Tag: Lord Blencathra

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what warnings they are giving to prospective UK visitors to the USA about the dangers of contracting Zika virus, and whether they will highlight the most dangerous areas in the USA.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Public Health England (PHE) and the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) introduced a risk-based approach for countries reporting Zika infection ahead of cases reported from Florida in the United States of America. PHE and NaTHNaC issued travel guidance about Florida as soon as cases were announced. A copy of this guidance is attached. The first locally acquired cases of Zika were reported from Florida on 29 July 2016. The guidance advised pregnant women to consider postponing non-essential travel to Florida. Links to NaTHNaC’s detailed, site-specific advice allowed clinicians to have in-depth discussions of the transmission risks in Florida with potential travellers.

A high risk alert was issued as more information became available stating: “The risk in Miami-Dade county is considered high and pregnant women are advised to postpone non-essential travel to Miami-Dade county until after their pregnancy.” Advice on reducing the risk of sexual transmission of Zika infection was also issued, which is included within the attached guidance.

The situation is constantly under review and assessment, and travel and sexual transmission guidance is updated regularly as new information emerges from Florida.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to replace the permanent secretary to the Treasury or the permanent representative at the UK Permanent Representation to the EU.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

There are no plans to replace the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury or the Permanent Representative at the UK Permanent Representation to the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-03-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions since 1990 a British Prime Minister has made public remarks about how citizens of the US should vote.

Lord Bridges of Headley

This information is not held.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many illegal Albanian migrants have been captured in the UK in the last 12 months, how many have asked for asylum, and how many have been removed from the UK.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The attached tables shows the number of Albanian immigrants arrested on Enforcement Visits and as a result of Police Enquiries from the 1 April 2015 to the 31 March 2016 inclusively.

Year/Month	Number of Enforcement visits	Year/Month	Number of Police Enquiries
2015 04	37	2015 04	117
2015 05	46	2015 05	135
2015 06	57	2015 06	109
2015 07	28	2015 07	119
2015 08	60	2015 08	120
2015 09	55	2015 09	128
2015 10	66	2015 10	151
2015 11	30	2015 11	134
2015 12	40	2015 12	117
2016 01	35	2016 01	127
2016 02	19	2016 02	147
2016 03	23	2016 03	154
Total	496	Total	1558

Asylum applications and returns of nationals of Albanian are released on the GOV.UK website at in the latest Immigration statistics January to March 2016:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release In the asylum table as_02_q

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525625/ asylum2-q1-2016-tabs.ods and the returns table rv_03_q

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525001/ returns1-q1-2016-tabs.ods

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to ensure that taxis are wheelchair accessible; and whether they plan to set a target for all taxi firms and hire car operators to have a minimum number of wheelchair accessible vehicles in their fleets by 2020.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) play an important role in enabling disabled people to complete door-to-door journeys independently, and it is essential that they are accessible to those needing to use them.

Local licensing authorities already have powers to determine the categories of vehicle included in their fleets, and we encourage them to ensure a range of passengers are catered for. Whilst wheelchair accessible vehicles are vital for some passengers, for some ambulant disabled people they can be difficult to access. As such we encourage authorities to consider the needs of all potential passengers when determining the make-up of their taxi and PHV fleets.

We currently have no plans to set minimum quotas for wheelchair accessible vehicles.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK civil servants, and of what grade, who work in units, directorates or sub-departments within DEFRA are charged with EU policy formulation, advising on EU policy or enforcing EU policy.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Defra is amongst those Government Departments whose work is most closely linked to and impacted by EU activity, legal frameworks and funding. The majority of policy roles within the Department will or are likely to support EU related work to some degree.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take steps to ensure that all grants awarded by the tobacco policy team in the Department of Health are awarded on a competitive basis.

Lord Prior of Brampton

All grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the last five years have been awarded under Section 64 powers. There are a range of different circumstances under which it would not be appropriate or represent best value for money to run a competed scheme. The grants awarded to ASH have been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.

The assessment of any grant application for funding from ASH is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team. Following this assessment, the Grants Hub makes a decision regarding whether or not to approve the application. These policy assessments contain policy advice to Ministers and so are not made public. Approvals are required from Ministers and from HM Treasury or are subject to a Departmental approval process that has been agreed with HM Treasury.

To identify relevant representations the Department has received would result in disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-04-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will name those businesses that are known to have changed the terms and conditions of their low-paid workers in order to recover some of the costs of paying an increased minimum wage; and what steps they plan to take to discourage businesses from taking such steps.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government believes that it is essential for employers to ensure that their reward packages are competitive, in order to retain and develop the staff who are fundamental to their success. In a growing economy, the National Living Wage should represent an opportunity to invest in talented staff and improve productivity.

The Government does not plan to operate a formal scheme to name employers who change employees’ terms and conditions. But we will continue to be clear that reducing wider remuneration packages and blaming the National Living Wage is short-sighted and not in the spirit of the introduction of the National Living Wage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to make third party insurance compulsory for all cyclists who are making deliveries for Deliveroo and other commercial bicycle delivery companies.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

We have no plans to make insurance compulsory for cyclists. We encourage all cyclists to take out some form of insurance. In fact, many cyclists do through membership of cycling organisations, such as Cycling UK.

Bicycle couriers who work for Deliveroo are self-employed and therefore are still personally liable and responsible for choosing whether or not to have insurance and for ensuring that the insurance is appropriate for them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many civil servants, and of what rank, work in EU units or sub-departments within all UK Government ministerial departments.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

The Department for Exiting the European Union has responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister. In doing this it is working very closely with other government departments.

Workforce planning is primarily the responsibility of each individual department to determine and therefore the information requested is not held centrally.

The Civil Service constantly reviews its capabilities in order to deliver the Government’s agenda and following the EU referendum decision it is critical for the Civil Service to ensure it has the right skills and capabilities to deliver its manifesto commitments and consider all the implications of the EU exit.

Cabinet Office is working with all departments across the Civil Service to better understand their resourcing requirements following the decision to exit the EU.