Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Alan Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alan Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Campbell on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to extend the provisions of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 to include pet shops.

    Rory Stewart

    Pet shop owners must be licensed by their Local Authority, which will have regard to the provision of suitable accommodation for the animals, including ones that may be considered dangerous, before granting such a licence and specifying any additional conditions.

    The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 (DWAA) provides an exemption from its licensing requirements for those animals kept in licensed pet shops and there are currently no plans to extend the provisions of the DWAA to include such establishments.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the programme to reintroduce the great bustard on Salisbury plain.

    Rory Stewart

    This project is run by the independent Great Bustard Group. I understand that by the end of 2016 there should be enough evidence available on the survival and dispersal of the birds to know whether the population on Salisbury Plain can successfully rear new birds to join the adult population.

  • Ian Lavery – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Ian Lavery – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the National Flood Resilience Review will assess the (a) maintenance requirements of flood assets and (b) capacity of the Environment Agency to maintain flood defences.

    Rory Stewart

    The National Flood Resilience Review is not assessing the maintenance requirements of flood assets or the capacity of the Environment Agency to maintain flood defences. The terms of reference for the Review were published on 26 January 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-flood-resilience-review-government-action-to-tackle-floods.

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  • Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) primary and (b) secondary policy purposes are of VAT exemption for supplies of commercial property.

    Mr David Gauke

    Supplies of commercial property are subject to a mandatory VAT exemption under the European VAT Directive.

  • Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wendy Morton on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s spending was on Overseas Development Aid in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) the first 10 months of 2015-16; and what the recipient countries of that aid were.

    Michael Fallon

    Ministry of Defence spending on overseas development assistance was £3.0 million in calendar year 2013 and £2.2 million in calendar year 2014. The 2015 figure is currently undergoing assurance and is scheduled to be published on 1 April 2016. Recipients include Vanuatu, Nepal, refugees from Syria and Lebanon, nations in the Caribbean, Southern Africa and St Helena.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions a judicial officer has not imposed a victims surcharge or any other fine following a request to do so in each of the last three years.

    Mike Penning

    Courts are required to impose the victim surcharge on all offenders convicted of any offence, however those who receive an absolute discharge or a Hospital Order under the Mental Health Act 1983 are exempt from the surcharge.

    In respect of fines, the sentence imposed in a particular case is based on the details of the offence and the offender, within the maximum penalties set out in statute and with due consideration to sentencing guidelines. The court is obliged to follow any sentencing guidelines unless it is contrary to the interests of justice to do so. If a court imposes a sentence outside the range indicated in the guidelines, it must state its reasons for doing so.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the article by Marta N. Shahbazi et al, entitled Self-organisation of the human embryo in the absence of material tissues, Nature Cell Biology (2016) and by Alessia Deglincerti et al, entitled Self-organisation of the in vitro attached human embryo, Nature 553, 251 to 254, of 12 May 2016, if he will instruct the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to require prolonged culture for up to 13 days or longer of any human embryos generated by (a) pronuclear transfer and (b) spindle-chromosomal complex transfer prior to clinical application of either of these techniques.

    Jane Ellison

    It will be for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, as the United Kingdom national regulatory body, to determine what evidence must be provided by clinics seeking a licence to provide mitochondrial donation treatment to patients, and any conditions that are to be placed on the licence.

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended, prohibits the keeping or using of embryos for longer than 14 days or the appearance of the primitive streak, whichever is the earlier.

  • Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received from interested parties about the recent EU deactivation specification as it applies to deactivated historical firearms as defined in the Policing and Crime Bill.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The EU Implementing Regulation 2015/2403 on deactivation standards which came into force on 8 April 2016 sets new technical specifications for deactivated weapons.

    Clause 114 of the Policing and Crime Bill creates a specific new offence to sell or gift a weapon that has not been deactivated to the new EU Deactivation Standard.

    We have received representations from a small number of interested parties who have been concerned that the EU specification is not as effective as the previous UK standards. In addition, we were contacted by members of re-enactment and living history societies wishing to travel to France with their firearms to participate in commemorative events linked to the D-Day landings and the Battle of the Somme.

    We have published guidance on the Regulation which includes requirements for additional measures for deactivated weapons brought into the UK. These measures, which go beyond the EU specification in a small number of areas, were introduced to align the requirements more closely with the previous UK standards. We have also worked with the UK Proof Houses to ensure that certification to the new standards is prioritised for re-enactors wishing to travel with their firearms.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2016 to Question 45252, whether he plans to routinely publish future reviews carried out by his Department on the deaths of social security claimants.

    Damian Hinds

    Internal Process Reviews are an internal continuous improvement tool and as such there are no plans to publish the reports. We are content to share any recommendations from these reports.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of national programmes which provide naloxone for at-risk prisoners on their release.

    Jane Ellison

    There is no national programme that provides naloxone for at-risk prisoners on their release. The decision of whether or not to provide naloxone to prisoners on release is the responsibility of Health and Justice commissioning teams within NHS England’s area teams and other local stakeholders, including local authorities and clinical commissioning groups. The information on how many prisons provide naloxone for prisoners upon release in England is not held centrally.