UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

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

    Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to their plan to reduce England’s rate of childhood obesity, in what practical ways they intend to increase physical activity amongst children to reduce obesity.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government’s Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action published on 18 August 2016 sets out the actions we are taking to support children and young people to meet the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officer’s daily recommended levels of at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity. A copy of the plan is attached. This includes doubling the Primary PE and Sport Premium from September 2017, a new interactive online tool to help schools identify gaps in existing provision and recommend ways of increasing opportunities for children to be active, and access to high quality sports and physical activity programmes for all primary schools in England. This year we are investing another £1 million in the Change4Life Sports Clubs programme which targets the less active children.

    In addition, we will develop a new, voluntary healthy rating scheme available to all primary schools. It will recognise and encourage schools’ contribution to preventing obesity by helping children to eat better and move more.

    We will also be providing more guidance for schools about how they can work with the school nurses, health centres, healthy weight teams in local authorities and other resources, to help children develop a healthier lifestyle.

  • Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support officials of his Department are providing for the Commonwealth Trade Ministers’ meeting in London in 2017.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK will co-host this meeting with Malta in London next March. Officials are working closely with colleagues in the Department for International Trade and the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council on the practical arrangements and how the meeting can be used to increase cooperation, break down trade barriers and improve trading environments.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Government has received from the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived in each of the last two years.

    Priti Patel

    The UK allocation from the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) is €3.96m for the 2014-20 period and will be used to expand breakfast club provision in deprived areas in England. The Department for Education received interim funding of €541,216 in advance of the scheme commencing. Officials are currently exploring options for the best way for the scheme to be administered.

    Since FEAD was created from within structural funds allocations and has some similarities to ESF, DWP Ministers took the initial decisions on our negotiation position on the size of the UK allocation and on the use of the funds. Responsibility for implementing the Fund now sits with DfE, and we have agreed this response with them. We will discuss with officials there whether all correspondence, PQs and so on, should now be their responsibility, or whether we retain a policy lead.

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on plans to allow local councils to retain business rates.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    DCLG confirmed at the Spending Review our intention, by the end of this Parliament, to allow local government to keep 100% of the business rates they raise locally. We have had initial discussions with local government representative bodies and individual authorities about the reform programme. We will broaden and deepen those discussions in the New Year.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the vulnerability to flooding of (a) rail and (b) road networks; and what steps his Department is taking to protect such infrastructure from the risk of floods.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    My Department is constantly working to maintain and improve the resilience of transport to a full range of hazards.

    Network Rail are well aware of the risks from flooding and other severe weather events, and measures to improve the resilience of the network, including addressing specific concerns and recommendations arising from previous flooding events, are integral to their current 5 year programme of investment, maintenance and renewals.

    Local highway authorities have a duty to maintain their network and prepare for severe weather with regards to local roads. The Government has allocated a record £6.1 billion to fund local highways maintenance between now and 2021, continuing the increase in funding that started during the last Parliament.

    Highways England are responsible for operating, maintaining and improving the strategic road network, and will invest £78 million over the next 5 years on a range of measures to improve flood resilience and water quality on the network.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 25019, what efficiency savings he expects the British Transport Police to make in cash terms in each year up to 2020-21.

    Claire Perry

    During the recent spending review, the Department made clear to the British Transport Police Authority that it considered that appropriate efficiencies should be identified and made. However, it also emphasised that any efficiencies identified should not materially impact on the operational policing capability of the British Transport Police, including in relation to counter-terrorist activity. The British Transport Police Authority identified savings of over 8% that can be made between 2016/17 and 2019/20 from the British Transport Police’s (BTP) core policing budgets, focussed on those areas where reductions would not have a material operational impact on the rail network. The Department has set out its expectation that these savings should be achieved during the course of the spending review period. Any efficiency savings could, however, potentially be reinvested into counter-terrorist activities, depending on the need.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications to the Healthy New Towns programme were made by organisations based in the West Midlands.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department does not hold information on the applications to the Healthy New Towns programme.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how he assessed the levels of consumption by children of drinks products affected by the sugar levy.

    Mr David Gauke

    The evidence about children’s consumption of soft drinks comes from the Public Health England report ‘Sugar reduction: the evidence for action’ published in October 2015.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-05-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 25 April (HL7529), whether badger predation on hedgehogs is increasing or decreasing.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    There has been no assessment of whether badger predation on hedgehogs is increasing or decreasing. Badgers have, however, been identified as one of a range of factors that could potentially have an impact on hedgehog populations.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the Juba Teaching Hospital in South Sudan has adequate supplies of electricity; what assessment they have made of the effect of power cuts and power rationing on that hospital’s ability to provide treatment; whether they have raised the issue of the lack of electricity at the Juba Teaching Hospital with the government of South Sudan; and what steps they will take to ensure that that government takes action.

    Baroness Verma

    The Government of South Sudan has provided one year’s supply of fuel to the Juba Teaching Hospital. The fuel was delivered and electricity was restored to the hospital at the end of May 2016. The Government has also recently signed a contract with a private company to undertake general renovation of the hospital.

    The South Sudan Government’s annual budget allocations for health and education are amongst the lowest in the region averaging 6% for education and 4% for health, compared to an average of 17% and 15% respectively in other East African countries. The UK has consistently lobbied for increased budget allocations to these sectors. The UK is pressing the Government of South Sudan to increase funding for health in the 2016-17 annual budget which will be set in July, particularly for medicines, hospital infrastructure, recurrent running costs including fuel, and personnel for hospitals and clinics. This issue was most recently raised in a meeting with the Minister of Health, Riek Gai Kok on 21 June 2016.