Tag: Laurence Robertson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will make funds available to help clear up debris from the flooding of farmers’ fields in cases in which those farmers have allowed that land to flood to help avoid flooding elsewhere.

Rory Stewart

Farmers that have allowed land to flood to help avoid flooding elsewhere may be eligible for a Farming Recovery Fund grant. However, farmers will need to demonstrate that that land is being used for agricultural production and that the recent storms have had an impact on their business.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-03-17.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to simplify the declaration of gift aid payments.

Mr David Gauke

The Government has already taken steps to simplify the declaration of Gift Aid payments by publishing a new declaration in October 2015. This was developed following consultation with representatives of the charity sector. The simpler wording of the new declaration will give charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) greater confidence that the donations they receive under Gift Aid will be valid.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of disparities in funding for early-years education across England; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage

This Government recognises that the current funding system for three- and four-year-olds creates unfair and unjustifiable differences between local areas, and between types of providers.

This is why we have recently consulted on our proposals for a national funding formula for the early years. Our proposals will ensure that funding for the early years is based on the costs of meeting the needs of local children, not on historic spending patterns.

It is vital that funding is fairly distributed between different parts of the country and different types of providers, so that providers can deliver both the existing 15-hour entitlement and the extended 30-hour entitlement for working parents, on a sustainable basis.

We are currently considering all responses to the consultation, and are planning to publish the Government’s response in the autumn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her policy is on the future of the Warm Home scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government announced in the Spending Review on 25 November 2015 that the Warm Home Discount scheme would be extended to 2020/21 at current levels of £320m per year, rising with inflation, to help households who are at risk of fuel poverty with their energy bills.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what requirement there is for a person to reveal their identity when requested to do so by a police officer.

Mike Penning

There are various requirements for a person to provide their name and address to reveal their identity to the police.

These include:

– the Road Traffic Act (RTA) 1988, for example, Section 164 gives constables the power to require the production of a driving license; and Section 165 RTA 1988 gives constables the power to obtain names and addresses of drivers and others, and to require production of evidence of insurance or security and test certificates. Full details of the Act can be seen here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/contents

– the Police Reform Act, which also gives powers to Police Community Support Officers to require the provision of a name and address in certain circumstances. Full details of the Act can be seen here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/30/schedule/4/paragraph/1A –

– the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 which can require a person to reveal their identity in certain circumstances in connection to suspecting them of a specific offence and arrest. Full details of the Act can be seen here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/60/contents

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what government funding is available to pay farmers to allow parts of their land to flood to avoid flooding elsewhere.

Rory Stewart

If land is flooded as part of a deliberate and managed scheme to avoid flooding elsewhere the authority responsible would need to buy a right to flood or make a similar binding agreement with the landowner. The prices paid for that agreement would be subject to negotiation between the authority and the landowner and take into consideration such matters as any loss of value caused by flooding and debris in fields

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 27899, what recent assessment she has made of the food security situation in Ethiopia.

Mr Nick Hurd

Responding to the food security situation in Ethiopia is a top priority. DFID has already committed £40 million to provide food aid to 3.8 million people in 2016, as part of its overall £113 million response since the onset of the drought last July.

Across the country, 18 million people are in need of food assistance. Failed rains and the El Niño effect have caused the worst drought in Ethiopia in 30 years. This has resulted in reduced crop yields and numerous livestock deaths – increasing the country’s dependence on food aid.

Plans are in place to provide monthly food rations until June from various sources, including the UN, donors, and the Government. The Government of Ethiopia has committed over $381 million (~£269 million) so far, which is its largest ever response to a drought. However, systems are currently stretched and the scale of the crisis means that further resources are needed to meet monthly food distribution needs from June onwards. We continue to work closely with the Government of Ethiopia to support their leadership of the humanitarian response.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on the financial deficit of that Trust.

Mr Philip Dunne

Department of Health ministers have had no recent meetings or discussions with representatives from Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust regarding its financial deficit over the last six months.

On 17 October 2016 NHS Improvement announced Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has entered Financial Special Measures.

The Financial Special Measures programme launched by NHS Improvement provides a rapid turnaround package for trusts and foundation trusts which have either not agreed savings targets (also known as control totals) with local commissioners, or planned to make savings but deviated significantly from this plan.

As part of financial special measures, each trust agrees a recovery plan with NHS Improvement. The trusts also get support from – and are held accountable by – a Financial Improvement Director appointed by NHS Improvement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to continue with the visa scheme which allows Filipino nurses to come to the UK to work on its current basis; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

Tier 2 of the Points Based System for immigration – the skilled work route – allows non-EEA workers to fill graduate level occupations, and is the main route used by Filipino nurses wishing to work in the UK.

In June 2015, the Government commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on restricting Tier 2 to genuine skills shortages and jobs which require highly-specialised experts, but with sufficient flexibility to include high value roles and key public service workers. The MAC has now reported and the Government is currently considering the MAC’s advice.

In October 2015, the Home Secretary agreed, exceptionally, to place nurses on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) as an interim measure, pending a full review of the evidence by the MAC. The MAC will advise separately on whether nurses should remain on the SOL by 15 February and we await their recommendation with interest. Skilled jobs which are not on the SOL may still qualify for Tier 2, provided the sponsoring employer has carried out a Resident Labour Market Test.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department is doing to deliver the full pension entitlement for those people in Northern Ireland who started work at the age of 14.

Justin Tomlinson

Following the fundamental reforms of the National Insurance scheme in 1975 the law provided that only paid contributions and credits from the year in which a person reached age 16 to the year before the one in which they reached state pension age should count for the purposes of entitlement to the state pension. The Government has no plans to review the position reached by Parliament and which has been in place for the past 40 years, since 1975.