Tag: Louise Haigh

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many meetings his Department has had with representatives of each sector of the economy on exiting the EU since he took office.

Mr Robin Walker

DExEU officials, supported by officials across Government, are engaging with business to identify the key factors that will affect our negotiations with the EU. We have a formal strategy and are engaging with companies big and small in every sector of the economy and are drawing on local and regional networks and key organisations in the voluntary sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-10-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his policy to set the extra resources needed for the Civil Service to plan, prepare and negotiate the UK’s exit from the EU within the parameters of the 2015 Spending Review.

Mr David Gauke

The Government is preparing for the UK to make an orderly and successful exit from the European Union. The Government will look to deliver its aggregate spending plans.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that personal information housed on the Government Gateway system is better protected.

Matthew Hancock

The Government takes cyber security very seriously.We have invested more than £860 million in cyber-security and we will continue to do everything in our power to protect organisations and individuals from attacks.Government Gateway has an on-going security programme, and more broadlyCyber security is a Tier 1 risk in the National Strategic Risk Assessment, alongside international terrorism. We urge all online service users to keep their log-in details safe, be suspicious of unsolicited emails and keep their anti-virus software up to date.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of senior civil servants in her Department attended (a) non-selective state schools, (b) state selective schools, (c) independent schools, fee assisted and (d) independent schools, not fee assisted.

Nick Gibb

The Department for Education does not collect or hold this information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what average time his Department took to respond to freedom of information requests in each year since 2005.

Dominic Raab

The Government publishes statistics on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within central government, including on timeliness. These can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has held with the government of Nigeria on the situation in Biafra.

James Duddridge

The UK fully supports the territorial integrity of Nigeria and President Buhari’s commitment to work for a secure and prosperous Nigeria for all Nigerians. President Buhari has recently concluded the appointment of a new Government. We will continue to underline the importance of freedom of expression and acting in accordance with the rule of law with all parties, including the new Nigerian government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to extend the remit of the Care Quality Commission to include the regulation of all day centres; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 all providers of regulated activities, have to register with CQC and meet a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall.

The Department is responsible for setting in legislation both the scope of registration and the fundamental standards that registered providers must meet. These are set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

The scope of registration is proportionate to risk and based on the activity being carried out rather than the setting. Day centres that carry on a regulated activity are required to register with CQC and to meet the fundamental standards. In most instances they will be registered to provide the regulated activity of personal care.

The Department keeps the regulated activities under review to ensure that regulation by CQC is focused on those areas where the risks to service users are greatest. The Department has no current plans to require all providers of day centres to register with CQC.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-27.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to bring forward new regulations or guidance on divestment or boycott policies pursued by local authorities.

Matthew Hancock

Cabinet Office will shortly issue guidance that reminds public authorities of their international obligations when letting public contracts. It will make clear that boycotts in public procurement are inappropriate and may be illegal, outside where formal legal sanctions, embargoes and restrictions have been put in place by the Government.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is currently working to give effect to the recent announcement on Local Government Pension Scheme funds’ investment allocations, specifically the extent to which administering authorities should have regard to non-financial factors. Guidance will be issued to local authorities in the new year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servants in his Department are in the redeployment pool.

Mr Julian Brazier

As at 31 October 2015 the number of Ministry of Defence civil servants in the redeployment pool was 240 (rounded to the nearest 10).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of farmers who received payments under the Environment Stewardship Scheme in October rather than August 2015 as a result of the withdrawal of online applications for such payments.

George Eustice

Environmental Stewardship (ES) claims are administered by Natural England. Historically, about 60% of advance payments have previously been paid in August.

All ES and Basic Payment Scheme claims have to be cross-checked before payment can be made in line with European regulatory requirements. This year, due mainly to the extension of the claims deadline, it was necessary to delay ES advance payments until they could be cross-checked. From 2018, new European rules will prevent any payments from being made before 16 October each year.

Natural England had paid 28,523 (60.24%) of advance payments by the end of October. Ninety-two percent of ES advance payments have now been made, and Natural England aims to pay the remainder of advance claims by the end of December.