Tag: Daniel Zeichner

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.

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 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.