Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 31008, how many officials of his Department worked full-time on strategies to tackle homelessness in each of the last five years.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Over the years, this Department always ensured that policy areas, including homelessness, were suitably resourced in order to provide the best possible response to deal with changing priorities.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 2.29 of her Department’s White Paper, Educational excellence everywhere, published in March 2016; what measure her Department plans to use to determine what constitutes a high quality trainee.

    Nick Gibb

    High-quality trainee teachers are central to our ambition of achieving educational excellence everywhere. The White Paper confirmed that we will introduce new quality criteria to inform the allocation of training places to providers of initial teacher training (ITT) for both schools and universities. This will include an assessment of the quality of trainees recruited to ITT courses.

    We will announce further details of the criteria we intend to use shortly; this will begin to inform the allocation of training places to schools and universities from the 2017/18 training year. We anticipate refining the criteria over the coming years, taking account of feedback from the sector and the way in which providers are responding.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Canadian counterpart on steps to secure the release of foreign hostages held by Muslim extremists in the Philippines.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We maintain a close dialogue with our international partners on terrorism and kidnapping, both on a bilateral basis and through international fora. G7 leaders have recently reaffirmed their commitment not to pay ransoms to terrorists, to protect the lives of our nationals, including by reducing terrorist groups access to funding. We do not comment on individual cases.

  • Fiona Mactaggart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Mactaggart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Mactaggart on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria were used to select Wales, Hampshire and Greater Manchester as the locations for the early adopter sites for the second phase trials of independent child trafficking advocates.

    Sarah Newton

    The early adopter sites were chosen because they offer a wide geographical coverage across England and Wales with the potential for differing levels and types of referrals, including children who may have been internally trafficked, as well as those that have been trafficked from abroad.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the announcement of 1 October 2016 that people with long-term degenerative conditions will be exempt from repeat work capability assessments, if he will set out those medical conditions a diagnosis for which will provide such exemption.

    Penny Mordaunt

    There is no condition based entitlement to Employment Support Allowance.

    We will be working over the coming months with medical professionals and other stakeholders to develop functional criteria that will help us identify those with the most severe health conditions or disabilities, for whom repeat work capability assessments can be stopped.

    Rather than a list of specific medical conditions, the criteria will be based on identifying claimants with the most severe health conditions or disabilities where it would be unreasonable to expect the individual to undertake any form or amount of work or work-related activity. This change will only apply to those placed in the Support Group and UC equivalent.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rehman Chishti – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of NHS England on spending on mental health services during 2015-16.

    Alistair Burt

    In total, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have set plans for 2015/16 which reflect an increase in mental health care expenditure in excess of their increase in allocation for the year. NHS England is tracking actual expenditure against those plans and it will report to the Secretary of State at the end of the year on whether those plans have been met.

    Departmental Ministers meet the Chief Executives of NHS England and Monitor regularly and discuss a wide range of issues, including funding for mental health services.

    NHS England was formally established on 1 April 2013.Expenditure by NHS England on Specialist Mental Health Services for 2013/14 was £1.780 billion and £1.795 billion in 2014/15. NHS England’s planned expenditure on Specialist Mental Health Services for 2015/16 is £1.859 billion.

    NHS England has published CCG level expenditure on mental health for 2013/14, which was estimated to be £8.1 billion. CCGs are currently in the process of preparing estimates of expenditure for mental health services in 2014/15. Estimates for 2015/16 are not available.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Government sought assurances from Royal Mail that local collection offices would not be closed after the sale of that company.

    Anna Soubry

    Decisions on whether to close and re-locate local collection offices have always been operational matters for Royal Mail. The Government played no role in such decisions prior to the sale of Royal Mail.

    Regardless of ownership, Royal Mail, as the United Kingdom’s designated universal service provider, is required to provide a universal postal service that meets the minimum requirements as set out under the Postal Services Act 2011.

    It is the responsibility of the postal regulator, Ofcom, to ensure that Royal Mail provides sufficient access points to meet its universal postal service obligations.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what advice the Financial Conduct Authority provides to UK banks and building societies offering mortgages on properties in the Occupied Palestinian. Territories.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Under the definition of a regulated mortgage contract in article 61(3)(a) of the Financial Services and Markets Act (Regulated Activities) Order 2001, passed by Parliament, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not regulate mortgage activities where the mortgaged property is not in the UK.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total net immigration into the UK between 1997 and 2015.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Prime Minister’s Oral Statement of 22 February 2016, Official Report, column 35, on the European Council, whether his Department is undertaking planning in the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the EU referendum.

    Mr David Gauke

    At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.