Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport.

    Tracey Crouch

    The Government supports the work ofUK Anti-Doping (UKAD)whichworkstirelessly to ensure athletes and sport are clean. Throughtesting programmes, intelligence sharing with law-enforcement agencies on supplying and trafficking,and its excellentathleteeducationinitiatives,UKAD is one of the world’s most highly regardednationalanti-dopingorganisations.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements they have made for the capital funding costs of new fluoridation schemes.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Since April 2013 Public Health England (PHE), on behalf of the Secretary of State, has recovered the operational costs of water fluoridation from local authorities served by these arrangements. The Secretary of State is required to meet the reasonable fluoridation capital and operating costs incurred by water undertakers in England and has the power to require local authorities to make payments to the Secretary of State to meet any such costs he has incurred. There are no proposed changes to the legislation affecting these arrangements.

    Funding arrangements for the capital costs of new fluoridation schemes in England will need to be agreed between local authorities and PHE, on behalf of the Secretary of State, as part of the preparatory work before the scheme can commence.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Indian government on the recent attack on an Indian military facility at Pathawkof.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Officials have been in regular contact with their Indian counterparts in London and in Delhi, including the National Security Adviser who spoke to the Indian National Security Adviser on 6th January. We have issued a statement offering condolences to the victims and their families and re-emphasising our commitment to work with India to counter terrorism.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department’s legal costs were in the case Susan Rutherford, Paul Rutherford and Warren Todd and Appellant A v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government has incurred approximately £50,626 in legal costs in the Court of Appeal proceedings in the case of Rutherford and others v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and A v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2016] EWCA CIV 29.

    It should be noted that this figure includes VAT where this is payable (e.g. on Counsel’s fees) but does not include costs attributable to the time spent by Government advisory lawyers on this case, as time spent by such advisory lawyers is not recorded in a manner that allows it to be attributed to individual cases.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to reduce the amount of litter on Network Rail’s land; and if he will make a statement.

    Claire Perry

    This is an operational matter for Network Rail, but I acknowledge the Honourable Member’s concerns and note the size of Network Rail’s estate. I have been informed by Network Rail that it has policies on litter removal that are consistent with current legislation and that it already takes all practicable measures within its resources.

    In cases where litter is on operational land, removal may only be dealt with when lines are closed for other maintenance activity, to avoid inconvenience to passengers and compromising safety. The company also prioritises litter clearance based on safety.

    Network Rail has a 24 hour National Helpline on 08457 11 41 41, whose remit includes handling requests from local authorities and the public, to clear line-side areas.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what benefits and support services are not available to non-UK nationals leaving care that are available to UK citizens.

    Edward Timpson

    Care leavers who are not British citizens usually receive the same range of support and services provided under the Children Act 1989 as British citizens. However, if they are aged over 18 and fall into one of the classes of ‘ineligible person’, under Schedule 3 to the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, they may only receive some of these. The most common class of care leavers who are ineligible persons are failed asylum seekers who have exhausted all appeals to remain in the UK.

  • Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to assist the Maldivian government with its governance reform plan.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Government, along with others in the international community, has a number of concerns about governance and human rights in the Maldives. This includes the decreasing independence of institutions, the diminishing freedoms of expression and association, and the arbitrary detention of political figures. I discussed these issues with President Yameen and his Government when I visited the Maldives in January 2016.

  • Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service from people living in Dulwich and West Norwood constituency have taken more than 60 days to process in each of the last 12 months.

    Karen Bradley

    The following table shows the number of applications from people living in Dulwich and West Norwood that have taken more than 60 days in each of the last 12 months.

    Month

    Disclosures Dispatched Taking Over 60 Days

    May-15

    121

    Jun-15

    124

    Jul-15

    158

    Aug-15

    121

    Sep-15

    147

    Oct-15

    159

    Nov-15

    123

    Dec-15

    132

    Jan-16

    131

    Feb-16

    136

    Mar-16

    148

    Apr-16

    142

    1,642

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many people working for the Law Officers’ Departments or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Robert Buckland

    The Attorney General’s Office, the Government Legal Department, HMCPSI and the Crown Prosecution Service have no direct employees or agency workers that are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage foundation.

    The Serious Fraud Office directly employs six staff who earn less than this. The six are all either apprentices or sandwich students on placement, and are all under 20 years of age and paid at a rate equivalent to £9.04 an hour.

    None of the Law Officers’ Departments have any direct employees or agency workers who are on zero-hours contracts. No information is held in regards to pay rates or contracts with individuals employed by agencies or firms for subcontracted services.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to encourage children to take up physical activity, in particular activity additional to school sport.

    Lord Nash

    We want all pupils to be healthy and more physically active, with the Government’s recent Childhood Obesity Plan setting out an ambition that young people should be active for at least 60 minutes every day, as recommended by the Chief Medical Officer.

    Since 2013, the Government has provided over £450million of ring-fenced funding to primary schools to make additional and sustainable improvements to PE and Sport. We know this funding is making a difference, with 87% of primary schools reporting that the quality of PE teaching has increased since the introduction of the premium. The majority of schools have also introduced new sports in both curricular PE (74%) and extra-curricular sport (77%) since the premium was introduced. But we know there is more to do, which is why revenue from the soft drinks industry levy will be used to double the primary PE and sport premium to £320million a year from September 2017.

    Through the Sport Strategy, we have also extended the remit of Sport England, to cover children aged 5 and above, outside of school. Sport England’s new strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’ sets out a new £40million investment into projects that offer opportunities for families with children to get active and play sport together outside of school.

    In relation to fitness testing, it is up to schools to determine how best they deliver a diverse and challenging PE curriculum. We are considering how we can track levels of physical activity in schools to help support children to have healthy and active lives and will be providing schools with further guidance and best practice examples to help deliver this.