Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Prime Minister, (a) whether the RAF Voyager aircraft being refitted for ministerial travel has been leased to the Government, (b) what the capacity of that aircraft was before it was refitted and (c) what the cost of Prime Ministerial air travel has been since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Cameron

    Details about the RAF Voyager aircraft being refitted for ministerial travel can be found on page 32, section 4.49, of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, copies of which are available in the Vote Office.

    Details about Ministerial overseas travel are published on a quarterly basis and can be accessed via gov.uk website.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to implement the proposals in the Government’s report entitled Towards a one nation economy: A 10-point plan for boosting rural productivity published in August 2015.

    Rory Stewart

    Implementing the Rural Productivity Plan requires collaboration across Government.

    We have already begun to implement the plan, for example announcing new Enterprise Zones in rural areas and small towns, assessing expressions of interest to deliver 30 hours of free childcare early implementers in some areas, including rural, from September 2016, and lastly, premises without basic broadband will have access to a subsidised satellite scheme by the end of December.

    By investing in education and skills, increasing wages, improving infrastructure and connectivity, and simplifying planning laws for rural businesses and communities, we will help create thriving rural areas where generations of families can open and expand their businesses, buy a home and educate their children at first class schools.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on micro-businesses of changes included in the Finance Bill in relation to dividend taxation.

    Mr David Gauke

    At Summer Budget 2015, the Chancellor announced that the dividend tax credit will be replaced by a new £5,000 tax-free dividend allowance from April 2016, and that dividend tax rates would be amended from the same date.

    A tax information and impact note setting out expected impacts was published on 9 December. This is available to view at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-tax-changes-to-dividend-taxation/income-tax-changes-to-dividend-taxation.

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  • Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what revenue was received by the Exchequer from the total amount of food imported by the UK from other member states of the EU in the last 10 years.

    Mr David Gauke

    This level of detail is not collected on VAT or any other tax return.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the effect of changes in the participation rate on economic productivity; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Hands

    Government action to reward work and reform benefits has delivered a strong labour market which has seen the employment rate grow more than any other G7 country since early 2010 (Q1), and in the three months to January it stood at 74.1 per cent – the highest since records began.

    The government believes it is possible to maintain a strong labour market and improve productivity performance, and this why it has set out a comprehensive programme of structural reform in the productivity plan – “Fixing the Foundations” – with further measures included in Budget 2016.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the correction by Lord Bates on 24 March to his Written Answer on 19 October 2015 (HL2297), why they gave incorrect figures for the number of young asylum seekers deported on reaching their 18th birthday in their initial answer, and why it took them five months to correct those figures.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The incorrect figures given in the original response to Question HL2297 resulted from the use of an incorrect definition which excluded former Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children who now had linked dependants and cases made prior to October 2006. This error was identified following the correction of PQ 13206 in February 2016, which prompted a review of other related answers resulting in correction of this and five related House of Commons answers.

    Such mistakes are rare and when they occur they are taken very seriously. It is regrettable that human error caused the original response to be incorrect. Improvements have been put in place to ensure that such mistakes will not be made in future. The appropriate definition has been reviewed, confirmed and made clear to the officials involved.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support he is providing for research into epilepsy medication for pregnant women.

    George Freeman

    The Department’s National Institute for Health Research is funding a £1.5 million evaluation of the effectiveness, cost effectiveness and acceptability of dose adjustment strategies in antiepileptic drug management in pregnancy. The report of the evaluation is expected to be published in February 2017.

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that her Department’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.

    Karen Bradley

    The Department’s purchasing policies support the Government’s commitment to do all it can to ensure UK suppliers can compete effectively for public sector contracts, in line with our current international obligations and guidance issued by the Crown Commercial Service.

  • Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they provide to deaf people in developing countries.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    People with disabilities are the largest minority group globally. An estimated one billion people have a disability globally, 80% of whom live in developing countries. People with disabilities are often the poorest in their community and many face considerable levels of stigma, discrimination and persecution.

    DFID follows a ‘twin-track’ approach to disability inclusion. This means we aim to attach priority to disability in all our policies and programmes as well as supporting disability-targeted programmes.

    Over the last two years, DFID has strengthened our capacity to work on disability inclusion, including by appointing a director-level champion, employing three full-time staff to work solely on disability, and developing a group of Internal Disability Expert Advisers from across our organisation.

    DFID’s efforts to date have included:

    • Furnishing schools with equipment and training teachers so children with disabilities can get a quality education.
    • Providing grants to local Disabled People Organisations, allowing people with disabilities to come together and lobby governments on the issues which affect them.
    • Collecting data on disability so we can fully understand the scale of impact and how best to support those people it affects.

    For example, two projects in the UK’s flagship Girls Education Challenge are exclusively focused on addressing the issue that girls with disabilities are less likely to access education. Specific interventions include provision of assistive devices and scholastic materials for girls with hearing impairments and improvement of teacher skills to enable them to communicate in sign language, which has encouraged parents to enrol their children in schools.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to ensure that there will be sufficient childcare places in place by April 2017 for pre-school aged children of parents who will be expected to seek work from that date under the provisions of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.

    Priti Patel

    We expect the childcare market to adapt and expand as it has done so successfully in the past. There has been an increase of 230,000 places since 2009 and a significant increase in the take up of childcare provision in low and middle income areas. To support that continued growth and build capacity in the sector, the government has made capital funding available to create nursery provision as part of new Free Schools which will create at least 4,000 places. This government has supported existing providers to expand by reducing bureaucracy and making it easier for providers such as childminders and schools, to provide places and will continue to do so. In addition, we are trialling innovative ways of providing the extended entitlement next year, in particular to look at how the childcare can be provided more flexibly to suit the needs of working parents and increase choice. So far, there have been over one thousand expressions of interest to take part in the early implementation of the extended entitlement.

    There is an extensive menu of childcare support in addition to the Department for Education offer including: the Universal Credit Childcare element; Tax-Free Childcare; and help with childcare costs under the Jobcentre Plus Flexible Support Fund to enable parents to undertake training, attend interviews or start work. Work related requirements should be tailored to individual circumstances and compatible with child care responsibilities. Parents should not be asked to undertake work related requirements which they cannot fit around their childcare responsibilities if suitable childcare is not available in their local area.