Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people working for his Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Ben Gummer

    Cabinet Office has no one paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

    The Crown Commercial Service, which is an agency of the Cabinet Office, has seven staff who are paid less than the national living wage and one person paid less than the London living wage but none are on zero-hours contracts. One agency staff member working in the Cabinet Office is paid less than the national living wage but none are on zero-hours contracts.

    In line with the practice of previous Administrations we do not require companies contracted to the Department to pay the living wage to the staff they employ. There are currently 63 individuals working in the Cabinet Office for companies contracted to the Department that are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation, and 14 are on zero hours contracts.

  • Lord Stevenson of Balmacara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lord Stevenson of Balmacara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevenson of Balmacara on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they estimate that the UK Local Division and the London section of the Central Division of the Unified Patents Court premises in Aldgate Tower will be completed.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The building work at the premises at Aldgate Tower is now largely complete.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on recoverable costs in medical negligence cases.

    Ben Gummer

    The fixed recoverable cost regime is seeking to streamline claims for clinical negligence, focusing on what is required for a fair and proportionate resolution and encouraging a process that is more resource efficient and that incentivises the right behaviours by all parties. It extends the benefits of fixed cost regimes already realised in other areas of personal injury, as recommended by Lord Justice Jackson,and is not about the number of claims being brought.

  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Dunlop on 9 December (HL4222, HL4272 and HL4321), which peers and MPs who are based in Northern Ireland were invited by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers, to her briefing on the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Bill on 23 November; at what time and where the briefing took place; and why no peer or MP from Northern Ireland appears to have received the invitation circulated electronically.

    Lord Dunlop

    An invitation to the briefing on the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Bill was circulated electronically to all Peers via the Usual Channels. The briefing was held on Monday 23 November at 12 noon in Committee Room 4A at the House of Lords.

  • Ian Liddell-Grainger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Ian Liddell-Grainger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Liddell-Grainger on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what research her Department has conducted or commissioned on the link between poor sanitation and associated hygiene practices and maternal and newborn health and survival.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    DFID is providing £16 million over 8 years for SHARE (Sanitation and Hygiene Applied Research for Equity), a research consortium led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. SHARE has funded five key studies which have significantly advanced our understanding of this critical issue and put water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) firmly on the global maternal & newborn health (MNH) agenda. Research includes a systematic review establishing the impact of WASH on maternal mortality and a cohort study in Odisha, India that has provided the first rigorous evidence that poor sanitation during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, low birthweight, spontaneous abortion and still birth

    DFID is also providing £7.2 million of funding to support the Sanitation, Hygiene Infant Nutrition Efficacy (SHINE) trial currently underway in Zimbabwe. The trial aims to prove and describe the causal relationship between sanitation and child stunting.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Daesh fighters in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The political crisis in Yemen remains extremely concerning, particularly the risk that terrorist organisations such as Daesh-Yemen continue to exploit the deteriorating situation to consolidate their support base and capabilities in Yemen. Throughout 2015, we saw an expansion of Daesh-Yemen, albeit starting from a small base. We continue to work with regional and international partners to tackle the threat posed by terrorist organisations including Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Daesh-Yemen. For operational reasons we cannot comment in detail on this activity.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the proportion of rivers, lakes, coastal and ground waters in the UK that (a) are compliant with the EU Water Framework Directive and (b) will be so compliant by 2020; and when she expects all UK waters to achieve good status.

    Rory Stewart

    The principle environmental objective of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is to protect and enhance all bodies of surface and groundwater so as to prevent deterioration, with the aim of achieving good status for all water bodies by December 2015. The WFD provides exemptions which allow the deadline to be extended to 2021 or 2027 and, in some cases, a less stringent objective to be set, for reasons of disproportionate cost or technical feasibility.

    Implementation of the WFD in the UK is a devolved matter. In England, 19% of water bodies are currently good status or better, 22% are predicted to achieve good status or better by 2021, and 75% of all water bodies have an objective of good or better status.

    The breakdown by water category is detailed in the table below.

    % water bodies at good or better now

    % water bodies predicted to be achieve good by 2021

    % water bodies with an objective of good or better

    Rivers

    17

    20

    74

    Lakes

    16

    19

    80

    Coastal

    44

    48

    71

    Transitional (estuarine)

    21

    25

    58

    Groundwater

    42

    48

    72

    All waters

    19

    22

    75

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  • Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the impact assessment of reforms to funding and financial support to nursing, midwifery and AHP bursary students, dated 7 April 2016, considered the costs to higher education institutions of access agreement contributions approved by the Director of Fair Access to Higher Education.

    Ben Gummer

    The impact assessment for the health education funding reforms estimates the combined income to higher education institutions from tuition fees and teaching grant, including an average reduction for the cost of access agreements.

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on applicants for legal aid in cases of domestic violence of the requirement that victims provide substantial written evidence; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Government is absolutely clear that victims of domestic violence must have access to the help that they need, including access to legal aid.

    As I updated the House on 21 April, the Ministry of Justice has begun work with domestic violence support groups, legal representative bodies and colleagues across government to gather data and further develop our understanding of the issues facing victims of domestic violence when applying for legal aid. The findings will be used to inform an evidence-based and sustainable solution, with the aim of drawing up replacement regulations.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the benefits to the UK economy of video games tax relief.

    Jane Ellison

    The creative industries make a valuable cultural contribution to the UK, they are also an important part of a dynamic and diversified economy.

    In its first two years the video games tax relief aided the production of 135 games, supporting £417 million of production spending in this country.

    The latest statistics on all of the creative sector tax reliefs can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/creative-industries-statistics-july-2016

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