Tag: Parliamentary Question

Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve east-west transport connectivity in the North of England.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government is committed to improving transport connectivity across the North of England, including east-west routes. Current work includes upgrades to the road network as set out in Road Investment Strategy: for the 2015/16 – 2019/20 Road Period (March 2015).

Work has already started to deliver improved rail journeys between Liverpool and Manchester. The Ordsall chord will enable direct links from the Northeast to Manchester Airport. Sir Peter Hendy’s rail upgrade re-plan (Hendy review – Replanning Network Rail’s investment programme: a report from Sir Peter Hendy to the Transport Secretary (Nov 2015)) includes significant benefits for the North of England, such as the Transpennine Route Upgrade Programme, which is aligned to Rail North’s Long Term Rail Strategy (September 2015). Current proposals are to deliver faster journeys and more capacity on the existing railway line between Leeds and Manchester. This work is expected to provide up to six fast trains per hour, with a target journey time of 62 minutes between Manchester and York and 40 minutes between Leeds and Manchester.

Additionally, the new TransPennine Express (TPE) and Northern franchises, which came into effect on 1 April, will deliver a range of significant benefits to their passengers, including increases to services between Manchester and Newcastle, more daily services to Hull from Manchester and Leeds, and 44 new 125 mph TPE trains fitted with free Wi-Fi and real-time passenger information screens.

The Government is also working with Transport for the North on future transport plans in the North of England. As set out in the Northern Transport Strategy: Spring 2016 Report (March 2016), these plans include east-west connectivity improvements through HS3/Northern Powerhouse Rail and the strategic studies investigating the cases for a trans-Pennine road tunnel and upgrading the A66 and A69.

All four documents referred to in this reply have been placed in the libraries of both Houses.

01/01/2023

Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s planned expenditure is on language training in each year to 2020.

Mark Lancaster

The following table highlights the projected expenditure by financial year (FY), for the delivery of language training by the Defence Academy (DA) (part of Joint Force Command) and the Army, broken down by ‘Foreign Language Training’ (FLT) and ‘English Language Training’ (ELT).

	FY 2017-18	FY 2018-19	FY2019-20	FY 2020-21	Total
DA FLT	£2,124,453.00	£2,161,942.00	£2,211,652.00	£2,260,694.00	£8,758,741.00
Army FLT	£1,000,000.00	£1,000,000.00	£1,000,000.00	£1,000,000.00	£4,000,000.00
Army ELT	£18,000.00	£18,000.00	£18,000.00	£18,000.00	£72,000.00

01/01/2023

Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-10-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will continue to allow entry fees for chess tournaments to remain VAT exempt.

Jane Ellison

Entry fees for chess tournaments have always been taxable at the standard rate of VAT.

01/01/2023
John Glen – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what methodology his Department uses to model the deadweight assumptions used in assessing the performance of the Work Programme.

Priti Patel

The Department’s methodology for calculating the non-intervention level (‘deadweight’) is set out in the National Audit Office’s 2012 report on the Introduction of the Work Programme, in the Detailed Methodology section.

https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/10121701_methodology.pdf

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01/01/2023
Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to her Statement of 19 November 2015, Official Report, column 807, whether the Northern Ireland Executive can progress its own policies on onshore wind.

Andrea Leadsom

Energy is a devolved matter for Northern Ireland. Whilst that means that the Northern Ireland Executive can develop its own policies on onshore wind, it is this government’s position that any policy which results in additional support to onshore wind should not be funded by the GB consumers.

01/01/2023
Stephen Hepburn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hepburn on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of jobseeker’s allowance in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who have disputed the sanction of their benefit have had that sanction overturned after reconsideration in each of the past five years.

Priti Patel

The latest available information on Jobseeker’s Allowance sanctions, including the number of Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals, is published at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/:

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started—SuperWEB2.html

Please note Mandatory reconsiderations were introduced in 28th October 2013.

Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:

http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

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01/01/2023
Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the UN, the EU and South American countries on the trafficking of women in countries affected by the Zika virus.

Mr Hugo Swire

We have not held specific discussions with the UN, EU and South American countries linking the trafficking of women and the Zika virus. However, this Government has a track record of leadership on the trafficking of women. Last spring, the UK became the first country in Europe and one of the first in the world to enact Modern Slavery legislation. In June, my Right Honourable Friend, the member for Witney, the Prime Minister (Mr. Cameron) agreed an action plan with the Heads of Government of Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean to strengthen cooperation on human trafficking. We were also strong proponents of the inclusion of a commitment to end modern slavery at the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

01/01/2023
Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.46 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence Review 2015, how much additional funding the Government plans to provide for investment in (a) equipment and (b) training for the reserves; and when he expects such funding to be provided.

Mr Julian Brazier

As a result of the Government’s response to the 2011 Commission on Reserves and the 2013 White Paper we committed an additional investment in the Reserves of £1.8 billion over 10 years, and the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 confirmed our commitment to recruit and maintain a trained Reserve force of 35,000 by 2019. Our investment in the Reserves ensures that they have the same access to equipment and technology as their regular counterparts, and receive high-quality and challenging training. This year the Army is offering 22 bespoke overseas training exercises where Reserve and Regular units are paired together to improve interoperability and cohesion.

We have been improving the offer we make to individual Reservists. They already receive pay for the days they train, an annual tax-exempt bounty for successfully completing their training commitment, along with medical assistance and access to welfare support for their families when on operation.

In addition, since 1 April 2015 Reservists have been eligible for the new Armed Forces Pension Scheme for non-mobilised service, based on paid attendance. We have also introduced in the last two years an annual paid leave entitlement, occupational health support for injuries incurred during training, accredited training and access to Standard Learning Credits.

01/01/2023
Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-03-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether revenue generated from the immigration health surcharge for foreign nationals will be re-directed back into funding for the NHS; and if so, what measures have been put in place to achieve that.

Lord Keen of Elie

All funding derived from the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) will be spent on the National Health Service, with the exception around £7 million per annum which will be used to fund some costs that fall to the Home Office associated with collecting and handling the surcharge.

The Home Office transfers funds to the Department for Health and, consistent with the Barnett Formula, the devolved administrations through the Estimates process. In the event that IHS in-come exceeds the amount transferred, the balance will be surrendered to the Consolidated Fund for Extra Receipts and made available for spending on the NHS in the following financial year.

01/01/2023
Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will take steps to ensure that the global risk platform to be debated at the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016 meets the needs of people affected by natural and social disasters.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK is part of the discussions on the Global Risk Register and is helping to ensure they review how the national and international systems address the needs of affected populations quickly and effectively.

01/01/2023