Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of a lack of bovine TB vaccine on the spread of bovine TB in the areas that border Wales.

    George Eustice

    Following advice from Public Health England on the need to prioritise available stocks for humans, the Government has taken the decision to suspend attempts to source BCG vaccine for the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme and other private badger vaccination deployment projects in England until the supply situation is resolved. This follows the decision of the Welsh Government to do the same. Our long-term research to develop an oral TB vaccine for badgers and an effective TB vaccine for cattle is not expected to be affected by the current supply issue.

    The Government is continuing to take strong action to deliver a long-term plan to eradicate the disease and protect the future of the UK’s dairy and beef industries. The comprehensive strategy includes strengthening cattle testing and movement controls, improving biosecurity on farm and when trading, and badger control in areas where TB is rife. Bovine TB policy is a devolved matter but my department liaises closely with the Welsh Government on matters of common interest, including the impact of the current hiatus in badger vaccination in both England and Wales.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has paid to staff in overtime in each of the last 24 months.

    Karen Bradley

    "Home Office overtime expenditure on overtime is published as part of the transparency data.

    Figures for January 2014 to December 2015 (the latest available month) can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workforce-management-information-2015

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workforce-management-information-2014

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to protect the pensions of grandparents that care for grandchildren.

    Justin Tomlinson

    From 6 April 2011 a weekly Class 3 National Insurance credit is available to grandparents and other adult family members under State Pension age that look after children aged under 12 to enable the children’s parents to work. The credits can help protect the grandparent’s National Insurance record and will count towards entitlement to the new State Pension and (before 6 April 2017), Bereavement Benefits.

    Since its introduction in 2011, over 4,000 people have been approved.

    In addition, support is available through income-related benefits to grandparents of working age who have responsibility for their grandchildren or act in the place of the child’s parents. The Government announced its intention to exempt grandparents, and other family members or close friends, looking after children, who could otherwise be at risk of entering the care system, from the restriction which limits the child element of Universal Credit to a maximum of two children. The Government is committed to working with stakeholders to develop a solution that meets the needs of the children in respect of whom this exemption is intended to apply, whilst guarding against the risk of fraud and error

    Universal Credit recipients who are grandparents can have childcare costs reimbursed. Where a firm job offer has been accepted childcare costs can be claimed for at least one month before they start work and after the employment ends. The childcare costs element is intended to protect work incentives and ensures that support is focused on low-earning families.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36419, if he will set out the actions required of an hon. Member, including the number of parliamentary questions asked, contributions to debate and other relevant matters which are deemed to demonstrate sufficient interest in devolution, for such hon. Members to be invited to meetings on future plans for the area they represent.

    James Wharton

    I would welcome a proactive and enthusiastic approach to involvement on devolution matters and associated opportunities locally, with which my department stands ready to engage. It is for hon. Members to determine for themselves what that involves.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times in the last two years Falmouth Coastguard Operations Centre has had staffing levels below what is considered safe.

    Mr John Hayes

    The operational concepts and procedures that underpin Her Majesty’s Coastguard’s national network mean that the Coastguard Centres within it no longer have fixed geographic boundaries. This enables Coastguards at either the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) or any of the 9 Coastguard Operations Centres (CGOC) to coordinate any incident anywhere around the UK coast irrespective of their location. As a result workload is now managed on a national basis rather than Centre by Centre as was previously the case. National capability and Coastguard staff from any Centre are now available to provide additional support to any individual Centre within the network when it is considered necessary by senior operational managers.

    Due to this inherent flexibility Her Majesty’s Coastguard sets ‘Optimum Suggested’ staffing for the network as a whole rather than for each centre. Over the last two years since the national network became operational out of a total of 1,427 watches (both day and night) the network has been staffed below ‘Optimal Suggested’ levels on 137 watches.

  • Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what part they played in the 9 September Geneva agreement between the US and Russia for a ceasefire in Syria.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The 9 September Geneva agreement was the product of months of bilateral negotiations between the US and Russia. The UK plays an active role on Syria in wider fora including in the International Syria Support Group and through our Permanent Membership of the UN Security Council. We have further been playing our role in the wider political and diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis and on Sunday 16 October the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) convened a meeting of key partners on Syria in London. The meeting discussed various options for responding to the appalling situation in Syria, and particularly the worsening humanitarian situation in Aleppo.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate he has made of the average cost to the NHS of employing a (a) nurse, (b) midwife and (c) doctor; and what forecast he has made of that cost in each year from 2016-17 to 2019-20.

    Alistair Burt

    Information is available for 2014/15 and is set out in the following table:

    Estimated Average Cost per Full-Time Equivalent

    Qualified nurses, midwives and health visitors

    £42,100

    Midwives

    £45,900

    All hospital and community health services doctors

    £96,200

    Notes:

    Separate figures for qualified nurses are not available. Costs include employer national insurance and pension contributions but not other costs such as recruitment and training (which is not collected centrally).

    Source: Department of Health’s Headline HCHS Pay bill Metrics, which are based primarily on earnings statistics published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, supplemented by employer pension and national insurance contributions estimates informed by unpublished and unvalidated data from the Electronic Staff Record Data Warehouse.

    Future costs will depend on the outcome of the Spending Review and pay recommendations of the independent Pay Review Bodies.

  • Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when Innovate UK will publish its strategy for 2016–20.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Innovate UK intends to publish its Strategy for 2016-20 in the spring. This will be followed by the publication of Innovate UK’s Delivery Plan for 2016-17. This timetable takes account of the timing of the recent Spending Review.

    X

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has conducted a comparative assessment of the loss of life as a result of an aircraft crashing on approach or arrival at Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    I refer the Honourable Member to my answer of 11th January 2016 (UIN 20996) http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=QuestionsWithAnswersOnly&house=commons%2clords&uin=20996.

    “

  • 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 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24112, when he last raised concerns regarding protection of cultural property the governments of Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We remain concerned about any damage to cultural property in Yemen and are aware of reports of alleged damage by actors in the conflict. Yemen and many members of the Saudi-led coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabian government.