Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Turkey on its commitment to (a) improving the human rights situation in that country and (b) meeting the criteria for entry to the EU.

    Mr David Lidington

    We continue to monitor closely human rights developments in Turkey. British officials regularly raise human rights issues in their contacts with Turkish political leaders and officials at all levels. I discussed human rights and EU accession with my Turkish counterpart when he visited my constituency in August. We strongly encourage Turkey to continue work towards the full protection of fundamental rights, especially in the areas of women’s and minority rights, freedom of religion and freedom of expression. We welcome progress made thus far, and as the EU Commission highlights, further sustained work is needed to meet EU standards. The UK Government continues to support Turkey’s EU accession process and is working closely with Turkey, EU Member States, and European institutions on this. It is a positive sign that Turkey-EU relations have been reinvigorated following the successful Turkey-EU summit in Brussels on 29 November.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, who his Ministerial private office informed of his plans to visit Cardiff on 7 January 2016; by what method they so informed those people and on what date those communications took place.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Chancellor’s visit to Cardiff on 7 January 2016 was made in accordance with the specifications of the Ministerial Code.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reasons the responsibilities planned for the proposed Institute for Apprenticeships could not have been undertaken by the existing UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

    Nick Boles

    The role of the Institute for Apprenticeships (IFA) will be very different to the current role and remit of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES).

    The IFA must be able to make decisions independently of Ministers and hold direct operational responsibility rather than act in an advisory capacity.

    This will require different governance arrangements, with a small Board led primarily by employers and business leaders to steer the processes and decisions that are made.

    The IFA will assume functions that Government has so far undertaken in relation to apprenticeship standards and assessment plans and will operate in the context of achieving three million starts by 2020.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has received on the practice of retoxification prior to their release of prisoners who have a history of drug addictions.

    Ben Gummer

    No representations have been made to the Department in respect of the retoxification of prisoners with a history of drug addiction prior to their release.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations his Department has (a) received and (b) made on guidance on volume controls of mobile phones and other devices using headphones.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department has received no representations nor made any guidance regarding the volume controls of mobile phones and other devices using headphones.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the level of fund management fees charged to consumers reflects a competitive market, in the light of the variable performance of such funds.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government is committed to the principle that people who have worked hard and saved should have access to appropriate and accessible investment options and understand the charges that they face. We appreciate the efforts that industry have made to fulfil this aim.

    Since last April, the Government has ensured that trustees of defined contribution pension schemes report charges levied on members in schemes used for auto enrolment.

    We are also engaging with international work on transparency, such as the legislation agreed at European Union level through the Packaged Retail and Insurance Based Investment Products (PRIIPs) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). MiFID II will introduce new measures to increase transparency of research costs for clients of portfolio managers. Under these new measures, portfolio managers may only pay for research through their own funds or from a specific research payment account funded by its clients and subject to specific controls, including a research budget.

    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is also currently conducting a market study into asset management, which covers the issue of whether the level of fund management fees charged to consumers reflects a competitive market. We await the FCA’s assessment of competition in this sector. The FCA expect to publish an interim report in summer 2016 and a final report in early 2017.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the EU Third Directive on Driving Licenses on the motorcycle assessment industry.

    Andrew Jones

    There has not been an assessment made of the effect of the EU Third Directive on Driving Licences (2006/126/EC) on the motorcycle assessment industry.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Offender Management Service plan to adopt a regime based on isolation and solitary confinement for all those Muslim prisoners who are assessed as posing a risk of encouraging Islamic radicalisation whilst in prison.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The government is committed to tackling all forms of extremism. Keeping the most dangerous extremists away from other prisoners is essential to the safe running of our prisons and fundamental to public protection. Planning is under way to create specialist units within the high security estate to allow greater separation and specialised management of extremists who pose the highest risk to other prisoners. The regime of the new units will not be based on isolation or solitary confinement but on removing a small subset of the most dangerous and subversive radicalisers from the mainstream prisoner population.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to mark the centenary of the birth of Richard Walker by ensuring that Clarissa the carp appears on the front of the 2017-18 fishing licence; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    The images on the rod licence are currently produced under agreement with a specialist wildlife artist and have focused on fish in their natural environment. The exact image is determined the year before the licence goes on sale and the image for 2017/18 has already been determined. The design for 2018/19 will be determined during 2017. The Environment Agency is happy to consider the option of using Clarissa to mark the centenary of the birth of Richard Walker.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the amount of £4 to £19 billion referred to in her Departmental Minute of 21 October 2015 as the total support to HPC is (a) the actual total cash amount or (b) the present value of the total cash amount of the support to be paid to EDF.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Total support to HPC through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) is expected to be in the range of £4bn to £19bn (real 2012 prices, discounted to 2012) depending on the level of future wholesale prices. The Department has presented discounted figures for these costs to consumers relating to support payments for Hinkley Point C based on guidance set out in The Green Book published by HM Treasury.