Tag: Parliamentary Question

Lord Jopling – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-01-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 22 July 2015 (HL1470), whether the review of the failures that caused the cost of the recent A1 roadworks near Gamston Airport to escalate has been completed, and what conclusion and lessons have emerged from that review.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The close out of the scheme and associated financial reconciliation is pending and therefore it would be premature to draw conclusions at this time.

Landscaping for the scheme and remedial works are nearing their final stages and completion of the contract is expected at the end of March. A “lessons learned” review will be held as soon as possible in April.

01/01/2023
Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Corri Wilson on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of employment and support allowance are (a) undergoing treatment for and (b) recovering from cancer.

Priti Patel

The specific information requested is not available as details of any treatment received are not recorded centrally.

The information we have for Employment and Support Allowance claimants by medical condition is published and available at:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

Guidance for users can be found at:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

“

01/01/2023

David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average duration has been of face-to-face consultations for personal independence payments in (a) Wales and (b) each postcode area in Wales in each of the last three financial years.

Justin Tomlinson

The average duration of Personal Independence Payment consultation times in (a) Wales and (b) by postcode area of Wales (in minutes) were:

Postcode	2013/2014	2014/2015	2015/2016
CF	56	54	51
CH	58	57	57
GL	76	67	66
HR	76	73	59
LD	67	60	57
LL	58	57	56
NP	59	59	53
SA	61	60	54
SY	73	66	59
Wales (Total)	60	58	54

01/01/2023

Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures and checks her Department has put in place to ensure that the new supplier of language analysis testing are fully qualified to conduct those tests.

James Brokenshire

Language analysis assists us in determining whether asylum seekers are of the nationality or national origin they claim. It is one of the tools used by asylum decision makers to help resolve fairly issues of doubtful nationality or national origin and to ensure that those claiming asylum in a false identity are detected quickly. It does not replace the requirement during substantive interview to fully probe and investigate doubted nationality/national origin cases.

Professional linguists have communicated with the Home Office regarding their particular preference for the different models available for language analysis testing. As part of the contract competition undertaken in 2014, language analysis companies provided strong evidence of the quality of the services offered. There are dedicated formal arrangements in place to monitor our suppliers’ compliance with the contract terms.

01/01/2023
Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 23632, whether UK military personnel providing training and education for military personnel in Saudi Arabia on the subjects of compliance with international humanitarian law and transparency address the use of cluster munitions.

Michael Fallon

We have provided education and training courses to Saudi Arabian military personnel under existing Government-to-Government arrangements. These courses expose Saudi military personnel to UK policy, compliance with International Humanitarian Law and the conventions relating to the Law of Armed Conflict. We take our obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions seriously and continue to encourage Saudi Arabia, as a non-party to the Convention, to accede to it.

01/01/2023
Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to ensure that pension schemes are obliged to (a) identify and (b) publish details of costs to a pension fund for scheme members.

Richard Harrington

The Government remains committed to increasing transparency and ensuring that members of pension schemes are able to obtain information about the costs and charges which they bear.

Governance bodies of defined contribution workplace pension schemes are obliged, under existing requirements, to assess costs and charges. We and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are actively considering how to achieve greater transparency and standardisation of transaction costs, and the FCA plans to publish a consultation later this year.

01/01/2023
Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will estimate how many jobs will be created in Wales as a result of the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant.

Alun Cairns

The UK Government does not hold the specific figures requested. The decision to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation will provide a huge boost to the regional economy including South Wales. Construction at the Hinkley site will provide 26,000 jobs and apprenticeships, and 64% of the project’s costs will be spent in the UK.

Welsh companies are already taking advantage of the opportunities this project presents, for example, Express Reinforcements in South Wales was given preferred bidder status for a £100m contract to supply 200,000 tonnes of reinforcing steel for the project.

I would encourage businesses in Wales to register with EDF in order to take advantage of upcoming supply chain opportunities.

01/01/2023
Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what conditions are placed on her Department’s funding for the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition; and whether such funding is (a) regularly reviewed and (b) preceded by local consultation in those countries that receive such funding.

Grant Shapps

In 2012, the UK made a £600m pledge to the New Alliance, consisting of projects in 6 founding member countries, which aim at improving incomes from agricultural production, and the food security and nutrition of smallholder farmers and the extreme poor. The objective of the pledge was to be more transparent about aid to agriculture and food security, in alignment with principles of aid effectiveness and the overall goal of the New Alliance. The £600m also included funding to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP, managed by the World Bank) and other international agriculture research and policy initiatives.

Like every programme funded by DFID, projects pledged under the New Alliance are subject to annual reviews that are posted on the DFID Development Tracker website. At national level, governments lead an annual review of the progress of commitments, in consultation with development and private sector actors, which findings are made public on the New Alliance website.

01/01/2023
Patricia Gibson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patricia Gibson on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish the Government’s response to the BBC Charter renewal consultation.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government’s BBC Charter Review Public Consultation closed in October. Over 190,000 people responded to the consultation – the second largest response to any Government consultation. We are in the process of reading and analysing all the responses, and will publish the results once this exercise is completed.

01/01/2023
Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-01-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how much money would be needed to eradicate Lyme disease from the UK.

Lord Prior of Brampton

It is not practical to eradicate Lyme disease in the United Kingdom through treatment of human cases, therefore no cost estimate has been made. The disease is endemic in much of the small mammal and bird population in the UK, and is spread to humans by the bite of infected ticks which have fed on these animals. The number of human cases can be reduced by raising public awareness of how to avoid tick bites, and by environmental measures in public places to reduce the long grass and scrub which harbour ticks.

The number of laboratory confirmed cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales varies annually, in 2013 there were 878 and in 2014 there were 730, but the majority of diagnoses are made clinically by general practitioners and those figures are not recorded. Patients with late or complicated Lyme disease may be diagnosed in a variety of specialist clinics, and the numbers are not recorded. Based on the clinical information supplied with the laboratory request, only a small proportion of the annual number of cases fall into this category.

The Health Protection Research Unit of the University of Liverpool in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) has funding from the National Institute of Health Research for research into Lyme disease, covering diagnostics and biomarkers and public awareness. PHE is working on clinically linked studies for diagnostics with the Czech Republic, as no single centre in the UK has sufficient patients for a suitable study; funding for this work is not yet in place. PHE undertakes limited studies on ticks and Lyme disease in the UK. The Research Councils fund some additional work on ticks and the environment.

01/01/2023