lines of accountability for all ODA projects, and project performance must be regularly assessed. Poor performing programmes will be closed and funds redeployed. In addition, all ODA spend is subject to scrutiny by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact.

Spending on ODA is also subject to the principles of sound financial management set out in ‘Managing Public Money’. Within these constraints departments have discretion over how they organise, direct and manage the resources at their disposal.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to avoid bed shortages due to delayed discharges from hospital.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Since April, local projects across the country have been using the Government’s £5.3 billion Better Care Fund in an effort to reduce non-elective admissions and move people out of hospital more quickly, as part of on-going work to bring health and social care services together.

In addition, the Government has made £400 million available to the National Health Service specifically to help with winter pressures in 2015/16. This money has been made available from the start of the financial year, enabling the health and care system to prepare more effectively than in previous years.

The Department of Health is also working closely with NHS England and local government to develop a package of support to help local areas reduce delays in hospital discharge. This includes tailored support from the new Emergency Care Improvement Programme to help make improvement in the systems under the most pressure, and local government’s Sector Led Improvement Plan to drive improvement in social care.