Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what non-disclosure agreements the Department for Constitutional Affairs made in 2003–04, and on what date each agreement was made.

    Lord Faulks

    The information requested is not held centrally.

    The Ministry of Justice is the successor department to the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Searches have been conducted for the information requested. These searches have revealed no trace of any records that relate to such non-disclosure agreements, nor any references to records that were held previously and destroyed.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will exempt adults with disabilities whose partner is unable to share the same bedroom due to that disability from the under-occupancy penalty.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Courts recently accepted that disability in itself does not mean that couples are unable to share a bedroom and administering an exemption would be extremely challenging.

    Instead, to help people with difficult situations, the Government has provided additional Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) funding. Since the introduction of this policy DHP funding has been as follows:

    • £180 million was provided in 2013/14
    • £165million was provided in 2014/15 and £125 million in 2015/16.
    • We have already announced a further £800 million in DHP funding for the next 5 years.
  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what working definition of imminence his Department uses in the application of article 51 of the UN Charter.

    Penny Mordaunt

    It has long been the position of successive UK Governments that "the inherent right of self-defence", as recognised in Article 51 of the UN Charter, does not require a State to wait until an armed attack is actually under way before it can lawfully use force to alleviate the threat. A State may use force in anticipation of an armed attack where such an attack is imminent, provided that such force is both necessary and proportionate to averting the threat. The assessments would depend on the facts of each case, with consideration likely to include issues such as the nature and immediacy of the threat, the probability of an attack, its scale and effects and whether it can be prevented without force.

  • Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will issue the draft environmental statement on Phase 2 of High Speed Two (Fradley to Crewe).

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    HS2 Ltd is already undertaking environmental surveys, meeting communities and carrying out ground investigation works on the planned line of route as part of its preparation for a Phase 2a hybrid Bill.

    This early investigation and engagement will inform a draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, which we expect to publish for consultation in autumn 2016. The draft report will show the potential environmental impacts of the scheme and indicative steps to mitigate them.

  • Lord Dholakia – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Dholakia – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Dholakia on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations regarding Tier 2 visas meet the letter and spirit of the Joint Statement on the UK-India Summit of November 2015.

    Lord Bates

    The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent body and its recommendations are not a statement of Government policy. We thank the MAC for their report and we are currently considering the findings carefully. We will announce our response in due course.

    Doctors from overseas make a valuable contribution to the running of our NHS and we will consider the potential impacts on them in making our decisions. The Minister for Immigration met the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and the Minister of State for Home Affairs during a visit to India in February and had wide ranging and constructive talks, including discussion of the MAC’s report on Tier 2.

    The Government fully respects the UK’s international commitments and remains strongly committed to the free trade agenda. The UK immigration system continues to support inward investment and trade.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria will be used to decide what material will be redacted from the Iraq Inquiry report during the national security checking process.

    Matthew Hancock

    The following Departments will be involved in National Security checking: Cabinet Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and the Intelligence Agencies.

    National Security checking will ensure that the Government meets its obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights so that on publication the lives or safety of individuals are not put at risk. It will also ensure that publication of the report will not compromise national security.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to require bus operators to use greener fuel.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    A series of measures have been brought in in recent years to encourage bus operators to use greener fuels.

    Under the Green Bus Fund which ran from 2009-2014, £89m of Government funding helped purchase over 1200 buses. These vehicles met strict rules covering reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, compared with ordinary buses, taking into account both the production and consumption of the fuel. The Low Emission Bus Scheme (LEBS), announced last year, will provide over £30m to help buy several hundred more low emission buses.

    The Government is also encouraging the uptake of greener vehicles through the Bus Service Operators Grant low carbon emission bus incentive under which eligible services receive an additional 6p per kilometre.

    The Bus Services Bill, which was introduced into the House of Lords on 19th May, will provide local transport authorities with new powers to specify the emission standards to be met by local bus services – including through franchising and, with sufficient support from bus operators, under enhanced partnership arrangements.

    The Government has also invested over £26m since 2011 under the Clean Bus and Clean Vehicle Technology Funds for local authorities in pollution hotspots across England to retrofit 1000s of buses, and other vehicles, with pollution reducing technology. This includes converting some buses to either natural gas or to electric propulsion.

  • Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 12 July (HL883), what steps they are taking with regard to the withdrawal of banking services to encourage banks to take a risk-based approach and to ensure that the measures they take are effective and proportionate; and what assessment they have made of the extent to which that encouragement has been effective.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The government engages regularly with the banking industry and those affected by de-risking in order to facilitate communication. The aim of this is to improve banks’ understanding of how affected sectors work and to improve affected sectors’ understanding of how they can best meet the banks’ requirements for providing services. This process has led to the British Bankers’ Association developing tailored ‘access to banking’ guidance for affected sectors.

    The government continues to work with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who recently published research into the withdrawal of banking services. The FCA are also working with the banking industry to lessen the damaging effects of de-risking without constraining banks’ commercial freedom.

    Internationally, the UK has been instrumental in making de-risking a priority for the G20 and the Financial Stability Board. The government is working with the Bank of England and the FCA on internationally agreed guidance to financial institutions that will clarify regulatory expectations, making their responsibilities clearer to allow a more risk-based approach and better appraisal of risks.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what prisons and security-related sales and services the UK is (a) contracted to provide and (b) planning to provide to other countries in (i) 2017, (ii) 2018 and (iii) 2019.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    As has been announced previously we want the Ministry of Justice to focus firmly on its domestic reform programmes. NOMS continues to be committed to supporting international cross government priorities but does not provide commercial services to other jurisdictions, and has no plans to do so in the future.

    The National Offender Management Service can provide foreign jurisdictions access to a range of information covered by Crown Copyright, including accredited programmes and related assessments and training where there is no, or minimal impact upon resources. This material is delivered in return for a fee, under a licence agreement. The fee is charged on the basis of cost recovery only.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to encourage investment in improvement of the environment as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.

    Greg Hands

    The Chancellor will set out the next steps in his plans for the Northern Powerhouse and investment in the environment in the combined Autumn Statement and Spending Review on 25 November.