Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • David Rutley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Rutley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Rutley on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation on the situation in Syria.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    I have discussed Syria with Foreign Minister Lavrov at meetings of the International Syria Support Group, most recently on 18 December in New York. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), discussed Syria with President Putin at the G20 Summit in Antalya, and in a telephone conversation on 9 December following Parliament’s vote to support military action against Daesh in Syria.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral Answer of 12 January 2016, Official Report, column 697, on how many occasions the Government has used personnel who are present as a quick check when a report has been received of a potential breach of international humanitarian law in Yemen.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We have a very small number of staff working in Saudi headquarters in a liaison capacity only to provide insight into Saudi operations. These liaison officers are not involved in the targeting process – whether it be the selection, decision making or directing. They remain under UK command and control.

    The role of the liaison officers is to maintain an information flow with the Saudi authorities. When concerns are raised by non-governmental organisations, or in the media, liaison officers pass all available information back to the UK. This will help inform our assessment of compliance with international humanitarian law which is taken in Whitehall.

  • Edward Leigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Edward Leigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Leigh on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s consultation on out-of-school education settings, launched on 26 November 2015, whether proposals to register out-of-school settings will require Ofsted inspectors to travel to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland to inspect tuition, training or instruction given outside of England by English-based institutions.

    Edward Timpson

    The Government wants children to be educated in a safe environment where they are not taught hateful and extremist views that undermine British values.

    The proposal to regulate out-of-school education settings, as set out in the recently published call for evidence, applies to settings located and operating in England only. It is not proposed that Ofsted inspect settings operating in the devolved administrations.

    Officials in the Department have been in contact with their counterparts in Wales and Scotland to discuss the proposal, but oversight of out-of-school education settings operating in those countries is a matter for the devolved administrations.

  • Lord Harrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Harrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to meet with the representative bodies of employee share ownership schemes to discuss the recent decision to withdraw HM Revenue and Custom’s valuation check service.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Officials from HM Revenue and Customs have already met representative bodies of employee ownership schemes. HMRC will be working with those groups to develop further public guidance and discuss any other proposals their members might raise.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, against which community rehabilitation companies the Authority Step-in action provided for by section 27 of the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) Amended and Restated Services Agreement has been used since 1 February 2015; and in response to which issues such an action has been taken.

    Andrew Selous

    Thanks to these reforms, offenders in prison for less than 12 months are now receiving support from the probation providers for the very first time.

    Since new owners began running Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) on 1 February 2015, the Secretary of State has not exercised his powers of written consent against any Boards of any CRC. The Secretary of State has also not used section 27 of the Amended and Restated Services Agreement against any CRC.

    We closely monitor and robustly manage providers to make sure they fulfil their contractual commitments to maintain service delivery, reduce reoffending, protect the public and provide value for money to the taxpayer.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, of all the appeals made against initial asylum refusals by Eritrean nationals, how many were made (1) within the UK, and (2) from outside the UK, in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, and (c) 2015.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    In answer to Questions HL329 and HL331, I refer the noble Lady to my answer on 04/05/2016 for Question HL8090.

    In answer to Question HL330, I refer the noble Lady to my answer on 04/05/2016 for Question HL8089.

    In answer to Question HL332 and HL333, I refer the noble Lady to my answer on 11/05/2016 for Questions HL8091 and HL9092.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to tackle air pollution and the associated health effects.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The Government is committed to improving the UK’s air quality and reducing health impacts. Air quality has improved significantly in recent decades and we are working at local, national and international levels to continue those improvements. The UK currently meets legal limits for almost all pollutants; however, reducing levels for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) remains the most challenging.

    In December last year, the Government published the national air quality plan for NO2. This is an ambitious plan combining national and local measures. It includes targeted measures, for example, the implementation of a new programme of Clean Air Zones, alongside wider approaches including continued investment in clean technologies, such as electric and ultra low emission vehicles. Our approach also includes working closely with the Mayor on improvements to air quality in London. The Plan sets out that we intend to meet legal limits for NO2 in all areas outside London by 2020 and in London by 2025.

