Tag: Parliamentary Question

Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to minimise the risk to aircraft from the use of drones, and whether those steps include a system of registration of ownership.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Drones are becoming increasingly popular and have the potential to bring significant economic benefits, but it is vital that they are operated safely, in a way that does not put members of the public and other aircraft at risk. There are existing regulations in place that require users of drones to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with their vehicle and to not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property. Work is underway to better understand the level of risk posed by flying drones close to commercial planes. We are talking to both the Civil Aviation Authority and airports to find technical solutions to the problems around airport, these include mandated geo-fencing or frequency jammers.

The department is leading efforts with international bodies to develop a stringent regulatory framework focusing on safety. We are currently undertaking public dialogues ahead of a public consultation which will help to inform a government strategy to be published this year. The consultation will look at a range of options including regulation, registration and licensing options and a database to increase transparency on the use of drones for the general public.

The Civil Aviation Authority is undertaking activities to raise awareness of the basic safety requirements, including an ongoing ‘Dronecode’ safety awareness campaign, issuing safety leaflets at the point of sale, publishing an animated video on their website, and running ‘small UAS’ Risk and Hazard workshops with industry as part of the Mid Air Collision Programme.

01/01/2023
Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-02-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will give guidance to local authorities about the limits on their powers to engage in political boycotts overseas.

Lord Bridges of Headley

On 17 February, the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) published procurement guidance for public authorities that makes clear that boycotts in public procurement are inappropriate outside where formal legal sanctions, embargoes and restrictions have been put in place by the UK Government.

This new guidance gives no consideration to matters of common law, which is a matter for the courts. However, the guidance makes it clear that local level boycotts can be unlawful and lead to severe penalties against the contracting authority and the Government.

01/01/2023
Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.49 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what progress the Government has made on the proposal to adapt a Voyager aircraft for the secure transport of senior ministers and the Royal Family; what adaptations will be made to the aircraft for that purpose; what estimate the Government has made of costs of those adaptations; who is responsible for making those adaptations; and when those adaptations are planned to be completed.

Mr Philip Dunne

We are making good progress on the proposal to adapt one of our existing Voyager aircraft so that, as well as its primary air tanking role, it can transport senior Ministers securely. The aircraft will also be available for the Royal Family. There will be a number of modifications to ensure that the Voyager aircraft can transport senior Ministers whilst still maintaining the ability to conduct its operational role, therefore delivering better value for money than the current use of charter aircraft. The aircraft will be reconfigured to have 158 seats.

I am witholding further information at this time as its release would prejudice on going commercial negotiations.

01/01/2023
Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support will be provided to parents should they have difficulties accessing support through the tax-free childcare scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds

Tax-Free Childcare is being designed to be as straightforward as possible for parents. It will be quick and easy to apply online for the vast majority who are able to do so. However, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will ensure that assistance is provided to families who cannot access the internet so that they do not miss out on the support available via Tax-Free Childcare.

Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.

The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested before the scheme is launched.

01/01/2023
– 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-06-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to require Ofsted inspectors to judge whether the work of mainstream Christian churches with young people, either directly or through approved Christian organisations which specialise in working with young people, in activities such as holiday Bible clubs, church weekends, and summer camps, is in accordance with a British Values” test; and if so

Lord Nash

The Government is committed to safeguarding all children and protecting them from the risk of harm and extremism, including in out-of-school settings.

The Prime Minister announced plans to introduce a new system of oversight for out-of-school education settings – such as supplementary schools and tuition centres – which teach children intensively, on 7 October 2015. These were confirmed in the Government’s Counter-Extremism Strategy which was published on 19 October. These plans to regulate out-of-school settings which teach children intensively were set out in the call for evidence which ran for 6 and a half weeks between 26 November and 11 January.

We are not proposing to regulate settings teaching children for a short period every week, such as Sunday schools or the Scouts, or one-off residential activities, such as a week-long summer camp. We are looking specifically at settings providing intensive education outside school where children could be spending more than six hours a week.

The call for evidence sought views on the appropriateness of seeking to prohibit teaching which undermines or is incompatible with fundamental British values. Now that the call for evidence has closed, we are considering carefully the responses received as we develop the proposals further.

We will be publishing our response to the call for evidence and setting out the next steps on the proposals in due course.

01/01/2023
Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the use of mechanical thrombectomy in treatment of stroke on length of stay in hospital and bed occupancy rates.

David Mowat

As yet, there are insufficient patients being treated with mechanical thrombectomy to assess its impact on processes, such as length of hospital stay and bed occupancy rates, outcomes of care and the effect on post stroke rehabilitation.

However, the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme is now collecting data on patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy and the results will be reported as soon as it is feasible. Sufficient cases will need to be undertaken before conducting the necessary statistical analyses and reporting the data.

NHS England is considering whether mechanical thrombectomy should be an area covered by its specialised commissioning portfolio and work is underway on this.

01/01/2023
Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the re-conviction rate is of offenders supervised by Working Links in Wales during the first 12 months following such supervision.

Mr Sam Gyimah

One year reoffending rates for the first cohort managed under our probation reforms will be published in the quarterly proven reoffending statistics bulletin in autumn 2017, available on gov.uk. This will include those for Wales.

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01/01/2023
Anna Turley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether monitoring activity was put in place by his Department to oversee the financial viability of SSI in Redcar.

Anna Soubry

It is up to companies to run their own financial affairs and to submit annual returns and accounts. My Department was aware of the serious financial difficulties facing SSI UK prior to its closure and made every effort within the bounds of the law to provide assistance where we could, including ensuring workers could be paid their monthly salaries.

01/01/2023

Lord Fearn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Fearn on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the annual spending by inbound tourists to the UK and which countries are the 10 largest source markets from which those tourists come.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

According to the Office for National Statistics International Passenger Survey, inbound visitors to the UK spent £21.85 billion in 2014. The top ten inbound markets by spend last year are set out in the following table.

Top 10 inbound markets by value 2014

	From	Spend (£m)
1	USA	£2,944
2	Germany	£1,478
3	France	£1,434
4	Australia	£1,224
5	Spain	£1,082
6	Italy	£922
7	Irish Republic	£870
8	Netherlands	£701
9	Norway	£548
10	Sweden	£503

More information can be found on the VisitBritain website –https://www.visitbritain.org/inbound-tourism-trends

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01/01/2023

Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to prepare for the outcome of the EU referendum.

Anna Soubry

The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in the United Kingdom – so we get a better deal for our country and secure our future. We are confident that the right agreement can be reached.

01/01/2023