Tag: Danny Kinahan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much of his Department’s £13.9 million First World War commemoration funding will be provided to projects in Northern Ireland; and to which such projects that funding will be provided.

David Evennett

The Heritage Lottery fund have allocated £13.9m to 58 projects in Northern Ireland to commemorate the First World War. The projects are spread across Northern Ireland and two are in South Antrim. I have asked the HLF to write to you with details of all the projects.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2015 to Question 3343, if she will commission an independent review of the reasons for the refusal of visa applications by people from the Kurdistan region of Iraq over the last three years.

James Brokenshire

There are no plans to commission an independent review into visa refusals of applications made by people from the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

UKVI places great importance of the quality of all entry clearance decisions. All applications are assessed against the Immigration Rules. Decision quality is assured both by local managers and as part of the overall Home Office audit and assurance framework to make sure that the correct decision is reached on all visa applications.

Further assurance is provided by regular third party inspections and audits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on the increase in the rate of incidence of American foulbrood in bee hives.

George Eustice

Defra maintains regular contact with all UK devolved governments on incidence of bee pests and diseases. Coordinating our efforts across the UK ensures outbreaks are managed and appropriate controls are put in place, benefiting all UK bee populations.

In January Defra agreed to use molecular sequencing to identify the strain of American Foulbrood within colonies from Northern Ireland. The results offered an additional inspection tool for Northern Ireland’s Bee Inspectors in their efforts to understand and control the disease.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to progress reforms to Disabled Student Allowances.

Joseph Johnson

The Government set out, in a Written Ministerial Statement dated 2 December 2015, a number of reforms to Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs). These changes apply to students making an application for DSAs for the first time from the 2016/17 academic year.

The aim of these reforms is to ensure that HE Institutions are properly adhering to their Equality Act 2010 duties to make reasonable adjustments to ensure higher education is accessible for disabled students, while re-balancing support between HE providers and DSAs and improving value for money.

The changes are as follows:

• Institutions are expected to take primary responsibility for less specialist non-medical support roles, with the exception of sighted guides for which DSAs will retain primary responsibility.

• DSAs funding will remain primary for the most specialist non-medical help support, with the exception of specialist transcription services for which HE institutions are expected to take primary responsibility.

• DSAs funding is not available where specialist accommodation is provided by the institution or their agent, other than by exception. HE institutions should no longer pass any additional costs for accommodation on to the student.

• Devices for printing and scanning will continue to be funded through DSAs, but institutions are expected to reduce the need for their purchase through improved library services and access to printing and scanning services.

• Standard computer peripherals and other accessories are now funded by exception only. Laptop carry cases continue to be provided as standard to help students protect their equipment.

Students who are in dispute with their HE provider over the making of reasonable adjustments are able to invoke a new Exceptional Case Process to consider DSA support in the interim.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value was of his Department’s naval maintenance contracts by shipyards in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales in the last 10 years.

Harriett Baldwin

The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to tackle the blockage of foreign aid to Nepal across the Indian border.

Mr Desmond Swayne

We are deeply concerned about the impact of the border blockages and resulting fuel crisis in Nepal. This has affected all sectors of the economy and has affected the humanitarian relief effort and the supply of reconstruction materials.

The UK has urged all parties to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue. I issued a statement on 13th October expressing concern that much needed humanitarian supplies are yet to reach many people still living in temporary shelter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what reports she has received of allegations of India blocking foreign aid to Nepal.

Mr Desmond Swayne

We are deeply concerned about the impact of the border blockages and resulting fuel crisis in Nepal. This has affected all sectors of the economy and has affected the humanitarian relief effort and the supply of reconstruction materials.

The UK has urged all parties to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue. I issued a statement on 13th October expressing concern that much needed humanitarian supplies are yet to reach many people still living in temporary shelter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking to ensure that discussions on the Stormont House Agreement include tax credits.

Mr Ben Wallace

A range of issues are under discussion in the cross-party talks. These include welfare reform, the Executive’s budget and delivering longer term economic reform. The Government is committed to its long-term economic plan, key elements of which are tackling the deficit, making the costs of welfare sustainable and getting more people into work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the operation of the procurement process in the Highways Agency.

Andrew Jones

Highways England complies with the Public Procurement Regulations. Each procurement exercise is led by a professional Procurement Officer who oversees the process to ensure that best procurement practice is followed.

Highways England is continually looking to improve its procurement processes. For example, when a contract is being renewed, a contract working group (CWG) is established to consider lessons learnt from the previous contract and to look at opportunities to improve.

Highways England is corporately accredited by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) which is an external endorsement of its procurement processes. CIPS Corporate Certification is an independent, comprehensive and procurement-specific assessment and signifies that Highways England has all the procurement governance mechanisms in place for effective and efficient procurement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had on the influence of major contractors over procurement processes in the Highways Agency.

Andrew Jones

The Secretary of State and Minister for Transport hold frequent discussions with Highways England on all aspects of their performance and delivery of the Road Investment Strategy. Highways England has recently published its Supply Chain Strategy. This sets out its procurement approach and strategies which are being developed with input from highways suppliers and others, to ensure effective and efficient delivery of the Road Investment Strategy.