Tag: David Mackintosh

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will establish an office within his Department with a focus on assisting UK military veterans in terms of housing, health, employment, pensions and other needs.

Mark Lancaster

As I stated on 24 March 2016 during a debate in the House (Official Report, columns 1865-74) the concept of such an office, while well-intentioned, would duplicate existing provision. We already have strong cross-Government support for veterans from the Department of Health, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Department for Communities and Local Government as well as other Departments. In addition, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) operates Veterans UK which focuses on the provision of pensions, compensation and welfare support for veterans.

The Armed Forces Covenant is designed to stop the Armed Forces community facing disadvantage and provides an effective mechanism to connect the various stakeholders who have an interest in supporting our community. The Covenant Reference Group brings together all relevant Departments and Devolved Administrations in a way that a single agency or Ministry could not. In addition, the Defence Secretary ensures that the MOD publishes an annual report to Parliament to communicate the delivery of our Covenant commitments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the performance of those train companies that scored low marks in the Office of Rail and Road’s mystery shopping exercise on delay compensation, reported on in March 2016.

Claire Perry

The Department is already working closely with the ORR and the Association of Train Operating Companies to bring about improvements to passenger compensation arrangements.

The Department will consider the results of the mystery shopping as part of its response to the ORR’s report into the Which? super-complaint in the summer of 2016.

I also understand the ORR has followed up the results of the mystery shopping exercise with each Train Operating Company. It intends to assess the level of improvement by carrying out a further survey in due course, as set out in its March 2016 report. The ORR will publish the mystery shopper results alongside its first annual report on consumers, titled ‘Measuring Up’, shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps are being taken to increase voter engagement with the upcoming European referendum.

John Penrose

The Government is committed to helping ensure that everyone who is eligible to vote in polls is able to do so. The introduction of online registration makes it easier, simpler and faster for people to register to vote. The Government is working with organisations, including Operation Black Vote and Citizens UK, which represent under registered groups to develop solutions to ensure that as many people as possible are able to have their say at the ballot box.

Voter engagement is also influenced by factors such as whether electors feel the poll offers a clear choice on an issue which matters greatly to them and on the energy and effectiveness of the political campaigns behind each side of the debate. These are not under Government’s direct control, but we hope that the decision to hold the referendum in the first place, as promised in our election manifesto, will nonetheless help.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of using energy storage to ensure that intermittent renewable sources of energy can be part of the UK’s energy mix.

Andrea Leadsom

Renewable energy technologies have successfully been part of the UK energy mix for many years.

Storage could help maximise the benefits and minimise the costs of low carbon energy. It is one of a number of flexible solutions which could be used, for example, demand-side response, interconnection with other countries and dynamic use of networks.

We are investigating the potential barriers to deployment of these technologies, including energy storage, and possible mitigating actions, focussing in the first instance on removing regulatory and policy barriers. We will be publishing a call for evidence on a smart systems route map, including storage, shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what incentives she plans to encourage more schools to extend their teaching hours.

Nick Gibb

In March 2016, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget statement that over £500 million of additional funding will be allocated to give 25 per cent of secondary schools the opportunity to extend their school day to include a wider range of activities, such as sports, arts and debating. The Department is currently determining the details of how the funding with be allocated and will provide further details in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effectiveness of auto-enrolment onto the electoral roll for all UK citizens eligible to vote.

John Penrose

I have considered a range of proposals from local authorities and civil society organisations that could change how registration is currently delivered.

We are keen to explore further possibilities in this area but are concerned there may be tension between some forms of automatic registration and the principles underpinning Individual Electoral Registration, namely individual responsibility and ownership over registering to vote.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent steps she has taken to increase the number of women represented on the executive boards of FTSE 100 companies.

Caroline Dinenage

I am delighted that we exceeded Lord Davies’s target of 25% women on boards of the FTSE 100 last year. However, we know that there is more to be done, and we will support and promote Lord Davies’s recommendation for a business-led 33% target for FTSE 350 boards by 2020. That’s why we’ve appointed Sir Philip Hampton, Chair of GlaxoSmithKline, and Dame Helen Alexander, Chair of UBM plc, as Chair and Deputy Chair of a new review which will focus on increasing the number of women in the executive layer of the FTSE 350.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps are being taken to encourage youth engagement in (a) national and (b) local elections.

John Penrose

The Government is committed to maximising electoral registration to help ensure that everyone who is eligible to vote in polls is able to do so. The introduction of online voter registration has made it easier, simpler and faster to register to vote. Since its launch in June 2014, 3.6 million people aged 16-24 have applied to register to vote, with 2.6 million applications online.

The Government has worked with youth organisations such NUS and UK Youth to deliver activities to engage people in the democratic process.

In addition, The Government has previously funded ​the ​British Youth Council to deliver ​Youth Voice activities including the ​UK Youth Parliament and the associated ‘Make Your Mark’ ballot.

The ballot led to nearly a million young people, aged 11 to 18, voting in this UK wide ballot; a record turnout. This decided the issues debated at UK Youth Parliament, including mental health, a living wage and tackling religious discrimination.

The Government has committed​ to support​ the Youth​​ Parliament and associated activities​ for the remainder of the Parliament until 2020.​

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has put in place further flood prevention measures in response to the recent flooding in Northamptonshire.

Rory Stewart

As the Lead Local Flood Authority, Northamptonshire County Council will be carrying out 17 formal flood investigations, with support from the Environment Agency. These flood reports will recommend actions to reduce the risk of future flooding. The Environment Agency will review their programme of works, in line with the recent flooding incident, and will investigate if any Capital work can be brought forward to reduce flood risk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to provide young offenders with (a) rehabilitation and (b) education to reduce the likelihood of them reoffending.

Andrew Selous

Although youth crime is down, reoffending rates are far too high and the care and supervision of young offenders in custody is not good enough.

That is why the Justice Secretary has asked Charlie Taylor to conduct a review of youth justice. He will report back later this year with recommendations on how to improve the treatment of young people in our care.