Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why National Savings and Investments stopped the sale of Premium Bonds for cash in Post Offices and withdrew their brochures, forms and reply envelopes at the same time, and what assessment they have made of the effect of that decision on the sale of Premium Bonds.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    National Savings and Investments’ (NS&I) core remit is to provide cost effective financing for the Government. Over the past few years, NS&I has been moving its business to direct only channels – internet, phone and post – producing significant savings for the taxpayer.

    The end of Premium Bond sales and wider NS&I services at the Post Office was a commercial decision made by NS&I. This decision reflects the way that their customers are choosing to do business with NS&I and also the growth of the Post Office’s own range of savings products. The change followed the success of 65+ Pensioner Bonds, which saw over one million pensioners from around the country invest via direct only channels.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps the UK is taking in Burma to ensure that the three objectives of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative are met.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are persistent in applying pressure to the Burmese government to live up to the commitments it made when it endorsed the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict at the London Global Summit in June 2014.

    During his visit to Burma in July 2015, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), pressed the Burmese government at senior ministerial level on the issue. He also launched the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence. We continue to raise the issue in international fora, including through UN resolutions on Burma at the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, which we co-sponsor. We also facilitated the 2015 visit of the co-founder of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, Angelina Jolie-Pitt. Along with Mr Swire, I was pleased to update selected Parliamentarians on our continuing efforts on this serious issue at the Burma briefing on Wednesday 4 May.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total combined overall spending on vaccines procurement and administration (1) nationally, and (2) locally, including awareness campaigns, in each year from 2012–13 to the current financial year.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England were formed on 1 April 2013, therefore spend information can only be provided from 2013/2014 financial year onwards. Total combined spend for 2015/16 is not yet available.

    Overall spend on procurement and the administration of vaccines, including communications spend for campaigns, is split between PHE and NHS England. The total combined overall spend can only be provided at a national level. Local level information is not readily available. Spend information is provided in the following table.

    Approximate combined vaccine procurement and vaccine administration spend for England

    Financial Year

    2013/2014

    2014/2015

    Vaccine procurement and vaccine administration spend (£ million)

    578

    616
  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the environmental assurance work his Department undertook in December 2015 in connection with runway expansion has been completed; and what the estimated cost of that work was to the public purse on the latest date for which figures are available.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Department is undertaking work to understand the environmental impacts of additional airport capacity. Further details on procurement undertaken to support the Department on environmental impacts can be found here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/17ffaddc-3c19-4462-91ae-bf30029c08d9.

    “

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2016 to Question 46209, what the relationship will be between the clinical expert groups and the recently established cross-Clinical Reference Group working parties.

    David Mowat

    As part of the revised arrangements for the Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs), which support specialised commissioning, NHS England has also announced the establishment of cross-CRG working parties, including some which will work with other health and care bodies to contribute to improving services, data and efficiency. These are not distinct CRGs, but a collaboration between existing groups.

    Those working parties are:

    – Research – building an interface with the National Institute for Health Research to advise how future research strategies align with commissioning and maximising opportunities;

    – Data and Resource – working with NHS Digital and NHS Improvement to provide clinical advice to these organisations in their work to improve the information that guides commissioning;

    – Guidance – working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence as a stakeholder in their guidance development and providing clinical advice as needed; and

    – Value – to better understand, and therefore reduce, variations in services and, where appropriate, cease treatments/ways of working that are no longer of clinical or patient benefit.

    These relate to the specialised commissioning CRGs and there is no link to the clinical expert groups.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he had during his recent visit to the Gulf states to encourage those states to increase their involvement in the (a) war against ISIL and (b) resolution of the refugee situation in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign Secretary discussed the counter ISIL effort with all the countries that he visited during his recent trip to the Gulf, which included Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE. We will continue to work intensively with Gulf States to deal with ISIL, both bilaterally and multilaterally, including under the auspices of the Global Coalition to counter-ISIL.

    Our partners in the Gulf share our view that ISIL presents a threat to regional stability. Several of them have suffered from ISIL attacks in their homelands, and many host large numbers of refugees fleeing Assad’s and ISIL’s brutality. They are committed to defeating ISIL, and fully recognise that coordinated international action is the best way to achieve that. All the countries that the Foreign Secretary visited during his recent trip are working to defeat ISIL, including as part of the Global Coalition to counter-ISIL.

    As a result of the Syrian crisis, there are now over 4 million refugees from Syria in neighbouring countries. All of the countries that the Foreign Secretary visited are in agreement with us that a political solution is the only way to resolve the Syrian crisis.

  • Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Tyrie on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the Airports Commission used his Department’s National Air Passenger Demand Model and National Air Passenger Allocation model in its work; whether the assumption of homogenous capacity in those models affected the net present value figures in Table 7.1 of the Commission’s Final Report, published in July 2015, compared with a model that distinguished between long and short-haul, business and leisure, and domestic and international capacity; and what assessment he has made of whether the use of a model that distinguishes between such different types of capacity would increase or decrease the net present value of each of those shortlisted schemes.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

    The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out, including that on costs, when making a decision on additional runway capacity.

  • Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-01-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many non-British EEA nationals with a National Insurance number who arrived in the UK prior to four years ago (a) paid National Insurance contributions, (b) paid PAYE income tax and (c) claimed benefits or tax credits in the last year.

    Mr David Gauke

    Calculating the number of individuals who were paying PAYE income tax and National Insurance contributions who were citizens of the EEA when they first registered for a National Insurance Number is complex and cannot be done quickly. However, HM Revenue and Customs are planning to produce further information early in 2016 on this issue, once it has been properly collated.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what costs have been incurred by his Department for the current advertising campaign on the national living wage.

    Nick Boles

    The total budget allocated for the National Living Wage advertising campaign is £4.95 million. The campaign will run until the end of April and we expect to come in under budget.

    The Government’s new National Living Wage is a step up for working people, so it is important workers know their rights and that employers pay the new £7.20 from April 1 this year. Britain deserves a pay rise and as a One Nation Government we are making sure it gets one. The campaign will tell people about their entitlements and is targeted at employers, and workers currently earning the National Minimum Wage.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she has taken to support the Humber region’s biomass projects.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC officials have met with local biomass generators and developers. There are several biomass projects at different stages of development around Immingham, Hull and Stallingborough. The £162million investment at the Brigg Renewable Energy Plant, a 40 MW straw fired biomass plant, has recently opened.

    Biomass generation is contributing jobs to Humberside. As a result of £100million in investment, the Humber International Terminal (HIT) at the Port of Immingham is already receiving some of the world’s largest shipments of biomass, destined for Drax, in the adjacent county of North Yorkshire. Drax is supported by the Renewables Obligation and has secured a Contract for Difference to convert another unit to biomass (under the Final Investment Decision enabling Renewables programme). If State Aid approval for the contract is obtained, the Humber will see some 6 million tonnes per annum of pellets imported into the UK. This will enhance its position for future business, including in the heat sector. The UK government continue to support Drax with the State Aid case.