Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funds the Government has provided for (a) humanitarian efforts and (b) security at the refugee camp in Calais in the last 12 months.

    James Brokenshire

    As part of the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015, the UK committed to providing £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to facilitate the movement of migrants away from Calais by providing support and facilities elsewhere in France.

    Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (or €750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.

    Security at the camps in Calais is the responsibility of the French Government, and the UK Government has not committed funds for this purpose.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has been approached by (a) Stockport local authority, (b) Tameside local authority and (c) the Greater Manchester combined authority to approve the re-designation of school land for housing development in the last three years.

    Edward Timpson

    Since January 2013, the Secretary of State for Education has received:

    • 1 application from Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, this is currently being considered.
    • 4 applications from Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, all have been approved.
    • 19 applications from the Greater Manchester combined authority, 1 is being considered and the other 18 have been approved.

    These figures include applications in those local authorities relating to land held by Academy Trusts under a lease from the local authority.

    The Education Act 2011 requires that the Secretary of State must give consent prior to the disposal of land which has been used for any school or academy in the last eight years. Secretary of State consent is also required under section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 where local authorities wish to dispose of playing field land that has been used by a school in the last ten years. A key consideration for the government is whether the land proposed for disposal could be suitable for use by a new school.

    There are a range of reasons for these disposals. Some disposals are leases from the academy trustees back to the local authority, which allow a children’s centre on site to continue or which provide land for another school. A substantial number of consents refer to local authority maintained school sites for outright disposals where the school has closed or relocated to a new build site.

  • Robert Neill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Robert Neill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Neill on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2015 to Question 15112, when he intends to bring forward amendments to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015; what provisions will apply to office premises that have been granted prior approval for conversion to residential use but which will not be completed before 30 May 2016; and if he will make a statement.

    Brandon Lewis

    We announced on 13 October 2015 that the permitted development right for the change of use from office to residential is to be made permanent, and that those with prior approval will have three years from the date of prior approval in which to change use. Further information on the detail and timing of the regulations will be provided in due course.

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

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 17 March (HL6898), what assessment they have made of the Mont Blanc tunnel fire of 1999 and the implications of that fire and subsequent investigations, inquiries and trials for (1) the construction of a Trans-Pennine Tunnel or other long road tunnels, (2) the safety management of such tunnels, (3) the classes of vehicles that will be permitted to operate through such tunnels, and (4) the licensing and inspection of different classes of vehicles, especially heavy goods vehicles, in using such tunnels.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Trans Pennine Tunnel Study will include the consideration of international best practice in tunnel design and management to learn lessons from around the world. The design and development of a Trans Pennine Tunnel will comply with the current international standards that were changed as a result of the Mont Blanc fire.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the claim by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that the proposal to stop collecting data on the wealthiest 1 per cent in the UK would lead to their wealth being underestimated.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government is not proposing to stop collecting data on the wealthiest 1 per cent in the UK.

    HM Revenue and Customs consulted on a proposal to cease producing statistics on personal wealth based on Inheritance Tax returns. The consultation suggested that the Office for National Statistics’ estimates of personal wealth, based on the household Wealth and Assets Survey, give a better indication of the overall distribution of wealth.

    The Government has not yet published a formal response to the consultation, which has now closed.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what coastguard personnel responded to the incident off Portobello beach in Edinburgh in the early hours of 15 May 2016.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Coastguard Rescue Teams (CRT) from Fisherrow and Queensferry were tasked to respond to the incident off Portobello beach in Edinburgh in the early hours of 15 May 2016.

  • Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many additional employees he plans to hire from outside the civil service for the purposes of negotiating or renegotiating trade deals as a result of the decision to leave the EU; in what roles such employees will be deployed; over what timescale their deployment will take place; and what the cost to the public purse will be of their deployment.

    Greg Hands

    The Department for International Trade has already established a strong and capable trade policy team with significant negotiating experience. The team has more than doubled in size since 23 June and is still growing. On 8th of September, my rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced an open and fair competition to recruit a new Permanent Secretary to lead the Department. We will continue to hire the brightest and best talent from within the UK civil service and from elsewhere in order to deliver the best outcomes for the UK.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress the NHS has made on piloting the recommendations of the National Maternity Review since that review was published in February 2016.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    In its report, Better Births, the National Maternity Review set out a vision for future maternity services which provide safe, personalised, kind, professional and family friendly care. The Maternity Transformation programme was established in July to take forward the recommendations of the Review. It brings together partners from across the system and is independently chaired by Sarah-Jane Marsh, chief executive of Birmingham Children’s Hospital. A comprehensive programme of work is being developed to implement the vision set out in Better Births, early progress includes:

    – The formation of Local Maternity Systems (LMS) to bring commissioners and providers together and develop a local shared vision for improved maternity services and outcomes;

    – The creation of Early Adopters where NHS England is considering applications from LMS to implement key elements of Better Births including personalised care planning, continuity of carer, better postnatal and perinatal mental health care, innovations to the payment system and delivering safer care; and

    – The selection of seven Maternity Choice Pioneers who are working to test ways of improving choice and personalisation for women accessing maternity services and roll out Personalised Maternity Care Budgets.

    On 17 October my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced a series of initiatives to help us meet our ambition to halve by 2030 the rate of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths and brain injuries that occur during or soon after birth, with the

    publication of the Safer Maternity Care action plan. Further detail of the plan can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safer-maternity-care

    “

  • Suella Fernandes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Suella Fernandes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Suella Fernandes on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will provide funding to support the work of the Save a Child’s Heart charity in Holon, Israel.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID does not currently fund Save the Child’s Heart charity in Holon, Israel. Any future funding decisions will be informed by an assessment of need and where DFID can most effectively contribute in the OPTs. DFID is providing £349 million in support of Palestinian development from 2011-15. DFID’s bilateral Palestinian programme contributes to UK policy objectives of a negotiated two-state solution.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 10866, when he plans to publish the job titles and pay grades of appointments to extended ministerial offices.

    Brandon Lewis

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by my rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Matthew Hancock) to PQ17505 answered on 30 November 2015.