Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Israeli government on tackling the spread of Daesh in the Middle East.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have regular discussions with the Israeli Government on shared security threats. These include sharing analysis on the spread of Daesh across the Middle East, and discussing our efforts to tackle this spread, including through the Global Counter-Daesh Coalition, international sanctions, and support to bolster countries in the region, such as Jordan.

    I will be visiting Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories later this month where I will continue these discussions.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for the policies of the Cabinet Office of the recommendations of the Mental Health Taskforce report, published in February 2016.

    Alistair Burt

    We welcome the recommendations for government in the report and will be considering how best to integrate them into our work programme. There will be an impact on policies across Government in this period and, more importantly, a positive impact on people using mental health services.

    The Mental Health Five Year Forward View Taskforce Report proposes, and we accept, investing over £1 billion of additional funding by 2020/21 to reach one million more people. There are a number of recommendations in the report which will have an impact on crisis care services, accident and emergency departments, mothers suffering from mental health problems, suicide prevention, children and young people’s mental health services, access to psychological therapies and the physical health of people with mental health problems. The £1 billion announced with the Taskforce report is the total annual cost for all areas in 2020/21.

    Announcements on the development of policies, including those with reference to implementing the Mental Health Taskforce will be made in due course.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department sets targets related to the closing of benefit claims of people referred to the work programme.

    Priti Patel

    There are no targets set for providers in relation to the closing of benefit claims, though for a job to be eligible for outcome payments, providers must support people into enough work to take them off out-of-work benefits.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against her Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

    George Eustice

    The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en.

    “

  • Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    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.

  • Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-07-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the new Lord Chancellor meets the criteria for appointment laid down in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

    Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

    Appointments of Government Ministers and the Lord Chancellor are for the Prime Minister to recommend to Her Majesty. I would note that Section 2 of the 2005 Act explicitly states that the Prime Minister may take into account experience as a Minister of the Crown and as a member of either House of Parliament when deciding whether a person is qualified by experience to be Lord Chancellor.

    I would also refer the noble peer to the speech by the Lord Chief Justice at the swearing in of the Lord Chancellor, which provides background on the Lord Chancellor’s experience, but also the historical context of those who have had custody of the Great Seal of the Realm, including its first female keeper back in 1253.

    https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/lcj-speech-swearing-in-lord-chancellor-july2016.pdf

    “

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether personal independence payment (PIP) assessors employed by (a) his Department, (b) Capita and (c) Atos Healthcare have targets of how many PIP claims they (i) reject and (ii) accept.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The role of contracted Assessment Providers is to carry out health and disability assessments on behalf of the Department. They do not determine if a claim to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is successful. They provide a report to DWP decision makers who then determine entitlement to benefit. No targets are in place as to how many applications are successful.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time is for a disability benefit appeal to reach a tribunal; and what steps he is taking to reduce that average time.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The First-tier Tribunal – Social Security and Child Support, administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ decisions on a range of benefits.

    HMCTS is unable to provide the information requested as it is not held centrally.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which scheduled bus journeys have had subsidies (a) withdrawn and (b) introduced in each (i) county and (ii) unitary council in the North West of England since June 2010.

    Andrew Jones

    My Department does not hold this data, as decisions about the provision of bus services that require subsidy are a matter for individual English local authorities, in the light of their other spending priorities. Latest figures (2013-14) show that almost £74 million was spent by local authorities in the North West of England doing so.

    The majority of public funding for local bus services is via block grant provided to local authorities in England from the Department for Communities and Local Government. However, my Department also provides around £40m of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) funding directly to English local authorities to help deliver bus services.

    Moreover, in the recent Spending Review, the Chancellor confirmed that the total spending on BSOG of around £250 million a year will be protected for the Parliament, effectively preserving over 80 million bus passenger journeys – totalling over 50 million miles – in England every year.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the (a) title and (b) date is of each memorandum of understanding signed by a Government department with another country since 2010.

    James Duddridge

    I refer to the answer I gave on 11 January to Question 20196. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.