Tag: Daniel Zeichner

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of adequacy of the level of transparency in the recruitment process for Chief Fire Officers.

Mike Penning

Matters of recruitment are for individual fire and rescue authorities as employers. However, Ministers have been clear that payments for senior fire officers who return to employment immediately after retirement are an unacceptable use of taxpayers’ money, especially when fire authorities need to be making sensible savings.

That is why this Government has issued explicit guidance on the re-employment of senior staff who have previously been in receipt of a redundancy or severance payment, or who are in receipt of a local government or fire service pension. Fire and rescue authorities have the ability to deal with this problem and should do so. The public have a right to know when, and on what basis, these decisions have been made, and we have made provision for this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to encourage mothers and GPs to use the Baby Check app developed by Birmingham Community Healthcare and the Lullaby Trust.

Ben Gummer

The Department has asked NHS England to review the Baby Check app to see if it could potentially make a good case study to highlight it on their Innovation Connect portal for consideration by all National Health Service organisations.

The Innovation Connect portal can be found at:

http://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/innovation/innovation-connect/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she discussed soil carbon targets when she met Miguel Arias Cañete, Climate Action and Energy Commissioner, at their meeting on 12 May 2016 on emissions targets not included in the Emissions Trading System.

Amber Rudd

My meeting on 12 May with Commissioner Cañete was one of a number we have had to discuss a wide range of EU Climate and Energy issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to promote park and stride schemes.

Mr Robert Goodwill

A partnership of sixteen local authorities across England, led by Birmingham City Council, has linked up with national charity Living Streets and the Modeshift organisation to focus on increasing walking rates with schools, workplaces and in target locations, in order to tackle congestion and improve access to education and employment.

The project is being delivered through a grant of £2.48m from Department for Transport as part of the Sustainable Travel Transition Year funding programme. It will build on the success of the previous Department for Transport funded LSTF Walk To (2015/16) and Walk To School Outreach (2012/15) projects.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-07-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.14 of the National Audit Office’s investigation into the collapse of the UnitingCare Partnership contract, for what reasons HMRC did not approve UnitingCare’s request to remove VAT liability.

Jane Ellison

I am unable to comment on the tax affairs of individual companies.

HM Revenue and Customs applies the VAT rules for private companies consistently and fairly to ensure a level playing field. As reported in the National Audit Office’s report, the UnitingCare Partnership is a limited liability partnership.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the reasons are for changes to the level of funding available through the electric vehicle homecharge scheme for householders wishing to install ultra-low emission vehicle charging technology at home.

Mr John Hayes

As the market for plug-in vehicles grows we have reduced the level of grant available under the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme reflecting falling costs, so that Government support can be maintained and more motorists can benefit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the UK’s vote to leave the EU on the relationship between the European Investment Bank and UK universities.

Joseph Johnson

The UK is and continues to be a shareholder of the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the EIB has publically stated that its engagement in the UK is unchanged. All existing loan contracts signed between UK promoters and the EIB remain in force, and the EIB has continued to sign and approve new projects since the EU referendum.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many deaths occurred on rural roads in 2014 to 2015.

Andrew Jones

In 2014, 1,063 people were killed in reported personal injury road accidents on rural roads in Great Britain. This compares to an annual average of 1,702 people killed in reported personal injury road accidents on rural roads in Great Britain over 2005-2009.

Rural roads are roads outside settlements with a population of 10 thousand or more, excluding motorways.

Data for 2015 will be available in June 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress his Department has made on introducing loans for postgraduate study.

Joseph Johnson

A consultation on support for postgraduate study was launched in March of this year. The consultation sought views on the Government’s intention to introduce a new loan scheme for taught Master’s study and a review of how to broaden and strengthen support for postgraduate research. Consultation responses have been analysed and the Department is preparing its response.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce the sale of exotic animals online.

George Eustice

We are currently reviewing animal licensing schemes, including that for the sale of pet animals, and aim to consult publicly on a set of proposals shortly. In the meantime, the welfare of all animals, including exotics, at the point of sale is protected by the Pet Animals Act 1951. The Act covers sales over the internet as long as the person selling the animals is based in Great Britain. However, we understand the concerns about internet sales and have been working closely with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG), a group of animal welfare, veterinary, keeping and industry organisations, who have agreed, with several internet advertising sites, a set of minimum standards for animals sold over the internet. The work has so far resulted in over 130,000 inappropriate adverts being removed from the internet. We will continue to work with the PAAG so that more internet sites adopt the minimum standards.