Tag: Ivan Lewis

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect of civil service redundancies in the last 12 months on the effectiveness of departments’ work.

Matthew Hancock

To remain the best in the world, the Civil Service needs to respond to both the challenges and opportunities of our times.The Civil Service continues to require new and different skills to respond to the fiscal environment, global competition and changes in technology, whilst at the same time delivering better services more efficiently: in short, doing more for less.

The size of the Civil Service has already reduced by 20% since March 2010 and has helped save taxpayers £2.8bn over the last Parliament. Despite this reduction in numbers, employee engagement rates were higher in 2015 than in 2010 and departments have successfully maintained delivery of our public services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to increase school capacity and alleviate pressure on secondary schools for additional places.

Edward Timpson

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring sufficient school places in their area, and supporting them to do this is one of the Government’s top priorities. That’s why we have committed to investing £23 billion in school buildings up to 2021, to create 600,000 new school places, open 500 free schools and address essential maintenance needs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to extend Clean Air Zones to more cities.

Rory Stewart

The Air Quality Plan we published last December set out a comprehensive plan for reducing levels of nitrogen dioxide through a new programme of Clean Air Zones, alongside national action and continued investment in clean technologies.

We are working closely with the cities of Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton, where we are requiring Clean Air Zones to be introduced. Other local authorities can introduce Clean Air Zones should they wish to do so using their powers under the Transport Act 2000.

We will consult on a framework for Clean Air Zones later this year which will set out the important principles that need to be consistent from city to city. Setting out the principles in this way will support both those authorities required by Government to implement a Clean Air Zone and those who, after analysing their own situation, consider a Clean Air Zone to be an appropriate measure to bring in.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessments she has made of the potential effect of planned future budget reductions on the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority on its response to future flooding.

Mike Penning

The Government commissioned Sir Ken Knight to carry out an independent review of the scope for fire and rescue authorities across England to improve their efficiency. His report, Facing the Future, published in 2013, provided a wide-ranging analysis of costs and benchmarking between fire and rescue authorities on a range of measures of financial performance.

We have delivered a sustainable finance settlement and there is no question that fire and rescue authorities will continue to have the resources they need. The number of incidents attended by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority is 27 per cent lower than five years ago, and injuries requiring hospital treatment are 59 per cent lower.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the level of human trafficking and exploitation in the UK.

Karen Bradley

The Government is taking significant steps forward in tackling the abhorrent crime of modern slavery. We passed the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 which gives law enforcement agencies the tools they need to tackle human trafficking and modern slavery, places a duty on large businesses to report on the actions they are taking to prevent modern slavery in their global supply chains and ensures that perpetrators can receive suitably severe sentences of up to life imprisonment.

We have also enhanced support and protection for those victims of this crime. We have extended the definition for those who are entitled to support under the government-funded victim care contract and we are piloting a new model of the National Referral Mechanism to ensure we have the right processes in place for identifying and supporting victims.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of efforts by the Nigerian government to tackle Boko Haram.

James Duddridge

We welcome the successes achieved by the Nigerian armed forces against Boko Haram, which have resulted in the group being pushed out of key towns in North East Nigeria. However, Boko Haram continues to present a serious threat to security in North East Nigeria and the wider region.

The United Kingdom is providing a substantial and increasing package of military, intelligence, development and humanitarian support to help Nigeria and the region in the fight against Boko Haram. We support Nigeria’s plans to host a high-level Regional Security Summit in Abuja in May. This will bring together regional leaders and international partners, including the United Kingdom, to reaffirm their shared commitment to the fight against Boko Haram.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much corporation tax was raised by HM Treasury in Northern Ireland in the last full financial year.

Mr David Gauke

The most recent available estimate of Corporation Tax receipts in respect of Northern Ireland relates to financial year 2012-13. This estimate was published by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in ‘A Disaggregation of HMRC Tax Receipts between England, Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland’. A link to the publication is provided below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/285765/disagg-info.pdf

For 2012-13 the estimated portion of onshore UK Corporation Tax receipts relating to Northern Ireland was £476m. Estimates of offshore Corporation Tax receipts relating to Northern Ireland are available as produced by two methods: a geographic basis and a population based apportionment. The estimates for 2012-13 are nil and £137m respectively.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what input officials in his Department sought from their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive in preparation for the UK’s attendance at the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council held in Brussels on 20 and 21 May 2014.

Mr Edward Vaizey

DCMS officials seek to keep their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive informed of relevant EU developments on an ongoing basis. There was no specific contact prior to the meeting of the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council on 20 and 21 May.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Ministers from the devolved administrations were invited to attend the Global Dementia Legacy Event in London in June 2014.

Norman Lamb

Senior officials from each of the devolved administrations are members of the Dementia Steering Group (International) and were involved and aware of plans for the UK Global Dementia Legacy event. They were also invited to attend the event. Ministers were not invited, senior officials were sent a formal invitation.

The Scottish Government hosted an international dementia event on 9 and 10 June, and officials from the Department attended.

Ministers from across the United Kingdom signed up to the Blackfriars Consensus to prevent and delay dementia, which was announced at the UK Global Dementia Legacy event.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with its counterparts in Northern Ireland ahead of the Global Dementia Legacy Event in London on 19 June 2014.

Norman Lamb

Senior officials from each of the devolved administrations are members of the Dementia Steering Group (International) and were involved and aware of plans for the UK Global Dementia Legacy event. They were also invited to attend the event. Ministers were not invited, senior officials were sent a formal invitation.

There were no discussions between my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his Ministerial counterparts. Senior officials in the Devolved Administrations were involved in discussions via their participation in the Dementia Steering Group (International).

Ministers from across the United Kingdom signed up to the Blackfriars Consensus to prevent and delay dementia, which was announced at the UK Global Legacy event.