Tag: Gregory Campbell

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take in 2016 to ensure that young people under 16 understand road safety issues from the perspectives of pedestrians, cyclists and car users.

Andrew Jones

THINK! supports pedestrian road safety education though engaging intermediaries – e.g. teachers, road safety professionals & parents – who are able to deliver road safety messages using free resources, to children and teenagers in a credible and impactful way. THINK! is reviewing their education offer in order to ensure materials and road safety messages are up-to-date and relevant for the current generation.

THINK! is also working closely with partners at the RAC and the Scouts Association to develop road safety resources for out-of-school groups, to ensure road safety is continued to be taught in and outside the classroom.

The Department is providing £50 million over the next four years to support Bikeability cycle training in schools in England (outside London). This funding will help to increase children’s road awareness, encourage active travel and improve future motorists’ empathy for more vulnerable road users.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will ensure that charity commissions across the UK collaborate to ensure that extremist groups are unable to obtain charitable status.

Mr Rob Wilson

There are three bodies that regulate charities in the UK; the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. In all three jurisdictions organisations must be established for exclusively charitable purposes to be recognised and registered as charities. All applications to register an organisation as a charity are determined by whether or not an organisation meets the legal test for registration. All three bodies have robust processes for assessing any application for registration as a charity. The three regulators regularly meet to discuss areas of common concern and have provisions in their respective legislation which facilitates the exchange of information to assist and enable another to discharge their statutory functions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will meet his counterparts in the devolved administrations to ensure that best practice on reducing the numbers of road deaths across the UK is shared.

Andrew Jones

I am willing to meet my counterparts in the devolved administrations if they wish. My officials have regular meetings with representatives from the devolved administrations to share best practice and I have had correspondence on specific areas of concern.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans HM Revenue and Customs has to take into account the effect of downtime of the HSBC online banking system during January 2015 when issuing penalties for late self-assessment tax returns.

Mr David Gauke

The downtime of online HSBC had no impact on customer’s ability to successfully file their tax return

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of cars he estimates will be electric in the UK in 2020.

Andrew Jones

The Government wants almost every car and van in the UK to be a zero emission vehicle by 2050. This will mean that all new cars and vans should be zero emission by 2040.

In 2013 the Government’s strategy for ultra low emission vehicles set out an expectation that ULEVs could make up 3-7% of new car sales in 2020. Uptake in this new market is difficult to predict, and depends largely on the speed with which car manufacturers make new models available.

In the last quarter of 2015, ULEVs represented 1.3% of new car registrations in the UK. This is toward the upper end of the growth projections set out in 2013.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that employees who initially opted out of the automatic enrolment into pension provision are informed of the importance of revising of their individual pension status.

Justin Tomlinson

Automatic enrolment has been a great success to date. Since the roll out of automatic enrolment, nearly 6 million people have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension. Only 10% of individuals that have been automatically enrolled so far have chosen to opt out. This is one of the key indicators of the policy’s success in increasing participation in pension saving.

Individuals who have opted out of automatic enrolment and have subsequently changed their mind can discuss with their employer how to opt back in. Furthermore, employers are required by law to automatically re-enrol eligible workers every three years. This prompts individuals to periodically reconsider their saving arrangements. Employers also have duties to provide certain information to their workers within prescribed time limits.

In addition, the national communications campaign, Don’t Ignore the Workplace Pension, raises awareness of pension saving among both employees and employers, and promotes the idea that saving in a workplace pension is normal. The campaign directs individuals to the campaign website, The Pension Regulator’s website, and the relevant gov.uk website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of trends in diabetes incidence on changes in medical provision for people with diabetes.

Jane Ellison

Both the prevalence and incidence of Type 2 diabetes has been rising, driven by increasing obesity and an ageing population. The numbers of people diagnosed with the condition are projected to grow from 2.9 million in 2014/15 to 4.6 million by 2030. In addition, a further 5 million people are estimated to be at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

The Government is therefore committed to introducing a national Type 2 diabetes prevention programme and improving the management and care of people with diabetes within the lifetime of this parliament. These commitments are reflected in Government’s 2016/17 mandate to NHS England. This is in the context of our wider public health programme to prevent disease and promote good health which includes a strong focus on tackling obesity, one of the most common, modifiable risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes. For example, the announcement for a soft drinks industry levy by the Chancellor in the budget is the first step in this Government’s comprehensive childhood obesity strategy, which we will be launching in the summer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will visit Army and Sea Cadet detachments in Northern Ireland.

Mr Julian Brazier

As Minister with responsibility for Cadets, I am aware of the good work Cadet forces do in Northern Ireland and welcome invitations to visit its Cadet establishments. There are no immediate plans to visit Cadet detachments in Northern Ireland but I would be very happy to consider such visits in the near future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-09-06.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average telephone waiting time was for members of the public trying to contact HM Revenue and Customs in the first six months of (a) 2015 and (b) 2016.

Jane Ellison

HM Revenue and Customs publishes regular performance reports, including average speed of answer details, which are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-plan-indicators.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average amount of student loans outstanding for graduates has been in each of the last three years ending on 31 March 2016.

Joseph Johnson

The Student Loans Company (SLC) administers student loans for each of the UK Government Administrations. Statistics covering English student loan borrowers are published annually by the SLC in the Statistical First Release (SFR) ‘Student Loans in England’:

http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/student-loans-debt-and-repayment/england.aspx

Information on the average outstanding Higher Education loan balance of borrowers liable to repay by repayment cohort and tax year can be found in table 5A(iii) of the SFR. The figures refer to borrowers who received loans as English domiciled students studying in the UK or as EU domiciled students studying in England.

“