    The Plan also sets out a range of action by local authorities across the UK. Alongside national action, local authorities have a crucial role to play in improving air quality. They are required to review and assess air quality in their areas and to designate Air Quality Management Areas and put in place Air Quality Action Plans to address air pollution issues where national air quality objectives are not being met.

    Later this year, we will also consult on proposals to reduce pollution from electricity generating plants with high emissions of nitrogen oxides that are not currently regulated. The proposals would set emission limit values on relevant air pollutants, with a view to having legislation in force no later than January 2019 and possibly sooner.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, approximately how many (a) British and (b) non-British nationals are employed cleaning the Westminster estate of her Department.

    Matt Hancock

    All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

    Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

    More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.

  • Lord Rooker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Rooker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rooker on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to move responsibility for flour fortification from millers to food manufacturers.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    In June this year the Government held an informal consultation in order to seek views on possible additions to the exemptions currently allowed under the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 from the requirement to fortify flour with calcium, iron, niacin, and thiamine. The exemptions that were envisaged would allow more efficient and streamlined manufacturing operations for foods produced for export as well as for the home market, without compromising the public health benefits which accrue from fortification. A range of interested parties were consulted including millers, flour users, retailers, fortificant manufacturers and health professionals.

    The options proposed in the consultation would allow millers to produce unfortified flour in England when used as a secondary ingredient which undergoes further processing, or is used in relatively small quantities in products. This approach was welcomed by most consultees and the Government is now considering how to take this forward.

    The Department of Health and Public Health England has considered the proposals and concluded that it is unlikely that an exemption from fortification for flour used in such products will have a nutritionally significant impact on the intakes of calcium, iron, thiamine or niacin.

    The changes proposed would apply to England only since food legislation is a devolved matter. The devolved administrations are aware of these proposals but have not yet made any decisions on whether to introduce similar changes.

    Respondents to the consultation also asked for some additional flexibility around the point at which the fortificants are added to flour. At the moment flour must be fortified at the mill and the four fortificants are added as a premix at the end of the milling process. Many businesses which manufacture foods both for the home market and for export requested the flexibility to be able to add the fortificants at the bakery stage. They highlighted that the requirement for separate storage and handling for, both fortified and unfortified flour (which is used for exported products) was creating significant manufacturing complexities. That resulted in a more restricted product range and is having an adverse effect on their export potential and their ability to diversify into new global markets. The Government is currently considering this.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the (a) forecast reduction in cases of and deaths from infection by influenza as a result of the nasal flu vaccine in 2015, (b) forecast number of nasal flu vaccines administered and (c) cost of delivering that programme in each of the next three years.

    Jane Ellison

    It is difficult to forecast the population impact that the nasal flu vaccine will have in the forthcoming season as vaccine effectiveness will vary according to the circulating influenza virus in any one season together with the vaccine uptake achieved. In general the effectiveness of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) ranges from 50% upwards against illness caused by antigenically matched strains in children, but has also shown some protection against antigenically mismatched strains. The provisional uptake in two, three and four year olds in England up to week 46 2015 (ending 15 November 2015) was 23.0%, 24.0% and 19.4% respectively.

    In 2016/17 the childhood flu programme will cover all 2-7 year olds and at risk children.

    In 2017/18 the childhood flu programme will cover all 2-10 year olds and at risk children.

    Table 1: The forecast number of nasal flu vaccines administered to children in each of the next three years.

    Year

    Forecast number of doses of nasal flu vaccine administered to children

    2016/17

    2.8 million

    2017/18

    4.3 million

    2018/19

    4.3 million

    Source: NHS England’s Spending Review submission for childhood flu.

    Table 2: The forecast cost of delivering the childhood flu programme in each of the next three years.

    Year

    Estimated cost of delivering the childhood flu programme

    2016/17

    £80 million

    2017/18

    £120 million

    2018/19

    £120 million

    Note: These are the full programme costs (including the cost of the vaccine).