Tag: Daniel Zeichner

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to give veterans affected by mesothelioma the choice between receiving a traditional War Pension or a lump sum payment that is comparable to the awards given to civilians under the Government’s Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme.

Mark Lancaster

Mesothelioma is a devastating disease affecting not only the individual diagnosed, but their family and loved ones. It is important to ensure we offer the right support for those veterans affected.

As I announced on 16 December 2015, veterans who were diagnosed on or after that date with diffuse mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos during their military service prior to 6 April 2015 would have the option of receiving a lump sum of £140,000 under the War Pension Scheme. For those who elect to receive the lump sum, this will take the place of the current arrangements of payment of a regular War Pension, any Supplementary Allowances and dependant’s benefits.

The necessary legislative changes need time to be brought into effect. Subject to the agreement of the Privy Council, these changes will be made on 11 April 2016.

Those diagnosed on or after 16 December 2016, who elect to receive the lump sum before legislation has been introduced, will in the interim be able to receive the War Disablement Pension and any Supplementary Allowances until the lump sum is paid. Any such payments would then be deducted from the lump sum which will be paid following the introduction of the legislation on 11 April 2016.

The Veterans Welfare Service is on hand to help claimants and their families understand the details of the options available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the rationale is for people on spousal visas resident in the UK being required to pay a health surcharge as part of their visa.

James Brokenshire

The Immigration Health Surcharge was introduced in April last year to ensure that temporary, non-EEA migrants (unless subject to an exemption), who apply to come to the UK to work, study or join family, for a time-limited period of more than 6 months or who make an application to remain in the UK, contribute to the extensive and high quality range of NHS services available to them in a manner in line with their immigration status. This includes individuals resident in the UK with temporary spousal visas of more than 6 months, until such time they are eligible for indefinite leave to remain in which case the Immigration Health Surcharge does not apply.

It gives migrant’s access to the NHS on the same terms as a permanent UK resident. The surcharge is set at a competitive rate and is a lower cost over the period of stay than the cost of even basic private medical insurance. In setting the Immigration Health Surcharge level at £200 per annum per migrant and £150 for students, the last Government considered the range of health services available without charge to migrants, the valuable contribution migrants make to our country and the need to ensure that the UK remains an attractive destination for global talent.

In the first 6 months since its introduction, the Immigration Health Surcharge collected more than £100 million in income for the NHS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she plans to take to increase renewable energy generation when the renewables obligation scheme ends in 2017.

Andrea Leadsom

We have announced our intention to hold three Contract for Difference (CfD) allocation rounds during this Parliament, supporting large scale renewable projects at a far lower cost to the consumer than under the renewables obligation. Provided cost reductions are made, this could support to 10GW of new offshore wind in the 2020s.

We are considering how we can best ensure a level playing field between renewable and other generation technologies and we are listening to ideas from industry about how this can be achieved. A number of stakeholders have suggested the concept of a market stabilising CFD for pot 1 technologies and welcome thoughts on this.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many under-18s died while in youth custody between 2010 and 2015; and what the causes of those deaths were.

Andrew Selous

The number and causes of deaths of prisoners aged under 18 and held in the custody of the National Offender Management Service is published on a quarterly basis in the Safety in Custody Statistics Bulletin annual deaths tables (see table 1.3 at the following link) https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/495427/safety-in-custody-deaths-dec-2015.xls. The most recent publication was published on 28 January 2016 and contains information on deaths up to 31 December 2015.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will introduce a requirement that Local Government Pension Scheme funds be invested in infrastructure projects.

Mr Marcus Jones

Administering authorities in the local government pension scheme in England and Wales have been asked to explain the proportion of their funds currently allocated to infrastructure projects and what proportion they intend to invest in infrastructure in the future. The benefits of scale achieved under the new pooling arrangements will enable authorities to be more ambitious and invest in infrastructure in a way that will help drive local growth.

Administering authorities have also been asked to submit their detailed proposals for pooling their assets, including their plans to invest in infrastructure, by 19 July. The proposals will then be assessed to establish whether they comply with the Department’s criteria for the pooling of scheme assets, including infrastructure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will widen the Blue Badge criteria to allow for cognitive as well as physical disabilities.

Andrew Jones

The regulations governing the scheme already apply to any permanent and substantial disability which causes very considerable difficulty in walking. We have no plans to widen the scope beyond this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his policy is on the future of the Innovate UK Smart funding programme.

Joseph Johnson

Innovate UK is tasked with increasing growth and productivity across the UK through supporting business-led innovation. The number of different programmes it delivers has increased over the years and in some cases have become confusing for businesses, especially for SMEs, to navigate. Consequently, Innovate UK is currently simplifying its support to innovative businesses. Innovate UK intends to publish new Strategy and Delivery plans, which will outline its funding approaches and programmes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the cost to local authorities of the English National Concessionary Transport Scheme (ENCTS); and whether the central government grant to local authorities covers the cost of reimbursement of the ENCTS.

Mr Marcus Jones

In 2010-11, £223 million was paid to local authorities as a specific grant to deliver the National Concessionary Transport Scheme. In 2011-12, this funding was incorporated within the Local Government Finance Settlement, from where it has been delivered since. As the settlement distributes un-ringfenced funding to cover a number of services delivered by local authorities, it is not possible to identify the exact level of funding within the settlement specifically for national concessionary transport from the point the funding arrangement was changed.

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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