Tag: Parliamentary Question

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of calls for an investigation into what action should be taken against those in Burma who are responsible for the crackdown by police at the Letpaden meeting of student protesters.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We publicly expressed our concerns at the violence that occurred in Letpadan in March 2015 and supported the EU’s call for a formal investigation to be initiated. The right to peaceful demonstration is a fundamental democratic freedom. Officials from our Embassy and those of other international partners have been attending the protesters’ trials. We look forward to working with the new government in Burma to make improvements across the spectrum of civil and political liberties.

01/01/2023

Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of economic output was attributed to the retail sector in each of the last 10 years, and what estimate they have made of that sector’s contribution over the next 10 years.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The table below sets out the percentage of nominal output attributed to retail trade (except of motor vehicles and motorcycles) in each of the last 10 years:

Year	Retail trade as share of nominal output
2006	5.6%
2007	5.6%
2008	5.6%
2009	5.6%
2010	5.7%
2011	5.6%
2012	5.7%
2013	5.6%
2014	5.6%
2015	5.6%

The Office for Budget Responsibility was created in 2010 to provide independent and authoritative analysis of the UK’s public finances, and economic forecasts.

The Office for Budget Responsibility do not forecast growth on a sub- sectoral level.

01/01/2023

Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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 Price on 1 June (HL107), (1) why HM Revenue and Customs collects data on the currency of invoicing for trade with non-EU countries but not for EU countries, and (2) how they and the Bank of England manage sterling interest and exchange rates in the absence of such data.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

HM Revenue and Customs collects data on the currency of invoicing for trade with non-EU countries as a basis for calculating customs duty under customs and statistical law. It is published in the UK on a dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com) and available to all. This data is also used by the European Institutions (e.g. the European Central Bank) to monitor the share of the Euro in international trade. There is no legislative requirement for this information to be collected for trade with EU countries.

The UK’s monetary framework is clear, the independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England sets Bank Rate to target 2% inflation. The UK does not have an exchange rate target, the exchange rate is allowed to adjust flexibly, and movements in sterling are determined by market forces.

01/01/2023
Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will re-evaluate the dualling of the entire A303/A30 corridor.

Mr John Hayes

The Government is committed to upgrading all single carriageway sections of the A303 and A358 between the M3 and M5 to dual carriageway standard. In respect of the A303/A30 between Southfields and Honiton, Highways England will assess the options for improvements, including dualling, as part of its South West Peninsula route strategy, for which evidence gathering is underway. All interested parties are encouraged to submit evidence on the performance of this route through the tool at: www.highways.gov.uk/route-strategies.

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01/01/2023
Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the total number of supplementary hours worked by pharmacists beyond the hours mandated in the standard NHS contract.

David Mowat

The Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond, on which we have consulted, are being considered against the public sector equality duty, the family test and the relevant duties of my Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health under the National Health Service Act 2006. Our assessment considers a range of potential impacts in respect to the adequate provision of NHS pharmaceutical services and access to NHS pharmaceutical services, including supplementary hours and 100 hours per week pharmacies. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.

Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive. We are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared with others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.

Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive. We are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared with others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

01/01/2023
Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government plans to use its membership of the UN Security Council to facilitate diplomatic negotiations on the protection of civilians in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Protection of civilians in Syria, as well as those who have been forced to flee the country, is a priority for the UK. In the Security Council we have co-sponsored a number of humanitarian resolutions that call for an end of indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including the use of barrel bombs, starvation as a method of warfare, and obstructing the flow of humanitarian aid. Specifically, the UK played a key role in negotiating Resolution 2191, which has allowed the UN and its partners to deliver aid across Syria’s borders to people who were previously denied access, including food for 2.1 million people and medical supplies for 2.5 million people. The UK is the second largest bilateral donor, providing over £1.1 billion to those most in need in Syria and neighbouring countries. This is our largest ever response to a crisis. The long term protection of civilians requires an end to the conflict in Syria and a political settlement based upon the principles of the Geneva Communiqué. We continue to pursue this objective, including through the new political process which began in Vienna on 30 October.

01/01/2023
Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what powers they have to insist that recipients of British development aid should respect freedom of conscience and religion, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Baroness Verma

The UK attaches great importance to ensuring that people of all faiths can participate fully in society and live without fear of abuse or discrimination. DFID works closely with the FCO to raise concerns about freedom of religion with partner governments to ensure that all citizens can claim their rights. The UK’s development and humanitarian aid is not targeted at specific groups but at the poorest, regardless of race, religion, creed, or nationality.

Before providing aid to a foreign government, DFID assesses the government’s commitment to four partnership principles, one of which concerns human rights. DFID provides aid to governments where we are satisfied that they share our commitments to reduce poverty and to respect human rights.

01/01/2023
Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on housebuilding on floodplains.

Brandon Lewis

National planning policy is designed to protect people and property from flooding. Local planning authorities are expected to avoid inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding by directing development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains. The policy is underpinned by planning guidance which makes clear that new house building should not be permitted in functional floodplains where water has to flow or be stored in times of flood.

Mitigation measures to make development acceptable in flood risk areas can be made a requirement of any planning consent.

All local planning authorities are expected to follow the strict tests set out in national planning policy and guidance. Where these tests are not met, national policy is very clear that new development should not be allowed.

01/01/2023
Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will consult public sector organisations which would be affected by the proposed exit payment cap on the technical considerations of that cap.

Greg Hands

The Government maintains that £95,000 is a significant amount of money for anyone to be receiving for an exit, while the large majority of exit payments are already significantly below the level of the cap. Voluntary redundancy and workforce restructuring is not contingent upon access to six-figure exit payments. As such, we do not expect the cap to have a widespread impact on the take-up of voluntary redundancy, and believe the cap will enable public sector employers to retain the tools to effectively make organisational changes to their workforce whilst offering those made redundant generous provisions for loss of employment.

The consultation on the public sector exit payment cap ran from 31 July to 27 August 2015, and received over 4000 responses. These responses included representations from public sector organisations. The Government will publish draft regulations and invite comment on them in due course.

01/01/2023

Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting times are for access to talking therapies in (a) the UK, (b) Yorkshire and (c) Halifax.

Alistair Burt

We do not hold the data in the format requested. What data we do hold is provided in the following table:

The number of referrals entering treatment¹ in the year, with mean and median waiting times to first treatment (days), for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services in 2014/15. Data shown for NHS Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and all Yorkshire CCGs combined².

Organisation code	Organisation name	Total number of referrals entering treatment³	Average (mean) waiting time to first treatment appointment (days)⁴	Median⁵ waiting time to first treatment appointment (days)

	All England	815,665	32	17

	All Yorkshire CCGs combined	71,690	39	21

02E	NHS Calderdale CCG	4,200	14	6

¹In order to enter treatment a referral must have a first treatment appointment (an appointment with a therapy type recorded) in the year.

²CCG is based on general practitioner (GP) Practice. Where GP Practice is not recorded, or cannot be assigned to a CCG, the referral is categorised as ‘Unknown’.

³In order to enter treatment a referral must have a first treatment appointment in the year.

⁴The mean was used as the average.

⁵Means and medians have been rounded to the nearest whole number.

Notes:

Waiting time is measured by counting the number of days between a referral being received and the first treatment appointment. For 2014/15, the presence of a valid therapy type is used as an indicator of whether treatment was provided in the course of the appointment.

Entering treatment figures are rounded to the nearest 5.

It is generally advised that the median is used as the more reliable measure of average waiting time, as this accounts better for any outliers in the data.

Source: IAPT

01/01/2023