Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Wolf of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Wolf of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Wolf of Dulwich on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what circumstances a student may currently obtain a loan from the Student Loans Company for the fees for an equivalent level qualification at degree or sub-degree level.

    Viscount Younger of Leckie

    Students must already hold an honours degree and must be personally eligible for support in order to qualify for a tuition fee loan for an equivalent level qualification.

    In addition, they must be studying for a part-time degree in engineering, technology or computer science, and study should be at least 25% intensity of a full-time equivalent course. Graduates entering full-time study must be studying on a graduate entry accelerated medical or dental degree of no more than four years’ duration.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the security implications of the various options for disposal of plutonium.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    We expect the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to submit a report to DECC to support us in our considerations on the policy options in due course. Informed by the advice from NDA, ministers will then make an assessment of the options, and decide on the appropriate next steps. Only when the Government is confident that its preferred option could be implemented safely and securely, in way that is affordable, deliverable, and offers value for money, will it be in a position to proceed.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of her Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    It remains the Government’s belief that effective use of evidence and research has enormous potential to help schools and teachers improve educational standards and outcomes for pupils. It offers a way to make more informed decisions, to understand the impact of changes and improve professional development of teachers and other professionals. We are committed to ensuring that evidence-informed approaches to practice are a growing feature of education and children’s services.

    The Spending Review set out settlements for departments and showed how the government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.

    Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to provide assistance to people in Madaya, Syria; and if she will work with allies of the UK, the United Nations and non-governmental organisations to provide humanitarian relief to that region.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. We also co-sponsored and lobbied hard for the passage of UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which call on the parties to allow rapid, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to besieged and hard to reach places. We are working to bring about an inclusive political solution to end the conflict in Syria through our engagement in the International Syria Support Group, with the UN Special Envoy for Syria, and with the Syrian Opposition.

    The UK has provided support to the UN and international NGOs (INGOs) since the start of the conflict to deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria, including Madaya.

    On 11 January 2016, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed that aid convoys of humanitarian assistance had arrived in the hard to reach towns of Madaya, Foah and Kefraya. Two further convoys have been given permission. The convoy is expected to meet survival needs of the 40,000 persons inside Madaya, and of 20,000 people inside Foah and Kefraya. DFID funding to UN agencies is directly supporting the current convoy with food parcels, nutritional supplements, essential drugs and non-food items including winterisation kits.

    The UK worked with partners in the UN Security Council to put humanitarian access in Madaya, and across Syria, on the Security Council’s agenda on Monday 11 January.

    In February 2016, the UK will invite world leaders to London for a Conference to support immediate needs and identify longer-term solutions to address the needs of those affected by the crisis.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of the technical assistance programme for the Bahraini police and prisons service in preventing the use of torture in police stations and prisons in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of ongoing allegations against Ministry of Interior personnel, and we have expressed our concerns to the authorities.

    The Government of Bahrain has previously committed to consider ratifying the Optional Protocol of the Convention Against Torture. The UK strongly supports this and we have been working with the authorities to share best practice on torture prevention measures. We also ask the Government of Bahrain to allow a visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

    We believe that UK support to Bahrain’s reform programme is the most constructive way to achieve long-lasting and sustainable reform in Bahrain. While it will take time to see the full results, UK support is having a direct, positive impact on areas of concern. All Foreign and Commonwealth Office programmes and project work is routinely monitored and evaluated to inform and improve future assistance.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has allocated funding to defend a legal challenge against his decision to impose a new junior doctors contract.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department has an allocated budget to fund the legal services it requires, which would include funding for any challenge in relation to the junior doctors’ contract.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 31068, how many meetings the Government’s Anti-Corruption Champion had with (a) Ministers and officials of other government departments and (b) representatives from civil society and business between July 2015 and the end of February 2016.

    Matthew Hancock

    All Cabinet Office costs are published in its annual report and accounts available on the GOV.UK website.

    The Anti-Corruption Champion has had a range of meetings with Ministers and officials from other government departments, as well as representatives from civil society and business, both in the United Kingdom (UK) and overseas.

  • Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect of the devolution of business rates on business growth in (a) former steel works and coalfield areas and (b) other local authority areas with a depleted industrial base.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government intends to move to 100 per cent business rates retention in England by the end of this Parliament. The new system will have stronger incentives to boost growth, and areas that take bold decisions to further increase growth will see the benefits. We will be giving councils the power to cut the business rates multiplier to improve the business environment for enterprise and attract further businesses to their area. But we recognise that not all councils are the same. In setting up this system we will ensure that there is redistribution between councils so that areas do not lose out just because they currently collect less in local business rates, and will put protections in place for authorities that see their business rates income fall significantly.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of a quadrivalent vaccine programme for school-aged boys equivalent to that in place for school-aged girls; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    An estimate of the cost of extending the current programme to boys has not been made. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is currently considering the option of extending human papilloma virus vaccination to adolescent boys. Once the JCVI has reviewed the available evidence it will report its recommendations. This will inform any future policy to extend the current programme to adolescent boys.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward primary legislation to regulate the taxi and private hire vehicle industries in the current session.

    Andrew Jones

    Clause 145 of the Policing and Crime Bill currently being considered by Parliament would enable the Secretary of State to issue Statutory Guidance to taxi and private hire licensing authorities so as to protect children, and vulnerable individuals who are 18 or over, from harm.

    There is at present no plan to bring forward further primary legislation to reform the legislative framework for taxis and private hire vehicles in the current session.