UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on which occasions officials of his Department have met representatives of the Royal Bank of Scotland in each of the last five years; and what topics were discussed at each such meeting.

    Harriett Baldwin

    HM Treasury officials meet regularly with representatives of financial services firms, including Royal Bank of Scotland, to discuss a wide range of domestic and international financial services issues. However, the Department does not maintain a registry of working level meetings.

  • 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.

  • Baroness Kramer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Kramer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kramer on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 7 April (HL7283), how many people have taken up the Married Couple’s Allowance in each (1) Parliamentary constituency, and (2) local authority area.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs’ plans for advertising Marriage Allowance evolved over time.

    HMRC does not hold data on the number of customers that have applied for Marriage Allowance by Local Authority or Parliamentary Constituency.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which NHS bodies will authorise Sustainability and Transformation Plan footprints; what role NHS Improvement will play; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    The NHS Shared Planning Guidance asked the National Health Service to develop proposed footprints for Sustainability and Transformation Plans by 29 January 2016, engaging with local authorities and other partners. The footprints were then reviewed by the national arm’s length bodies, including NHS Improvement, with regard to geography (including patient flow), scale, fit with footprints of existing change programmes, financial sustainability, and leadership capacity. There were one or two areas where further clarification was sought and, following further conversations locally, changes were agreed.

    The process for Sustainability and Transformation Plans is designed to bring together health and care leaders to support improvements in health and care based on the needs of local populations. It does not alter the existing accountabilities of clinical commissioning groups, local authorities and NHS provider organisations.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help prevent the hunting to extinction of endangered species.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK has been working through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to tighten controls ensuring that trophies of endangered species are only exported if the animals were hunted sustainably.

    CITES import controls are currently implemented at an EU-wide level. In light of growing concerns about the sustainability of the hunting of some species, stricter controls on the import of hunting trophies of six species, including lions and African elephants, have been introduced. On the advice of EU CITES scientific experts, Member States also prohibit the importation of a number of species from certain countries where there is uncertainty about sustainability, such as elephant hunting trophies from Mozambique and Tanzania.

    We continue to monitor the impact of trophy hunting and will work to put in place greater protection, including prohibiting imports, if this is shown to be needed. For example, I announced on 24 November 2015 that the Government will ban lion trophy imports by the end of 2017 unless there are improvements in the way hunting takes place in certain countries, judged against strict criteria.

    The UK is also pushing for tougher hunting trophy controls to be agreed at the 17th Conference of Parties to CITES in the autumn. A UK-led EU proposal aims to agree global guidelines to ensure that hunting trophy exports are sustainable, and agree clear criteria on when lion trophy hunting can be considered acceptable.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to his Oral Statement of 5 September 2016, Official Report, columns 38 to 41, how many of his Department’s 300 officials were recruited for their ability to speak a second language.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The Department for Exiting the EU now has over 200 staff, and is growing fast. The overall size and scope of the new Department, including staffing and budget, are regularly reviewed. We will ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with all aspects of the forthcoming negotiation. There are currently 43 (French) speaker slots in UKRep, for which the staff require operational language skills to undertake the post. For the wider Department there are a number of staff with language skills, however these are not currently a requirement of the posts and were not the determining factor in recruitment. We are undertaking work to identify the skills required for the future so this position may change in due course.

  • 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.