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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential for driverless cars to improve the efficiency of use of road space on motorways.

    Andrew Jones

    Connected and autonomous vehicles could potentially have significant impacts on traffic flow and road network efficiency. The government recognises that this is an important issue and needs to be better understood to properly inform long-term policy and investment decisions. For this reason, the Department for Transport is currently conducting research to explore the traffic flow impacts of connected and autonomous vehicles. This work is ongoing, and forms part of a much wider programme of research and development that the Government is supporting to examine the issues associated with these technologies.

  • Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-04-22.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of reductions in HM Revenue and Customs funding on efforts to tackle tax evasion and avoidance.

    Mr David Gauke

    In the last Parliament, more than 40 changes were made to tax law, closing down loopholes and introducing major reforms to the UK tax-system. These measures are estimated to have raised over £12 billion by the end of 2015-16.

    At Summer Budget 2015, the government gave HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) an extra £800 million to fund additional work to tackle evasion and non-compliance by 2020-21. This will enable HMRC to recover a cumulative £7.2 billion in tax over the next five years by tackling evasion and non-compliance. It is committed to raising an additional £5 billion a year through tackling tax avoidance, aggressive tax planning, tax evasion, non-compliance and imbalances in the tax system by 2019-20.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to implement the findings of the Waterson Review on secondary ticketing published on 26 May as required by section 94 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government is considering Professor Waterson’s Review and will publish its response in due course.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2016-07-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the Specialised Criminal Court in Saudi Arabia to sentence Ali Mohammed Baqir Al-Nimr, Abdullah Al-Zaher and Dawood Al-Marhoon to death by crucifixion for seeking democratic reforms in that country.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country, especially for crimes other than the most serious and for juveniles, in line with the minimum standards set out in the EU Guidelines on the Death Penalty of 2008 and the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Arab Charter on Human Rights.

    We continue to raise the cases of Ali Al-Nimr, Dawood Al-Marhoon and Adullah Al-Zaher with the Saudi authorities at the highest levels, including during the former Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond)’s most recent visit to Saudi Arabia on 29 May. We expect that Ali Al-Nimr and the two others who were convicted as juveniles will not be executed.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what opportunities are available to households in Scotland with dynamically teleswitched meters to switch between electricity suppliers.

    David Mundell

    Households in Scotland with dynamically teleswitched meters can switch to a single-rate or an Economy 7 tariff offered by their existing supplier or by a rival supplier. At present, some suppliers may require the dynamically teleswitched meter to be replaced at a cost to the customer and they may suffer a loss of functionality. In its final report in June, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) included in its remedies an order on energy suppliers with more than 50,000 domestic customers to make all their single-rate electricity tariffs available to all existing and new domestic electricity customers with restricted meters, without requiring the meter to be replaced. Suppliers will also need to ensure these customers receive regular information on the options to switch supplier or tariff. The Citizens Advice will become a recognised provider of information and support for customers with restricted meters.

  • Melanie Onn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Melanie Onn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the current shortage of Certificate of Professional Competence qualified drivers is for the logistics industry; and what the shortage forecast for such drivers is expected to be in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

    Andrew Jones

    Government data (the Office of National Statistics Labour Force Survey) estimates there are 299,000 large goods vehicle drivers, up 40,000 on 2013. Other people require Certificates of Professional Competence to drive large goods vehicles as part of other jobs or to drive public service vehicles. The Department for Transport has not estimated or forecast the shortage of large goods vehicle drivers, although it recognises there is a significant shortage and is aware of industry estimates of its size.

    Prior to the introduction of the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) the department has worked closely with stakeholders who provided estimates of how many Driver Qualification Cards (DQCs) it was necessary to issue to professional drivers in order to ensure continuity of service. Estimates provided ranged from 500,000 to 750,000. The department has now issued over 900,000 DQCs and continues to work with the logistics sector’s representative groups to support them in creating industry-led solutions to any potential shortage of professional drivers.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the effect on the income of a new claimant of universal credit who is not migrating from a legacy benefit of the Government’s proposed changes to universal credit announced in the Summer Budget 2015 in each of the next four financial years.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost

  • Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to Recommendation 8 of his Department’s Triennial Review of the NHS Litigation Authority (NHS LA), published in July 2015, when he expects the NHS LA to publish its evaluation report of its pilot mediation programme.

    Ben Gummer

    The NHS Litigation Authority (NHS LA) recently undertook a mediation pilot in order to encourage and increase the use of mediation as a means of resolving claims against the National Health Service. The success of the pilot was evaluated and has demonstrated that mediation is highly effective as a forum for delivering early resolution for families and healthcare staff, particularly in delivering quality outcomes which are about more than just financial compensation. The lessons learned from the evaluation are being considered carefully in order to inform the NHS LA’s strategy to increase mediation and potentially, to offer a mediation service. The Triennial Review did not state publication of the mediation pilot outcomes.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications of the announcement by Sri Lanka’s President Sirisena that he will not allow foreign judges to participate in the inquiry into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Her Majesty’s Government has always been clear that any accountability mechanism needs to be credible and meet international standards. I therefore welcomed the resolution on Sri Lanka adopted at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in October 2015, co-sponsored by Sri Lanka, which called for the participation of Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers, and authorised prosecutors and investigators, in Sri Lanka’s judicial accountability process. During my visit to Sri Lanka on 14 to 17 January I discussed the importance of an international element in Sri Lanka’s accountability process with both Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Samaraweera. I also wrote to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 28 January to reiterate the UK Government’s commitment to working with the UN, Sri Lanka and our other international partners to ensure full implementation of the UNHRC resolution.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 25610, how many national minimum wage enquiries were made to (a) the Pay and Work Rights Helpline and (b) Acas between 2009-10 and 2014-15 by (i) domiciliary and (ii) residential care workers.

    Nick Boles

    Information on the number of enquiries to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline or Acas by workers from the ‘domiciliary care’ and ‘residential care’ sector is not available. The answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 25610 represents the most detailed breakdown of trade sector information available.

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