Tag: Drew Hendry

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much revenue received from previous spectrum sales has been reinvested into digital infrastructure.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Budget 2016 announces a new government commitment that 750MHz of valuable public sector spectrum in bands under 10GHz will be made available by 2022, of which 500MHz will be made available by 2020. All revenue from spectrum auctions is paid into the Consolidated Fund operated by HM Treasury.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many citizenship applications from EU nationals have been rejected as a result of changes to the rules on the evidence required to demonstrate permanent residence since those changes came into force.

Mr Robert Goodwill

No statistical information is available showing the reason for rejection of citizenship applications.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what effect the spending reductions agreed between his Department and HM Treasury will have on investment in (a) road, (b) rail, (c) air, (d) ports and ferry services, (e) active and sustainable travel and (f) freight facilities.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government will provide full details of the Spending Review outcome on 25 November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of (a) premises in the Highlands and Islands he estimates will have indoor 4G coverage, (b) the Highlands area he estimates will have complete not-spots for voice and SMS text by 2017.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Improving mobile coverage remains a priority for the Government, and our landmark agreement in December 2014 with the four mobile network operators (MNOs) for each to provide voice and SMS text coverage to at least 90% of the UK landmass by 2017 will significantly improve coverage in the UK, including the Highlands area. The additional licence obligation on Telefonica will deliver significant improvements in 4G coverage as well and whilst we have no specific 4G coverage figures for the Highlands and Islands, the obligation will deliver indoor 4G coverage to 95% of premises in Scotland by end 2017.

These obligations will also more than halve complete not spots for voice calls across the Highland area landmass over the same period.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures his Department has put in place to ensure that terminally ill patients’ needs are fully considered during personal independence payment assessments.

Penny Mordaunt

There are special rules and procedures for people who are terminally ill and make a claim to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) meaning that their claims are fast tracked and they are guaranteed immediate, unconditional entitlement to the enhanced rate of the daily living component, without an assessment of their needs.

To ensure correct decisions are made as quickly as possible, factual information on the claimant’s condition, clinical features and current/planned treatment is captured on the DS1500 form. This is completed by their GP, hospital consultant or delegated practice/special nurse (e.g. a Macmillan nurse).

The Department has worked closely with organisations supporting terminally ill people, such as Macmillan Cancer Support, to ensure that the service we offer works as effectively and efficiently as possible. This collaborative approach has resulted in the Department introducing a dedicated telephone service for terminally ill claimants and introducing an electronic method of submitting a DS1500 form from the claimant’s medical practitioner.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to introduce or increase any revenue raising streams to complement the departmental spending reductions agreed with HM Treasury.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government will provide full details of the Spending Review outcome on 25 November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he estimates the sale of 5G licences will take place; what estimate his Department has made of the revenue from the sale of the 5G spectrum; and whether he plans to invest the revenue from the sale of the 5G spectrum in digital infrastructure.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Once 5G as a technology standard has been finalised, we will know which frequencies are more likely to be used for 5G services. Receipts from spectrum auctions are paid into the Consolidated Fund operated by HM Treasury.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to reduce the gender pay gap.

Caroline Dinenage

Tackling the gender pay gap is an absolute priority for this Government. We will lay regulations requiring large employers to publish the difference between the average earnings of their male and female employees at the earliest opportunity. Our consultation on how gender pay gap reporting will be extended to public sector organisations closed on 30 September and we are currently analysing responses.

We are making sure that women are given the opportunity to progress from the classroom to the boardroom. As well as encouraging girls to consider a range of careers through the ‘Your Life’ campaign, we have extended the right to request flexible working to all employees; introduced a new system of flexible parental leave; and committed to providing 30 hours of free childcare a week for working families. Nearly two-thirds of the people benefitting from the National Living Wage are women.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) his Department and (b) its agencies plan to review their estates as a result of spending reductions agreed with HM Treasury.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government will provide full details of the Spending Review outcome on 25 November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to carry out a full ratio frequency allocation review; and whether he plans to coordinate future allocation of bandwidth with EU member states.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Ofcom, the independent regulator, regularly review what spectrum is allocated when they update the UK Frequency Allocation Table which is published on their website at http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/information/uk-fat/ Ofcom takes into account allocations across Europe and the world when making decisions on spectrum allocation and represents UK at international spectrum meetings under direction by the UK Government.

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