Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of research that shows that lack of physical activity is negatively affecting more people than obesity, whether they have a strategy on how to support grassroots attempts at getting citizens to take part in more and sustained physical activity.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Government is determined to tackle physical inactivity. Around one in two women and a third of men in England may be damaging their health through a lack of physical activity. Ministers across government continue to work together to identify opportunities to get people active in a range of ways including active travel, health initiatives, planning and sport.

    In December 2015 Government published ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’ – the first comprehensive government strategy for sport for 13 years – it sets out a new vision for a successful and active sporting nation. It has a strong focus on reaching inactive people and helping them to get moving in ways that suit them.

    Sport England’s new strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’, published on 19 May, states that tackling inactivity is a major priority for the organisation, it is tripling its current investment to over £250 million over 4 years, making it the largest single national investor in tackling inactivity.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2016 to Question 42168, what legislative options are being explored by his Department to prevent more people from becoming homeless.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    We are considering a broad range of possible options, including legislation, to put prevention at the heart of how we tackle homelessness. We are keen to learn from the changes implemented in Wales and want to understand whether similar changes would work in the very different English housing market.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the Government expects to host the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council; what he expects to be on the agenda for that meeting; and what outcomes he expects to achieve from that meeting.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The annual Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) brings together political leaders from the Overseas Territories and UK Ministers. It will meet this year in London from 1-2 November and will be hosted by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my noble Friend, the Rt Hon. the Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE.

    An agenda is being developed in partnership with territory leaders and reflects areas key to our shared interests. It is likely to include, but not be limited to, sessions on economic development, good governance and human rights (including child safeguarding), as well as the challenges and opportunities arising from the UK’s decision to leave the European Union. A communiqué will be issued following the conclusion of the JMC. The UK Government will update the House by written ministerial statement afterwards.

  • Louise Ellman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Louise Ellman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make representations to his Danish counterpart on reopening the inquest into the death of commercial driver Stephen O’Malley in 2012.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    No. The death of Mr O’Malley was not a maritime accident as defined in law, and is considered to be a health and safety at work incident. It therefore falls outside the responsibilities of the Department for Transport and its Danish counterpart.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding has been provided to HM Revenue and Customs to enforce compliance with minimum wage legislation in each of the last 10 years.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. Employers who pay workers less than the minimum wage not only have to pay back arrears of wages at current minimum wage rates but also face financial penalties of up to £20,000 per underpaid worker.

    The Government has increased annual funding of National Minimum Wage enforcement by over 60% since 2010, meaning a £13.2m budget in 2015/16.

    This has enabled a significant expansion of resources dedicated to enforcing the minimum wage; there are currently 237 staff (224.05 full-time equivalent) in HM Revenue and Customs’ National Minimum Wage teams, up from 171 at the start of 2014/15.

    Previous years’ detail is provided in the table below:

    Year

    Funding allocated by BIS (or predecessor departments) (£m)

    Full-time equivalent staff

    2006/07

    5.8

    Not available

    2007/08

    6.8

    Not available

    2008/09

    7.6

    139.16

    2009/10

    8.3

    140.18

    2010/11

    8.1

    142.18

    2011/12

    8.3

    138.88

    2012/13

    8.3

    142.37

    2013/14

    8.3

    157.85

    2014/15

    9.2*

    183.47

    *Increased in-year

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have been provided with advance payments of universal credit in each of the last 12 months.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not currently available.

    The range of statistics published for Universal Credit has increased as quality assurance has been carried out. This process will continue on a wider range of breakdowns and Departmental statisticians anticipate being able to start releasing these, in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, during 2016.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the independence of the legal system in the Maldives.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We are concerned about the erosion of judicial independence in the Maldives. A 2013 UN report by the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers raised serious questions about the impartiality of judges, the fact that many interventions by courts were arbitrary and that due process was not being followed. We do not believe that the situation has improved since. I raised the issue of judicial independence when I met key members of the Maldives government, including President Yameen, during my visit to the Maldives on 17 and 18 January.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26859, if she will update her Department’s response to e-petition 104867, on legalisation of medicinal cannabis, in respect of the information on availability of the drug Sativex.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government’s position is unchanged. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has issued a marketing authorisation and the Home Office has amended the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 to enable Sativex to be available to patients via health care practitioners.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of which fuel source is the most efficient for national electricity grid re-starts following power cuts; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC officials routinely work with National Grid to assess the resilience of response processes, including the failure of the National Electricity Transmission System.

    This work includes assessment of how different fuel sources can deliver this ‘Black Start’ capability.

  • Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much he estimates will be spent on research into brain tumours in children and young people (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of the total spend on cancer research in each of the next three years.

    George Freeman

    Total spend by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in each of the next three years on cancer research, and on research relating specifically to brain tumours in children and young people, will depend on the number and scale of successful applications to NIHR programmes and fellowship schemes and on the volume of research supported by NIHR infrastructure including biomedical research centres and the NIHR Clinical Research Network.

    More brain tumour research is needed and, as I announced on 18 April, Official Report, columns 258-59WH, I will be convening a working group of clinicians, charities and officials to discuss how working together with our research funding partners, we can address this.