Tag: Michelle Donelan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse has been of investigations into sexual offences in (a) Wiltshire and (b) the UK in each of the last five years.

Karen Bradley

The Home Office does not hold this information. It is an operational decision for chief officers to determine the best use of available resources according to local priorities and held to account by their elected Police and Crime Commissioner.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential benefit to (a) consumers, (b) the economy and (c) the environment of tidal stream technologies.

Jesse Norman

In the development of all its policies, including tidal stream, Government routinely considers the potential benefits and costs to the consumer, the economy and the environment as part of the overall energy mix.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government has taken to resettle Syrian refugees.

Richard Harrington

On 16 December the Prime Minister informed the House we had met our commitment of resettling 1,000 Syrians before Christmas. These refugees form part of the 20,000 that we will resettle during this Parliament, showing that Britain will continue to act in the finest traditions of providing shelter to the most vulnerable.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support her Department provides to farmers who are waiting to receive a single farm payment.

George Eustice

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) started paying Basic Payment Scheme claims from the opening of the payment window on 1 December 2015. As of 21 March 2016, the RPA has paid 72,807 claimants approximately £1.15 billion and remains focused on paying the remainder of claims as promptly as possible.

The RPA has an established financial hardship process and is working with a range of farming help organisations to see what further support could be offered. Following hardship case referrals from these organisations, over 420 farmers have received RPA hardship payments, amounting to more than £6.8 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the provision of medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter for internally displaced people and children in Yemen.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK is the 4^th largest donor to the crisis in Yemen and has more than doubled its humanitarian support over the last year to £85 million for 2015/16. We have so far helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis who have been affected by the conflict with food assistance, medical supplies, water, and emergency shelter, as well as supporting refugees and migrants in Yemen. We work through International Non-Governmental Organisations and United Nations agencies to deliver this assistance, ensuring the response is targeted towards the most vulnerable.

This funding includes support to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to provide over 750,000 Internally Displaced People and people affected by the conflict with access to a safe water supply and critical hygiene items. The UK has also provided funds to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNICEF and Save the Children to raise awareness of child rights, to monitor and support displaced children and to provide children with food, nutritional support, water and sanitation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-06-03.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department is making on tackling aggressive fundraising activities by charities.

Mr Rob Wilson

Last year the Government accepted the recommendations made in a sector-led review of fundraising regulation to support the setup of a new independent regulator with stronger sanctions and control of the code of practice.

Since then there have been several positive changes. The Code of Fundraising Practice has already been strengthened in several areas. The law has been changed in the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 to better protect vulnerable individuals and encourage greater accountability. The Charity Commission has published updated fundraising guidance that emphasises trustees’ role in over-seeing fundraising. Many charities and their representative bodies are already taking their own steps to improve fundraising practices.

The new Fundraising Regulator is due to open in July and will proactively ensure that charities fundraise to the high standards the public expect.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the national living wage on sleep-in shifts in the learning disabilities sector.

Margot James

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) independently advises the Government on the trajectory of the National Living Wage (NLW).As part of their remit, the LPC continues to consult a broad range of stakeholders within the social care sector on the impact of the NLW.

Furthermore, from April 2017, the Spending Review makes available social care funds for local government, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019/20, to be included in the Better Care Fund.

From 2016/17, local councils have also been able to introduce a Social Care Precept, allowing them to increase council tax by 2% above the existing threshold. This could raise nearly £2bn a year for social care by 2019/20. Taken together, these measures mean that local government has access to £3.5 billion of support by 2019/20 – the funding it needs to increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of how much fresh water will be used during each exploratory fracking operation.

Andrea Leadsom

The volume of water used will depend on the site, but estimates suggest that the amount needed to operate a fracked well for a decade may be equivalent to the amount needed to water a golf course for a month, or the amount needed to run a 1,000 MW coal-fired power plant for 12 hours.

In order to carry out hydraulic fracturing activities, an operator is required to seek an abstraction permit from the Environment Agency if more than 20 cubic metres per day of water is to be abstracted from surface or groundwater bodies. If water is instead sourced from a mains supply, the water company will need to ensure it can still meet the conditions of the abstraction permit that it will already be operating under. Whichever source an operator chooses to use, a thorough assessment will be made considering the existing water users’ needs and the environmental impact before permission is granted.

The Infrastructure Act 2015 states that the Secretary of State will only be able to issue hydraulic fracturing consent if satisfied that planning authorities have consulted the relevant water company.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support is provided to GPs to inform them of the research related to and treatments for people with mental health conditions.

Alistair Burt

The Health Education England (HEE) Mandate for 2015-16 reported that “HEE, working with the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Royal College of General Practitioners has developed an e-learning package to support continuing professional development for GPs in mental health ensuring that GPs have ready access to the most up to date knowledge available in this vitally important area of health care. This will enable recognition of mental illness and access to the right care pathway including improving access to psychological therapies and specialist mental health services.”

Further information can be found at:

http://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/mental-health-awareness-programme/more-information/

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to introduce driving tests for drivers who have previously passed that test (a) who are over 70 year old and (b) every 20 years.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport considers that medical fitness and practical competence, not age, are the relevant factors in deciding if a driver can continue to hold a licence. The rules for drivers renewing a license at the age of 70 are designed to be fair and proportionate, and there are no plans to change them.