The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevenson of Balmacara on 2016-10-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to implement the EU Trademarks Directive 015/2436.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force.
During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the extension of feed-in tariffs to Northern Ireland.
Andrea Leadsom
The focus of the current Feed-in Tariff review is to ensure generators are incentivised appropriately and to seek views on how to control future costs.We do not consider it appropriate at this moment to extend the scope of the scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Turkey about the arrest and charging of Figen Yüksekdag, co-chair of the HDP Party; and whether they will press for her trial to be observed.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
A request has reportedly been filed to allow proceedings against Mrs Yüksekdag but we are not aware of her arrest. As a member of the Turkish Parliament she enjoys immunity from prosecution, which would need to be lifted or given up for her to face trial. Officials from our Embassy in Ankara regularly observe trials in Turkey.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2015 to Question 18011, when he plans to announce the successful bids for the Homelessness Change/Platform for Life programme.
Jane Ellison
The results of the Homelessness Change/Platform for Life programme bidding process were announced on 22 December 2015. Bids worth £42.1 million were awarded for 14 projects in London and 60 in the rest of England. The programme runs for two years – from 2015-16 to 2016-17.
A list of the successful bids is attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support UK fishermen (a) in general and (b) in the under 10 metre fleet.
George Eustice
UK-led Common Fisheries Policy reforms have given UK fishermen a more sustainable long-term future.
The inshore fleet will particularly benefit from an extra 1,000 tonnes of quota this year. This comes on top of the permanent transfer of under-used quota to the Under-10s, which was worth an extra 678 tonnes in 2015.
In addition, over £100m of European (EMFF) Funding is now available to support the UK catching, processing and aquaculture sectors.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that employees who initially opted out of the automatic enrolment into pension provision are informed of the importance of revising of their individual pension status.
Justin Tomlinson
Automatic enrolment has been a great success to date. Since the roll out of automatic enrolment, nearly 6 million people have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension. Only 10% of individuals that have been automatically enrolled so far have chosen to opt out. This is one of the key indicators of the policy’s success in increasing participation in pension saving.
Individuals who have opted out of automatic enrolment and have subsequently changed their mind can discuss with their employer how to opt back in. Furthermore, employers are required by law to automatically re-enrol eligible workers every three years. This prompts individuals to periodically reconsider their saving arrangements. Employers also have duties to provide certain information to their workers within prescribed time limits.
In addition, the national communications campaign, Don’t Ignore the Workplace Pension, raises awareness of pension saving among both employees and employers, and promotes the idea that saving in a workplace pension is normal. The campaign directs individuals to the campaign website, The Pension Regulator’s website, and the relevant gov.uk website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on the UN Security Council referring evidence of potential genocide by Daesh to the International Criminal Court.
Mr Philip Hammond
The International Criminal Court Prosecutor set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her statement of 8 April 2015. Under article 13 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Court may exercise its jurisdiction if a situation in a specified territory is referred to the Prosecutor by the UN Security Council. When efforts were made to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014, this proposed referral was vetoed by Russia and China. However, the Government remains committed to working with our international partners to ensure that Daesh is held to account for its crimes and that those who have suffered at its hand receive justice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures he has put in place to monitor how the £1.25 billion allocated to children and adolescent mental health services in the March 2015 Budget is spent; and if he will take steps to ring-fence the remainder of that funding.
Alistair Burt
In total the Government has made available an additional £1.4 billion over the course of this Parliament to improve children and young people’s mental health. In addition to the £1.25 billion made available in the March 2015 budget, a further £150 million was made available in the 2014 Autumn Statement to develop evidence based community eating disorder services for children and young people.
NHS England’s Local Transformation Planning guidance issued, in August 2015, and the robust assurance process around it, backed by a programme of regional and national support, ensure that the additional money will be spent for the purposes intended and that locally determined key performance indicators will be met. No funding was allocated without full assurance in place.
The intention from 2016-17 is to monitor children and young people’s mental health services transformation as part of mainstream NHS England planning processes and through the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Improvement and Assessment Framework. As part of the 2016-17 financial reporting planning process, programme level spend including children and young people’s mental health spend will be monitored routinely throughout the year
While there is no legal power for the Department to ring-fence funding allocated to CCGs, we have introduced other means to ensure CCGs spend the additional investment where it is intended. The Department set objectives for NHS England in the annual mandate, which reflects the priorities for the health and care system. The mandate for 2016-17 sets objectives to 2020 and it makes it clear that the Government expects to see a transformation of children and young people’s mental health services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what provision is made within the family justice system to assist victims of domestic abuse in private family law cases who do not have the financial capability to provide documented evidence when applying for legal aid.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Government is absolutely clear that victims of domestic violence must have access to the help that they need, including access to legal aid.
As I updated the House on 21 April, the Ministry of Justice has begun work with domestic violence support groups, legal representative bodies and colleagues across government to gather data and further develop our understanding of the issues facing victims of domestic violence when applying for legal aid. The findings will be used to inform an evidence-based and sustainable solution, with the aim of drawing up replacement regulations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-07-20.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the local discount scheme to residents across Merseyside to allow them to travel toll-free across the Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee bridges when they open in 2017.
Mr David Gauke
My officials continue to work with the Department for Transport on the financial and contractual implications of any further extension of user discounts. A decision will be made on this in due course.