Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK diplomats have taken secondment to the European External Action Service in each year since 2010.

    Mr David Lidington

    Since 2010, there have been 28 UK officials seconded to the European External Action Service (EEAS). Of these, 20 were UK diplomats from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO); 8 were from other government departments. The numbers of diplomats can be broken down by calendar year in which they took up their secondment as follows:

    FCO number of TAs

    2010 5
    2012 2
    2013 6
    2014 2
    2015 5

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-07-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Sir Julian King will be obliged to swear an oath of allegiance to the EU, and what assessment they have made of whether that oath will conflict with the decision of the UK to leave the EU.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We remain a full member of the EU until we leave and it is therefore our right under the treaties to have a Commissioner during that period. On their appointment, Commissioners are required to give a solemn undertaking to respect their obligations as Commissioners and behave with integrity and discretion.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to (a) improve access to and (b) increase funding of mental health services in (i) the North East, (ii) County Durham and (iii) Easington constituency.

    Nicola Blackwood

    This Government remains committed to achieving parity of esteem for mental health. We have invested more than ever before in mental health with spending on mental health estimated to have increased to £11.7 billion.

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are committed to increasing spending on mental health further each year in line with the increase in their overall funding allocations. Information on steps being taken locally can be obtained from NHS Durham, Dales, Easington and Sedgefield CCG, and other CCGs in the North East.

    To fund the commitments recommended in the mental health taskforce, we will increase funding over the next five years rising to £1 billion additional expenditure by 2020-21. As announced in January 2016, the Government confirmed additional investment for mental health which includes:

    – £290 million of new investment over the next five years to provide mental healthcare for perinatal care;

    – £247 million to invest in liaison mental health services in emergency departments; and

    – Over £400 million to enable 24/7 treatment in communities as a safe and effective alternative to hospital.

    This builds on the £1.4 billion over five years announced in 2015 for children and young people’s mental health services, including services for eating disorders.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on research into the use of aspirin to improve fertility.

    George Freeman

    The Department has had no such discussions. The Department’s National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including the use of aspirin or other treatments to improve fertility. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an impact assessment was conducted on the provisions contained in the Trade Union Bill that will change the current opt-out process to an opt-in process.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government intends to publish the impact assessment for the Trade Union Bill before Lords’ Committee Stage.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on what the average salary of a Tier 2 worker on an Intra Company Transfer visa is in the IT industry; and how this compares to the industry average.

    James Brokenshire

    Tier 2, the skilled worker route, is designed to fill roles which cannot be filled by a suitable resident worker. The immigration rules, and UK employment law, do not allow workers to be made redundant and directly replaced.

    It is a decision for businesses whether to outsource certain functions. We are, however, mindful of concerns that use of the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) category for third party contracting may undercut or displace resident workers.

    That is why, in June last year, we commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to examine the ICT category as part of its wider review on Tier 2. The MAC published its report on 19 January and it can be found on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migration-advisory-committee-mac-review-tier-2-migration

    Chapter 6 of the report sets out the MAC’s findings on the ICT category, including its use for third party contracting, the salaries paid to IT workers and the impacts on the resident labour market. The MAC found that salaries for these transferees were clustered around the 25th percentile of earnings for resident workers in IT occupations (the current minimum permitted under the immigration rules).

    The Government is currently considering the MAC’s findings carefully and will announce any changes in due course.

  • The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Southwark on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the presence of Daesh in Gaza and the West Bank.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government’s assessment is that there are groups and individuals in the West Bank and (primarily) in Gaza who sympathise with or self-identify as Daesh but are not formally affiliated with them. We remain concerned about a possible Daesh presence and continue to monitor the situation closely.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration was given in the Budget to the commitment made by the Prime Minister, when introducing the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, that there would be a bigger navy by 2030.

    Earl Howe

    Government commitments to maintain defence spending above the NATO target of 2 per cent of GDP, and to increase the defence budget by 0.5 per cent above inflation each year until 2020-21 were unchanged by the Budget.

    We will publish our national shipbuilding strategy later this year, which will lay the foundations for a modern and efficient sector capable of meeting the UK’s future defence and security needs. Furthermore, as announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, we intend to launch a concept study to design and build a new class of lighter, flexible, and exportable frigate so that by the 2030s we can further increase our total number of frigates and destroyers.

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-04-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to introduce maternity pay for self-employed women; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government has continued to improve the support and flexibility of parental pay and leave, spending around £3 billion a year on maternity payments to support pregnant women and new mothers and to help them achieve a better balance between their work and home lives.

    Self-employed mothers can receive Maternity Allowance. The standard rate of Maternity Allowance is the same as the standard rate of Statutory Maternity Pay.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which organisations are consulted in advance of decisions taken on how many (a) doctors and (b) nurses will be trained each year.

    Ben Gummer

    It is Health Education England’s responsibility to ensure that there is sufficient future supply of staff, including doctors and nurses, to meet the workforce requirements of the English health system.

    The Workforce Plan is built upon the needs of local employers, providers, commissioners and other stakeholders who, as members of its Local Education Training Boards (LETBs), shape the 13 local plans.

    The Workforce Plan is predominately an aggregate of the local LETB plans, but the final national plan is only agreed with the advice and input of its clinical advisory groups and Patients’ Advisory Forum, as well as the Royal Colleges and other stakeholders.