Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the retesting of Volkswagen vehicles being carried out by the Vehicle Certification Agency includes testing for carbon dioxide emissions.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government takes the unacceptable actions of Volkswagen (VW) Group extremely seriously. As we investigate what went wrong and what we can do to stop it happening again, the priority of course remains to protect the public. We expect VW to take every step necessary to protect its UK customers, but it is right that the Government carry out their own thorough and independent investigation.

    A written statement was made today (10 November) informing the House of the latest developments on the Department for Transport’s vehicle emissions testing programme, following the revelations that VW had fitted defeat devices to some of its vehicles.

    The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) is working to confirm that this issue is not industry wide. They have tested two VW group vehicles known to contain a defeat device and will rerun laboratory tests on popular cars sold in the UK to compare real world driving emissions against laboratory performance. This will include measuring CO2 .

    The Secretary of State spoke to Dr Herbert Deiss of VW on 4 November to discuss CO2 emissions, seeking information on those vehicles affected in the UK and the extent of the discrepancy. VW have stated that they are working hard to clarify the situation and are liaising with relevant approval authorities.

    The Secretary of State has written jointly with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to VW seeking clarification on several issues. Separately, officials from the Department for Transport, and its Agencies have held a number of discussions with VW regarding the recall of affected vehicles.

    The Department for Transport has not made a specific assessment of on road emissions in relation to type approval requirements, but officials are aware of the findings in published reports suggesting significant differences.

  • Lord Rowe-Beddoe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Rowe-Beddoe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rowe-Beddoe on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 30 November (HL Deb, col 931–3) about the non-devolution of the long-haul element of air passenger duty to Wales, how they differentiate between Edinburgh and Newcastle, and Cardiff and Bristol with respect to state aid.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    As set out in the St David’s Day Agreement, the government is considering the case and options for devolving powers to the Welsh Assembly over air passenger duty (APD). Any next steps pursued by the government will comply with EU State aid rules on tax devolution.

    Discussion of State aid is relevant to options we are considering to mitigate the effects of APD devolution with respect to English airports. In July, the government published a discussion paper on several options to do this. We will respond to the consultation and announce next steps in due course.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to (a) invest in research on rehabilitation, health and social care models to improve the quality of life for ill Gulf War veterans and (b) communicate the results of US research on those issues to Gulf War veterans living in the UK.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Government greatly values the service of all 1990-91 Gulf War veterans, particularly as we reach the 25th anniversary of the start of combat operations. We have long accepted that the ill health of some veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War is associated with their service in the Gulf. In such cases compensation may be claimed under the War Pensions Scheme with appropriate medical care provided by the National Health Service across the UK .

    The Department has funded extensive research into Gulf War illness including some research into rehabilitative therapies for those veterans with persistent symptoms.

    Our strategy on research topics and studies has been informed and overseen by independent scientific experts nominated by the Medical Research Council taking account of published peer-reviewed international literature and international studies. We have no plans to undertake further research on Gulf War issues. We continue to monitor any Gulf War research that is published round the world including from the United States.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2015 to Question 2241, what the reasons are for there being no assessment undertaken of the safety implications of excluding cyclists from the Northern Entrance to the parliamentary estate; and if he will review that policy to take account of the forthcoming opening of the segregated cycle superhighway along the Embankment.

    Tom Brake

    A generic risk assessment for the movement of pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles around the Parliamentary Estate was undertaken in August 2015; the assessment considered the risk of collisions between vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. A dedicated cycle entry gate has been installed at Derby Gate as this entrance has the width to allow safe vehicle, cycle and pedestrian access, whereas the Northern Entrance does not. This is under constant review by the relevant House Authorities.

    An assessment of the implications for both vehicle and bicycle entry at the Northern Entrance is planned to be conducted to reflect the construction of the East-West Bicycle Superhighway. The results will be reported to the hon. Lady by the Serjeant at Arms, once the work is complete.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to provide additional funding for projects identified by the forthcoming Northern Transport Strategy.

    Greg Hands

    The government will need to consider the proposals from both Transport for the North and the National Infrastructure Commission before taking any funding decisions. The Government looks forward to the publication of both reports in the coming weeks.

  • Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the principal criteria which must be addressed by pharmacies in the retail sector when they provide information governance assurances” to the NHS annually.”

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    All National Health Service providers, including community pharmacies, are required to provide information governance assurances to the NHS on an annual basis. These assurances are provided through completion of an online assessment tool, the NHS Information Governance Toolkit.

    Community pharmacies and dispensing appliance contractors currently have to assess themselves against the following requirements:

    Information Governance Management

    – Responsibility for Information Governance has been assigned to an appropriate member, or members, of staff;

    – There is an information governance policy that addresses the overall requirements of information governance;

    – All contracts (staff, contractor and third party) contain clauses that clearly identify information governance responsibilities; and

    – All staff members are provided with appropriate training on information governance requirements.

    Confidentiality and Data Protection Assurance

    – All person identifiable data processed outside of the United Kingdom complies with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Department of Health guidelines;

    – Consent is appropriately sought before personal information is used in ways that do not directly contribute to the delivery of care services and objections to the disclosure of confidential personal information are appropriately respected;

    – There is a publicly available and easy to understand information leaflet that informs patients/service users how their information is used, who may have access to that information, and their own rights to see and obtain copies of their records; and

    – There is a confidentiality code of conduct that provides staff with clear guidance on the disclosure of personal information.

    Information Security Assurance

    – Monitoring and enforcement processes are in place to ensure NHS national application Smartcard users comply with the terms and conditions of use;

    – There is an information asset register that includes all key information, software, hardware and services;

    – Unauthorised access to the premises, equipment, records and other assets is prevented;

    – The use of mobile computing systems is controlled, monitored and audited to ensure their correct operation and to prevent unauthorised access;

    – There are documented plans and procedures to support business continuity in the event of power failures, system failures, natural disasters and other disruptions;

    – There are documented incident management and reporting procedures;

    – There are appropriate procedures in place to manage access to computer-based information systems; and

    – All transfers of hardcopy and digital personal and sensitive information have been identified, mapped and risk assessed; technical and organisational measures adequately secure these transfers.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in the UK in each age group were diagnosed with ADHD in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    The information requested is not collected centrally.

    There are no plans to collect this data. This may be because it can be difficult to diagnose attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is very common for the core problems of ADHD in children to present together with other developmental impairments and/or mental health problems. There are many rather non-specific problems that are very common in ADHD, and can even be used, incorrectly, as grounds for the diagnosis. The problems associated with ADHD appear in different ways at different ages.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39359, on Business, Innovation and Skills reorganisation, what problems Ministers have encountered engaging with officials of his Department not based in London.

    Joseph Johnson

    I refer the hon. Member to the previous answer he references, in particular:

    “Operating across split sites, in the context of a smaller workforce overall, would make it harder to quickly redeploy people to a different team or policy area, or for someone to be able to respond to an unpredictable or unusual demand for more intensive engagement with Ministers or Parliament.”

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the security of the intellectual property of the European Pressurised Reactor technology to be used at Hinkley Point C.

    Jesse Norman

    On 15 September, following the comprehensive review of the Hinkley Point C project, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State announced new safeguards for future foreign investment in critical infrastructure.

    The protection of intellectual property at Hinkley Point C is a commercial matter for the developer.

  • Lord Ahmed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Ahmed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 4 November (HL2946), what advice they have given to the government of India about tackling the rise of attacks on religious minorities by Hindu nationalists in India.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are concerned by recent attacks on religious minorities by Hindu nationalists in India. The British High Commission in New Delhi regularly discusses the treatment of religious minorities with the Indian National Commission for Minorities and with state governments across India. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), also personally discussed the issue of religious minorities with the Indian Minister of External Affairs, General V K Singh on 5 November.

    India has a strong democratic framework, which guarantees human rights, including minority rights, within its constitution. However, it also faces numerous challenges relating to its size, social and economic development. We welcome Prime Minister Modi’s reaffirmation that he governs for all Indians and his commitment to inclusive development. We will continue to work collaboratively with his government on a range of important issues, including the promotion and protection of minority rights.