Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • 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 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the environmental assurance work his Department undertook in December 2015 in connection with runway expansion has been completed; and what the estimated cost of that work was to the public purse on the latest date for which figures are available.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Department is undertaking work to understand the environmental impacts of additional airport capacity. Further details on procurement undertaken to support the Department on environmental impacts can be found here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/17ffaddc-3c19-4462-91ae-bf30029c08d9.

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  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2016 to Question 46209, what the relationship will be between the clinical expert groups and the recently established cross-Clinical Reference Group working parties.

    David Mowat

    As part of the revised arrangements for the Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs), which support specialised commissioning, NHS England has also announced the establishment of cross-CRG working parties, including some which will work with other health and care bodies to contribute to improving services, data and efficiency. These are not distinct CRGs, but a collaboration between existing groups.

    Those working parties are:

    – Research – building an interface with the National Institute for Health Research to advise how future research strategies align with commissioning and maximising opportunities;

    – Data and Resource – working with NHS Digital and NHS Improvement to provide clinical advice to these organisations in their work to improve the information that guides commissioning;

    – Guidance – working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence as a stakeholder in their guidance development and providing clinical advice as needed; and

    – Value – to better understand, and therefore reduce, variations in services and, where appropriate, cease treatments/ways of working that are no longer of clinical or patient benefit.

    These relate to the specialised commissioning CRGs and there is no link to the clinical expert groups.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he had during his recent visit to the Gulf states to encourage those states to increase their involvement in the (a) war against ISIL and (b) resolution of the refugee situation in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign Secretary discussed the counter ISIL effort with all the countries that he visited during his recent trip to the Gulf, which included Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE. We will continue to work intensively with Gulf States to deal with ISIL, both bilaterally and multilaterally, including under the auspices of the Global Coalition to counter-ISIL.

    Our partners in the Gulf share our view that ISIL presents a threat to regional stability. Several of them have suffered from ISIL attacks in their homelands, and many host large numbers of refugees fleeing Assad’s and ISIL’s brutality. They are committed to defeating ISIL, and fully recognise that coordinated international action is the best way to achieve that. All the countries that the Foreign Secretary visited during his recent trip are working to defeat ISIL, including as part of the Global Coalition to counter-ISIL.

    As a result of the Syrian crisis, there are now over 4 million refugees from Syria in neighbouring countries. All of the countries that the Foreign Secretary visited are in agreement with us that a political solution is the only way to resolve the Syrian crisis.

  • Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Tyrie on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the Airports Commission used his Department’s National Air Passenger Demand Model and National Air Passenger Allocation model in its work; whether the assumption of homogenous capacity in those models affected the net present value figures in Table 7.1 of the Commission’s Final Report, published in July 2015, compared with a model that distinguished between long and short-haul, business and leisure, and domestic and international capacity; and what assessment he has made of whether the use of a model that distinguishes between such different types of capacity would increase or decrease the net present value of each of those shortlisted schemes.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

    The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out, including that on costs, when making a decision on additional runway capacity.

  • Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-01-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many non-British EEA nationals with a National Insurance number who arrived in the UK prior to four years ago (a) paid National Insurance contributions, (b) paid PAYE income tax and (c) claimed benefits or tax credits in the last year.

    Mr David Gauke

    Calculating the number of individuals who were paying PAYE income tax and National Insurance contributions who were citizens of the EEA when they first registered for a National Insurance Number is complex and cannot be done quickly. However, HM Revenue and Customs are planning to produce further information early in 2016 on this issue, once it has been properly collated.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what costs have been incurred by his Department for the current advertising campaign on the national living wage.

    Nick Boles

    The total budget allocated for the National Living Wage advertising campaign is £4.95 million. The campaign will run until the end of April and we expect to come in under budget.

