Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-07-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the response by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 19 July (HL Deb, col 525), what assessment the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence, National Security Council, Joint Intelligence Committee and National Crime Agency have made of the suitability of the planned changes to the provision of reporting by the BBC Monitoring Service.

    Earl of Courtown

    Government has been working closely with the BBC to ensure the requirements of the MOD, FCO, Cabinet Office, and the intelligence agencies can continue to be met by BBC Monitoring.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2016 to Question 44901, if he will make the advertising costs of attendance allowance readily available either (a) during or (b) after the consultation on the devolution of attendance allowance.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The consultation “Self-sufficient local government: 100% business rates retention” published by the Department for Communities and Local Government sought views on a range of options for devolving new responsibilities to local government including more responsibility for caring for older people.

    The feedback from that consultation which closed on 26 September is currently being analysed and a response will be published in due course.

    The Government would undertake a further consultation, accompanied by a relevant impact assessment, if any changes were to be proposed in relation to Attendance Allowance.

    The information on administrative costs related to Attendance Allowance is collected by DWP but is not currently available for the financial year 2015-16.

    The information requested on applications is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    Information on claims awarded under the special rules for people with terminal illness is available from the DWP Tabulation Tool: http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/tabtool.html.

    “

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that small and medium-sized businesses are aware of their obligations relating to workplace pensions.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We are committed to supporting small and micro-businesses to adapt to their new automatic enrolment duties. Together with The Pensions Regulator, we have launched a new broadcast-led communications campaign to raise awareness of automatic enrolment amongst small employers.

    The Pensions Regulator has also recently launched a new interactive and simplified online step by step guide to automatic enrolment, designed to meet the specific needs of employers who may not have pensions experience, including those with just one or two staff. Employers using the website can access tailored information relevant to their circumstances. The Pensions Regulator also provides online content for business advisers who play an important role in supporting smaller employers to meet their legal duties. To raise awareness and understanding, the Regulator has had over 500 meetings with intermediary firms and spoken at over 300 events around the UK during the last year

    The Regulator sends a series of letters to every employer starting at least 12 months before their staging date, which is the date that the law applies to them. These letters set out what an employer needs to do and by when to comply with the law and signposts to the relevant information on the Regulator’s website.

    To help employers adjust to the costs of automatic enrolment the minimum employer contribution level starts at 1% and increases gradually to 3% by October 2018. In addition, to ensure that all firms have access to quality, low-cost pension provision, The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) was established by the Government and has a public service obligation to accept any employer that chooses NEST for automatic enrolment.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has for the future of the homelessness prevention grant.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Decisions around locally funded services will be set out in the provisional Local Government Settlement, which we intend to announce before recess.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to protect legally privileged communications from surveillance.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Covert Surveillance and Property Interference Code of Practice, which came into force on 10 December 2014 following approval by Parliament, set out the safeguards in relation to covert surveillance activity under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 which is likely or intended to result in the acquisition of knowledge of matters subject to legal privilege.

    There are similar safeguards in the existing Interception of Communications and Equipment Interference Codes of Practice which were approved by the House of Lords in December 2015 and the House of Commons earlier this month. The Investigatory Powers Bill and its associated codes of practice will replace the existing codes of practice for the interception of communication and equipment interference and will set out the powers available to public authorities to obtain communications and communication data and the safeguards that will apply.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with Ministers of the Cabinet Office on the Zika virus.

    Jane Ellison

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health regularly discusses matters across his portfolio with Ministers from the Cabinet Office and other Government departments. He will continue to closely monitor the Zika virus situation.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each member of his Department’s Council of Economic Advisers.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the role of special advisers and describes the range of activities they may undertake. Copies of the Code of Conduct are available in the Libraries of the House and on-line at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468340/CODE_OF_CONDUCT_FOR_SPECIAL_ADVISERS_-_15_OCTOBER_2015_FINAL.pdf

    “

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the carbon emissions of UK forces operating abroad were in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    Information on the Department’s carbon emissions can be found in the Sustainable Ministry of Defence Annual Report 2014/15, using the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447951/20150723-Sustainable_MOD_Annual_Report-internet-ver.pdf

    These figures cover carbon emissions from the Defence estate, including overseas sites and domestic business travel; the Department does not hold data on emissions from UK military operational activity overseas.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Written Statement to the House of 16 July 2015, HCWS113, on Publication of Learning not Blaming and Review of NHS Leadership, what assessment he has made of the consistency of the abolition of the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s statutory Midwifery Committee with his plan to end the statutory supervision of midwives.

    Ben Gummer

    In the ‘Learning not blaming: The government response to Freedom to Speak Up, the Public Administration Select Committee report on clinical incidents, and the Morecambe Bay Investigation’, the Government accepted the recommendation to remove the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) current responsibility and accountability for statutory supervision of midwives in the United Kingdom and committed to changing the law as speedily as possible.

    The abolition of the statutory Midwifery Committee at the NMC is a consequence of the Law Commission review of professional regulators. The Midwifery Committee does not have a role in the statutory supervision of midwives. The NMC is considering how midwifery advice will be secured by the NMC if the Midwifery Committee is, after consultation, abolished. It has set up a Midwifery Panel of interested parties to do this.

    The proposals for a new design of supervision for midwifery, incorporated setting up a task force in each country of the UK under the auspices of each UK Chief Nursing Officer. They are currently working through plans to create new mechanisms and considering what systems and processes will replace the Local Supervising Authorities.

  • Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and UK Space Agency cross-boundary research proposals submitted through the Joint Electronic Submission System received funding in each of the last three years.

    Joseph Johnson

    In the last financial year one cross-boundary research proposal was considered for co-funding by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the UK Space Agency. This proposal was discussed at the relevant EPSRC funding panel and was awarded funding. In the two years prior, no proposals were received which were considered for co-funding in this respect.