Tag: Laurence Robertson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the opportunities to present evidence in child custody cases; and if she will make a statement.

Dr Phillip Lee

The law requires the welfare of the child to be the court’s paramount concern when making any decision about a child’s upbringing, including with whom the child is to live or spend time.

Any person who is a party to such proceedings will provide initial evidence and information to the court in their original application or in any response to an application. A party may make representations to the court about any further evidence they wish to put before the court. Rules of court indicate that it is for the court to determine how and when parties may submit evidence. The rules provide for different ways in which this can be done, including a party giving evidence in writing, orally or via video link facilities, where available.

In child arrangements proceedings, the court may also ask the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) to provide independent analysis and recommendations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 2.21 of the Summer Budget 2015, what arrangements he has put in place to enable the funding provided for defibrillators to be disbursed.

Jane Ellison

Following our 2015 Budget commitment on defibrillators, we have awarded the British Heart Foundation (BHF) £1 million to make public access defibrillators and coronary pulmonary resuscitation training more widely available in communities across England.

More information can be found on the BHF’s website:

https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/nation-of-lifesavers/about-defibrillators/apply-for-a-defibrillator-in-england

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Government spent on creating flood prevention schemes since 2007.

Rory Stewart

Government funding on flood and coastal erosion risk management is available in the ‘Central Government Funding for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management in England’ document. This is available in the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/480527/Funding_for_Flood_and_Coastal_Erosion_in_England_Dec_2015.pdf

This document sets out both capital and resource expenditure from 2005.

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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 recent assessment she has made of the trends in the level of farm borrowing.

George Eustice

Total UK farm borrowing in 2014 stood at £16.6 billion. Over the last 10 years borrowing has increased by nearly 70%, or by 34% in real terms (allowing for the impact of inflation).

However, the total value of UK farm assets has more than doubled in real terms over the last 10 years, largely due to the increased value of land. This has led to a significant increase in the net worth of the sector despite the rise in borrowing.

More details on the borrowing, value of assets and net worth of the sector can be found in the aggregate balance sheet for agriculture on the statistics (total farm incomes) page of the GOV.UK website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to encourage vets, re-homing centres and dog wardens to scan stray dogs for microchips.

George Eustice

It is already best practice for vets, re-homing centres and dog wardens to scan strays and they have a duty of care to do so. To assist dog wardens, the Kennel Club has provided free scanners to all local authorities. We will also be reminding these parties of the need to scan dogs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-10-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce tax incentives for people who engage in regulated and supervised exercise to off-set the likelihood of diabetes; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

The Government published the ‘Sporting Future’ strategy last December to support and fund sport and physical activity and the Sport England’s strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’, published in May, committed to spend at least 25% of their funding on those that are classed as inactive. The Government’s “Cycle to Work” scheme includes an annual tax exemption allowing employers to loan cycles and cyclists’ safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit.

The Government keeps all tax policy under review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage the teaching of emergency first aid skills in schools.

Edward Timpson

There is nothing more important than keeping children and staff safe. Schools can teach emergency first aid and life-saving skills through personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, and the best ones already do. The non-statutory PSHE Programme of Study produced by the PSHE Association, teaches young people how to recognise and follow health and safety procedures, ways of reducing risk and minimising harm in risky situations, and how to use emergency and basic first aid. We have put in place a new duty requiring schools to support all children’s medical needs and have set-up a scheme so they can buy defibrillators at a reduced price.

The Department for Education also works closely with expert organisations such as the Red Cross and St John Ambulance who provide learning materials to schools, including life-saving training kits produced by the British Heart Foundation. These kits provide young people with first-hand experience of life-saving skills and we have promoted the use of these via the termly school email and social media channels. The Department is also providing £254,911 in funding for St John Ambulance via the Character Grant, which will select 31,500 pupils for first aid training.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of colleges which are available to carry out Objective Structured Clinical examinations.

Ben Gummer

The Department has not made an assessment of the number of colleges available to carry out Objective Structured Clinical examinations (OSCE).

It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. This may include setting out how training is assessed, for example through OSCEs.

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 she will make it her policy to introduce interim payments under the Basic Payments Scheme for farmers who have not received their payments by the end of January 2016.

George Eustice

When part payments have been made in the past this has led to years of confusion for farmers and additional costs in processing and disallowance for the Rural Payments Agency. This is why the RPA continues to focus on making full payments on the remaining claims as quickly as possible.

As at 18 January the RPA had paid around two thirds of eligible Basic Payment Scheme claims received. The Agency continues to focus on making payments on the remainder of claims as soon as possible and remains on track to pay the vast majority of claims by the end of this month.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps has he taken to monitor the conduct of charities when marketing commercial products.

Mr Rob Wilson

This is a matter for the Charity Commission which, as independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, issued a regulatory alert on this topic on 29 February 2016 reminding charity trustees of their legal duties. The alert was published and sent to the 1,700 charities that the Commission identified to have some form of commercial arrangement. It made clear that trustees should review existing commercial arrangements and that failure to meet the relevant requirements could result in regulatory action.

Engaging in commercial activities can be a valuable way for charities to raise funds or generate awareness of its cause. It is the responsibility of the trustees to ensure that where a charity engages in commercial activity, either through a trading subsidiary or through a commercial partnership, they follow the legal framework, they have effective oversight and ensure this activity in the best interests of the charity. This includes protecting the charity’s name and reputation which are valuable assets.