Tag: Daniel Zeichner

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on the Sentencing Guidelines Council’s review of sentencing guidelines for driving offences.

Andrew Selous

Sentencing guidelines are issued by the independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales. Following the announcement by the previous Justice Secretary of a government review of driving offences and penalties, the Sentencing Council have paused their review of sentencing guidelines for causing death by driving.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will identify which government-funded cycling programmes will (a) continue to be funded, (b) cease to be funded and (c) have their funding reduced in each of the next five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The DfT is funding a number of cycling programmes as below:

• the Cycling Ambition City programme until 2017/18; any further investment is subject to future spending decisions;
• the Highways England cycling programme until 2020-21;
• the DfT is funding Bikeability until 2019-20;
• the Local Growth Fund, which includes funding for cycling schemes, is being funded until 2020-21.
• the new Access fund, which will build on the legacy of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, will be funded until 2019-20.
• The Cycle / Rail programme will run until the end of 2015/16.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require enforcers of the Pet Travel Scheme to carry out visual checks on dogs entering the UK.

George Eustice

The UK carries out more checks on pets at the border than most other EU Member States. It is a condition of their approval that the transport companies check 100% of pets declared by their owners for compliance with the EU Pet Travel Scheme. The only way that we are practically able to have a system of checking every declared pet dog entering Great Britain, on an approved route, is by working in partnership with the transport companies.

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 Transport, with which private bus operators his Department has discussed the planned Buses Bill.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport held a series of seven bus reform workshops, in five locations (Birmingham, London, Leeds, Manchester and Bristol) in September and October 2015. The workshops were attended by bus operators and other interested stakeholders to share their views on the Buses Bill. We have also had detailed discussions with the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) and the Association of Local Bus Company Managers (ALBUM).

Information about the bus reform workshops including a list of organisations represented have been published by the department. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-reform-workshops-background-information

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the national roll-out of the minimising and managing physical restraint system is to be fully completed and implemented.

Andrew Selous

The Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint (MMPR) system has been rolled out across the youth secure estate with the exception of Feltham Young offender Institution (YOI), which goes live at the end of February 2016 and Parc YOI, which goes live by the end of this year.

MMPR will also be rolled out to the under -18 secure escort service for Secure training Centres and Secure Children’s Homes, and will go live in April 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015, which cycling programmes his Department plans to fund from the £300 million fund for cycling for 2015-16 to 2020-21; and what other funding for cycling to which cycling programmes his Department plans to fund over that period.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, to be published in summer 2016, will set out the Government’s plans for investing in cycling and walking.

Otherwise, at the Spending Review the Government reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking by committing to investing over £300 million over the life of this Parliament. This includes delivering the Cycle City Ambition scheme in full, a new ‘access’ fund for sustainable travel and our Road Investment Strategy for 2015-20 which includes plans to improve 200 sections of the road network in England for cyclists. We will also provide 1.3 million children with cycling proficiency training through the Bikeability scheme.

Over this period, other Government funding streams will contribute to cycling. Through the Local Growth Fund, an investment of at least £270m is planned by local enterprise partnerships for cycling infrastructure. Local authorities could also use sums from the £1.3bn Integrated Transport Block to 2019/20 for cycling schemes.

It should also be noted that spending on road maintenance can benefit not just motorists but can also lead to improved conditions for cyclists, and a record £6.1billion is allocated to local highway authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people appealing their ineligibility for the enhanced rate of mobility under personal independent payment have been successful in their appeals.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The First-tier Tribunal – Social Security and Child Support administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ decisions on a range of benefits including Personal Independence Payment.

The information about the number and success rates of SSCS appeals by benefit type, including PIP, is published in the Tribunal and Gender Recognition Certificate Statistics Quarterly at the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2015

The specific information requested is not held centrally.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how his Department decides on allocation of funding to research councils; and what assessment he has made of the grounds for significant changes being made to the relative size of allocations to each research council compared to allocations in previous years.

Joseph Johnson

The allocations will be published shortly. As in previous years, the allocations will be made by ministers following discussions with BIS delivery partners.