The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will place in the Library any information her Department holds on the number of jobs imported coal supports in each of its source countries; and if she will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
The number of jobs imported coal supports in each of its source countries is not information that the Department of Energy and Climate Change holds.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-03-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations he has made to the EU Commission on the application of VAT to energy-saving materials.
Mr David Gauke
The Government is considering the responses to the consultation published following the judgement of the European Court of Justice and an announcement will be made in due course.
In the meantime, all those energy savings products which are currently eligible for the reduced rate of VAT will remain eligible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of people with autism who are in receipt of a personal health budget.
Alistair Burt
Data on recipients of personal health budgets is collected from clinical commissioning groups on a voluntary basis. Numbers are not currently collected for specific conditions so an estimate cannot be made on the number of people with autism who are in receipt of a personal health budget. NHS England is exploring options for formal data collection on personal health budgets and consideration is being given to the cohorts of recipients that will be included in this data collection.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will take steps to ensure that the medical exemption criteria for determining prescription charges is suitable to allow for the changing nature and improving prognosis of many medical conditions.
Alistair Burt
The process for determining entitlement to a medical exemption is suitable for purpose, and takes account of whether someone continues to meet the criteria. We do not have any plans to make any amendments to the list of medical conditions which provide exemption from the prescription charge.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-07-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to establish a scheme to retrain as trade negotiators people with experience of high level intergovernmental and global institutional practice.
Lord Price
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has created the Department for International Trade, which is responsible for promoting British trade across the world and ensuring the UK takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. We are building up our trade policy capability. The Department has begun a process to recruit and train staff to work on the UK’s trade policy. We will adapt the resource devoted to trade policy in line with future demands.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to assist with humanitarian action in the Lake Chad basin; and what funds have been allocated to programmes in (a) Cameroon, (b) Chad, (c) Niger and (d) Nigeria that assist with such action.
James Wharton
We are deeply concerned about the scale of the humanitarian crisis across the Lake Chad Basin. This will require a sustained, multi-year response to support communities devastated by the conflict. The UK is scaling up our support.
In addition to the £90 million of humanitarian assistance we are already delivering in the region, the UK has now pledged a further £80 million of humanitarian funding. £50 million will go towards meeting the needs of the worst affected communities in Nigeria with food assistance and access to essential household items and services, and £30 million to support those who have been affected by the spread of Boko Haram into Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
HMG is using a range of opportunities to push our partners and governments across the region on scaling up and improving the quality of the response. This includes calling for a Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation which took place in July 2016; a joint demarche to the UN with the French and USA on the need to improve humanitarian capacity and performance in mid-August; chairing a Lake Chad Basin meeting in the margins of UN General assembly in September 2016, and ongoing high level bilateral meetings with UN officials.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost is to her Department of processing an application for a certificate of travel.
James Brokenshire
The estimated cost of processing a certificate of travel is currently £382 for those over the age of 16 and £244 for those under the age of 16.
Fees for applications for certificates of travel reflect estimated processing costs. The Geneva Convention requires that Convention Travel Document fees must not exceed those for UK passports. Immigration and nationality fees are reviewed and updated annually and reflect changes in estimated costs and passport fees.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2015-11-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the direct read-only access to the Police National Computer (PNC) available to the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) is controlled so as to ensure that an SSPCA employee using the access is not able to read the information on the PNC which that person is not specifically allowed to see.
Lord Bates
Access to Police National Computer data is only provided where there is a lawful and justifiable reason. Permitted reasons include: protecting life and property; preserving order; preventing the commission of offences; bringing offenders to justice; any duty or responsibility arising from common or statute law and counter-terrorism.
Users are only given access to the PNC data they are specifically authorised to see. Access is controlled by software features on the PNC controlling transaction types to which users have authorised access. All PNC transactions are audited, and usage is subject to independent audit by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) directions or (b) guidance his Department issues to the British Transport Police or the British Transport Police Authority on cost savings in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) future financial years.
Claire Perry
The Department has not issued directions to either the British Transport Police (BTP) or the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) on costs savings in 2015-16 and future years. It did, however, provide guidance that there should be no material impact on the operational policing capability of the British Transport Police, including in relation to counter-terrorist activity, from any appropriate efficiency savings it may seek to make over the Spending Review period.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate against (a) high level missile and (b) cyber threats from Russia.
Penny Mordaunt
The UK employs a range of capabilities to deter and defend against the threats emanating from potential adversaries; this includes the potential threat from ballistic missiles.
The cyber threat is continually changing in scope and complexity, and we continually review and adjust our security. Our approach spans technical, organisational, policy, procedural and physical measures.