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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State of 10 March 2016, Official Report, column 419, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing temporary measures to ensure public safety when drones are used while his Department considers the best action to take.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There are existing regulations in place that require users of drones to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with their vehicle and to not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property. There are severe penalties in place for misuse of drones, such as up to five years imprisonment for endangering an aircraft.

    The Department for Transport (DfT) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) work with a wide range of industry partners across the aviation sector, (including manufacturers, airports, and airlines), to ensure our understanding of potential hazards to aircraft remains up-to-date and mitigations effective. Further work is underway to better understand the risk posed by flying drones close to commercial planes to ensure that regulations remain fit for purpose.

    The DfT is also currently working with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to develop consistent, EU-wide safety rules for drones, including potential technical solutions, such as geo-fencing and frequency jammers around airports.

    Communication and education of users on current safety restrictions will be key. Officials from my Department are actively considering with the CAA the development of an expanded and diversified communication and education campaign, to include more mediums and supporting products, such as smart phone applications. The CAA is running ‘small UAS’ (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Risk and Hazard workshops with industry as part of the Mid Air Collision Programme.

    Guidance on tackling the risks of criminal drone use has been provided to constabularies across the UK. The Secretary of State has written to Police to request their assistance in raising awareness of drone risks and restrictions.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last reviewed the risks posed to financial stability by central clearing houses; and whether such a review took account of the increasing practice of cross-margining linking two or more clearing houses.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Under European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) CCPs in the UK are regulated by the Bank of England. For other information I refer the noble Lord to my written answers of 1 April (HL7153) and 26 April (HL7583, HL7584, HL7585, and HL7586).

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place a copy of the grant application for funding for 2016-17 from Action on Smoking and Health in the Library.

    Nicola Blackwood

    A grant of £160,000 has been awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) for financial year 2016/17 and a copy of the signed award letter, including the detailed deliverables of the grant, is attached.

    Grants made under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 can be made in a number of ways. The grant awarded to ASH has been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.

    The Department received a complaint about the deliverables of the 2015/16 grant awarded to ASH in June this year. The Department responded to the complainant, confirming it was satisfied that none of the deliverables were in breach of the provisions of Section 64.

  • Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Foster on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government plans to give people with dyslexia in the armed forces protection under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

    Mark Lancaster

    There are no plans to extend the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 to cover Service personnel who have dyslexia. The Defence Direction for Specific Learning Difficulties (contained within Joint Service Publication 898 ‘Defence Direction and Guidance on Training, Education and Skills’) provides direction to all Service personnel who have dyslexia, and line managers, trainers and commanders who are required to manage Service personnel with dyslexia. It provides a learning support framework for those identified with dyslexia, ensuring that the Ministry of Defence meets its obligations as a responsible employer.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hoyle on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the United Kingdom’s three largest (1) exports to, and (2) imports from, the European Union.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    The three largest UK exports to, and imports from, the European Union in 2014 are set out in the table below. These data are on a balance of payments basis.

    Three largest UK exports to the European Union in 2014 Value (£ billion)
    Finished manufactures (SITC 7+8) 63
    Semi-manufactures (SITC 5+6) 43
    Fuels (SITC 3) 27

    Three largest UK imports from the European Union in 2014 Value (£ billion)
    Finished manufactures (SITC 7+8) 114
    Semi-manufactures (SITC 5+6) 66
    Food, beverages and tobacco (SITC 0+1) 27
    Source: ONS UK Trade August 2015 release
    Note: the assessment of the top three was made across goods and services,
    but services categories do not rank in the top three

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what formal mechanism exists for sharing information between the Accelerated Access Review and Lord Carter’s review of NHS efficiency.

    George Freeman

    The Accelerated Access Review (AAR), chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor, will make recommendations to government on reforms to accelerate access for National Health Service patients to innovative medicines and medical technologies making our country the best place in the world to design, develop and deploy these products. The terms of the reference for the review focus on faster access to innovations, which may include certain off-patent repurposed drugs, as opposed to the routine availability of medicines or medical technologies.

    Prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR, the Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS including the Innovation, Health and Wealth report. As a result, building upon the lessons of previous reviews is explicit with the terms of reference of the AAR.

    The AAR has regular meetings with senior officials from NHS England via a steering group as recommendations are being developed. In addition, some staff from NHS England have been assigned to support the review team.

    Sir Hugh is still in the process of developing final recommendations which will be published in spring 2016. In his Interim Report published in October, Sir Hugh sets out a proposition on “galvanising the NHS”. This involves supporting the NHS to adopt innovation, more rapidly through better practical support, stronger incentives and the potential streamlining of local structures.

    The Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR. It was clear that whilst progress has been made on the uptake of innovation in the NHS there is still much to do. Sir Hugh and the head of the External Advisory Group, Professor Sir John Bell, set out the case for uptake of innovation in the recently published AAR Interim Report.

    The AAR has senior level contact with officials working on Lord Carter’s review of NHS efficiency to ensure that information is shared between the two teams.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-01-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will place in the Library the report recently concluded by the Financial Conduct Authority on retail investment advice.

    Harriett Baldwin

    HM Treasury has no knowledge of a recent report concluded by the FCA on retail investment advice. If the Honourable Member is referring to the recent Financial Advice Market Review, which was a joint initiative by HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched in August 2015, this review has not yet concluded.

    The Treasury will lay before Parliament any FCA reports or other documents which the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 requires to be laid before Parliament.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on an exemption from the European Commission on the Directive 2006/125/EC on driving licences to enable electric vehicles over 3.5 tonnes to be driven on a B licence.

    Andrew Jones

    The UK has not sought an exemption from Directive 2006/126/EC to enable electric vehicles over 3.5 tonnes to be driven on a Category B licence. Any driver that holds a full category B licence issued before 1 January 1997 has a “grandfather right” to drive vehicles in category C1 – not for hire and reward. We will continue to monitor the situation.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals work at administrator grade staff level in the European Parliament; and what proportion of the total number of that parliament’s employees they represent.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The European Parliament does not publish statistics on numbers of permanent staff by nationality. As of April 2015, our records show there were 144 British citizens working in the European Parliament at administrator grade level, including UK secondees. This represents 2.4% of approximately 6000 total staff employed by the European Parliament in 2015.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take in response to the findings of the Clementi Review into Governance and Regulation of the BBC; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government will set out its plans for the future of the BBC in a White Paper in Spring.