Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will introduce for the rest of the UK equivalent powers as those proposed in the Scotland Bill on fixed odds betting terminals.

    Tracey Crouch

    The Scotland Bill would give the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Ministers the power to vary the number of sub-category B2 gaming machines (FOBTs) permitted by new betting premises licences. The UK Government would retain the equivalent powers on FOBTs for the rest of the UK, except for Northern Ireland where gambling is a devolved matter.

    In line with our commitment in the St David’s Day Agreement, the UK Government is giving careful consideration to whethernon-fiscal recommendations from Lord Smith’s commission on devolving powers should be implemented for Wales.

  • Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress has been made with the US and Scottish Governments on lifting the US import ban on haggis.

    George Eustice

    The United States does not accept imports of haggis containing sheep lungs. Former Secretary of State for Defra, Owen Paterson, lobbied US authorities during his visit in 2014 and the Government continues to encourage the US to adjust its ban on UK haggis. Scottish haggis producers are developing a US-specific recipe to allow them to access the market once the wider EU negotiations on lifting the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy restrictions on EU lamb are concluded.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contingency arrangements his Department has made for the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the upcoming EU referendum.

    Penny Mordaunt

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 January 2016 to Question 21931.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether UK personnel have been involved in military targeting planning meetings in Libya.

    Earl Howe

    We continue to engage with the Libyan authorities to support the UN political process and to counter the growth of extremist groups in Libya, including Daesh. The UK is considering, alongside our partners, how we can best support the new government.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action the Prime Minister intends to take regarding the continued construction of the illegal settlements in the West Bank following his comments that those settlements are genuinely shocking” and an “infringement into Palestinian lives and land”.”

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We will continue to raise our objections to settlements with the Israeli government. On 18 February during his visit to Israel, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), discussed the issue of settlement with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reiterating the UK’s position.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with Universities UK on reviewing the Zellick guidelines.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government asked Universities UK to establish a taskforce to explore what more can be done by the higher education sector to prevent, and respond effectively, to incidents of violence and sexual harassment against women, hate crimes and other forms of harassment. The taskforce is expected to report its findings in the autumn.

    To date Universities UK have received 59 written representations from universities, plus additional evidence from a wide range of agencies and organisations.

    Universities UK has published an update of the recent taskforce meeting, which addressed the Zellick guidelines. The Government looks forward to receiving the taskforce’s final report in due course.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Japanese and (b) South Korean counterparts on the development of nuclear weapons by those countries.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    While the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has discussed nuclear non-proliferation issues with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts this year, the specific issue raised in the question has not arisen: in joining the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as Non-Nuclear Weapons States, Japan and South Korea have undertaken legally binding commitments not to acquire nuclear weapons. Japan and the Republic of Korea have made clear public statements that strongly support the treaty as the cornerstone of global efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, to promote the safe and secure use of civil nuclear energy, and to pursue nuclear disarmament.

  • Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-07-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what tariff levels UK exports of goods and services would be subject to if the UK traded under WTO regulations with the remaining 27 countries of the EU, listed by category.

    Lord Price

    If the UK were to leave the EU without having negotiated a preferential trade deal, then under WTO rules neither the UK nor the EU could offer each other better market access than that offered to all other WTO members.

    The bound levels of access for goods and services into the EU under WTO rules are set out in the EU’s schedules of commitments and are publicly available on the WTO website.

    The bound levels of access for goods and services from the EU into the UK under WTO rules would be an issue for the government to consider in due course.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the NHS staff and recruitment needs for (a) the North East, (b) County Durham and (c) Easington constituency.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    No estimate has been made by the Department. Health Education England (HEE), an independent arms-length body, has been established to ensure the National Health Service has access to the right numbers of staff, at the right time and with the right skills. In doing so, HEE works with key external stakeholders to develop its National Workforce Plan for England which sets out the number of training places it will commission in the year ahead. The latest Workforce Plan for England, together with annexes detailing planned commissions by Local Education and Training Boards, is available at:

    https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/planning-commissioning/workforce-planning/commissioning-investment-plan-england-2016-17

    HEE is investing in the development of Local Workforce Action Boards (LWABs), which will provide strategic leadership in the development of local workforce strategies. HEE has been leading on the development of a LWAB for Cumbria and the North East. The LWAB will meet in October to agree priorities to support the local workforce.

  • Clive Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Clive Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of Green Deal Home Improvement funding that was allocated to deprived areas.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund was available to owners and occupiers of residential property situated in England or Wales. Provided such applicants met the scheme eligibility criteria, they were free to apply. Funding was not centrally allocated to any particular areas based on deprivation or any other criteria.