    The Government’s new National Living Wage is a step up for working people, so it is important workers know their rights and that employers pay the new £7.20 from April 1 this year. Britain deserves a pay rise and as a One Nation Government we are making sure it gets one. The campaign will tell people about their entitlements and is targeted at employers, and workers currently earning the National Minimum Wage.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she has taken to support the Humber region’s biomass projects.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC officials have met with local biomass generators and developers. There are several biomass projects at different stages of development around Immingham, Hull and Stallingborough. The £162million investment at the Brigg Renewable Energy Plant, a 40 MW straw fired biomass plant, has recently opened.

    Biomass generation is contributing jobs to Humberside. As a result of £100million in investment, the Humber International Terminal (HIT) at the Port of Immingham is already receiving some of the world’s largest shipments of biomass, destined for Drax, in the adjacent county of North Yorkshire. Drax is supported by the Renewables Obligation and has secured a Contract for Difference to convert another unit to biomass (under the Final Investment Decision enabling Renewables programme). If State Aid approval for the contract is obtained, the Humber will see some 6 million tonnes per annum of pellets imported into the UK. This will enhance its position for future business, including in the heat sector. The UK government continue to support Drax with the State Aid case.

  • Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the arrangements with which the Highways Agency ensures that contractors responsible for keeping trunk roads clean fulfil their obligations, and whether they use photographic evidence to record the cleanliness of trunk roads.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Highways England as a Government Owned Company, is responsible for complying with the mandatory legal requirements under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which includes removing litter on England’s motorways and some trunk roads.

    Contractors have clear specifications, aligned to the Environmental Protection Act. Compliance is monitored by Highways England, with the use of photographic evidence as one possible method.

  • Baroness Deech – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Deech – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Deech on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the stem cell research collaboration between British and Israeli scientists under the auspices of the Britain Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The effectiveness of the Britain Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership (BIRAX) comes firstly from its robust selection process. All projects are assessed during the selection process for their quality of science and contribution to the scientific community by a selection panel of leading researchers in their field from the UK and Israel, and also by an anonymous peer review process, that includes leading researchers around the world. During their implementation, projects are monitored via yearly narrative and financial reporting, in addition to reporting on Researchfish. The British Council is planning a comprehensive evaluation exercise this year, which is the programme’s 5th year.

    In addition, the programme is being co-funded by leading health research organisations such as British Heart Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Multiple Sclerosis Society and Parkinson’s UK, who evaluate the projects before making their funding commitment and ensure their scientific excellence.

    While the projects are too recent to be assessed for their impact on the Regenerative Medicine scientific field, so far a number of publications have emanated from the programme, including a ground-breaking article in Cell by Professor Yaqub Hanna in collaboration with Professor Azim Surani from The University of Cambridge. The article was assessed by the journal to be their number one paper last year. Articles by BIRAX grantees have also been published in Nature, Cell Biology, Frontiers in Immunology, Cancer Stem Cells and International Innovation.

    The Programme is the only platform for bilateral cooperation between Israel and UK researchers in the field of regenerative medicine and stem cell research. Over 30 labs are involved in the projects, and hundreds of scientists are working on the Programme’s project. Over 1000 scientists took part in the bi-annual BIRAX conferences, with the recent conference which took place at the University of Oxford, this April being the largest.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 1 June (HL344), whether they gave their consent for the EU Gendarmerie Force to wear the EU emblem on their uniforms; if so, whether they plan to withdraw their consent; and if not, what representations they have made to the relevant authorities about the use of that emblem.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The European Gendarmerie Force comprises police forces with military status from Spain, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, and Poland. Its work relates to crisis management operations and it’s purpose is set out in the Treaty of Velsen and the Declaration of intent, both of which are available at: http://www.eurogendfor.org/organisation/what-is-eurogendfor.

    The European Gendarmerie Force’s insignia differs from the EU’s flag or branding. The UK does not participate in the European Gendarmerie Force and in the event that it ever sought permission to operate in the UK that would require the agreement of the appropriate authorities.