UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether obligations on private owners to preserve scheduled monuments and listed buildings are applicable to government departments; and what his policy is on fulfilling such obligations.

    Mark Lancaster

    There is no legal requirement for the Ministry of Defence (MOD), to maintain a listed building or scheduled monument.

    The MOD acts in accordance with the ‘Protocol for the care of the government historic estate 2009’. This is mandatory across central government, and can be found via the following link:

    https://content.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/protocol-for-the-care-of-the-government-historic-estate/careofgovernmenthistoricestate-2009.pdf/.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that former service personnel from other Commonwealth countries who wish to reside in the UK are supported through the immigration process.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Under the Immigration Act 1971 Commonwealth Nationals are exempt from immigration control whilst serving in HM Forces. They may qualify for Indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom on discharge from the Services, if they have completed more than four years’ reckonable service and meet the other requirements of the Immigration Rules.

    To assist the transition of serving personnel to civilian life, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) offers a wide-ranging resettlement programme. Home Office officials work closely with MoD colleagues and the Tri Services to ensure that those discharged from HM Forces receive advice on their immigration status.

  • Chris Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Chris Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how existing schools embedded in hospitals for pupils with medical needs will be supported financially if planned changes to the commissioning of alternative provision proceed; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    We will announce more detail on the funding for alternative provision under the new commissioning arrangements in due course. We are mindful of the diverse range of provision which comes under the banner of alternative provision, and the particular logistical and geographical issues related to hospital schools.

  • Baroness Pinnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Pinnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they give to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board about best practice with respect to keeping open indefinitely cases relating to claimants who allege that they have been abused as children.

    Lord Faulks

    The criminal injuries compensation scheme recognises that children who have suffered injuries as a result of crime may require greater support in making an application for compensation. The scheme allows those injured as children to make an application up to their 20th birthday, or if the crime was reported after their 18th birthday a period of 2 years from that report in which to do so, providing the applicant includes supporting evidence which allows the case to be concluded without further extensive enquiries. These periods may be extended in exceptional circumstances, also subject to sufficient supporting evidence in respect of the claim being provided.

    In addition, an applicant can also apply at any point to have their case medically reopened, should their condition change to such an extent that it would be unjust not to make a further award. A request to medically reopen the case should be made within 2 years of the case being finalised, but can be considered after this time, providing the applicant includes supporting evidence which allows the case to be concluded without further extensive enquiries.

    This Government is committed to supporting victims of sexual abuse. As part of this the Ministry of Justice has instructed the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to abide by an embargo on the destruction of files to ensure retention of anything that might be of relevance to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The actual Departmental cost of using external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in each of the last 5 years is:

    Financial Year

    Cost (£)

    2010/11

    3,944

    2011/12

    0

    2012/13 ¹

    394,511

    2013/14 ¹

    362,616

    2014/15 ¹

    141,232

    ¹ Includes Child Maintenance Group expenditure which joined DWP in August 2012.

    Data excludes NDPBs

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department’s policy is on capping exceed costs on mobile phone contracts for consumers.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The UK mobile network operators (Vodafone, Three, O2 and EE, together with Virgin Mobile) have signed a Code of Practice on Consumer Billing, which sets out a number of ways help customers to avoid excess charges when exceeding their monthly allowance. The code outlines the need for regular updates on usage, so customers can manage spend. For example, operators committed to sending alerts to customers – usually SMS messages – when they are nearing their bundle limits.

    In addition, for contracts entered into after 23 January 2014, consumers can exit contracts without penalty, and hence can switch to another provider or tariff, when the agreed core price (usually the monthly subscription) increases. All communications providers have to comply with these rules when increasing prices.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to support children who have experienced abuse; how much funding has been allocated to (a) mental health services, (b) therapeutic services and (c) other support services for such children over each of the last five years; and what plans there are to vary the level of that funding.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government is committed to delivering the vision set out in the Future in mind report and is driving forward the transformation of children and young people’s mental health services to improve access to high quality support across the country. This transformation is being supported by £1.25 billion of additional Government investment, as well as an extra £150 million to help young people with eating disorders.

    Local Transformation Plans will set out how local organisations will use the additional investment of £1.4 billion the Government is making during the course of this Parliament to transform local child and adolescent mental health services. All clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), working closely with their partners in local government, Children’s Services and education, have developed plans to transform their local offer. These plans cover the full spectrum of mental health issues: from prevention and resilience building, to support and care for existing and emerging mental health problems, as well as transitions between services and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable. This includes those who have been exposed to sexual abuse or exploitation.

    NHS England increased funding of sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) from £8.98 million to £16.5 million in 2014/15 recurrently, especially to improve the paediatric response to the needs of sexually abused children. NHS England continues to make the health services response to sexual abuse a priority, and in addition to producing a five year plan for commissioning SARCs, they are planning to engage with CCGs on the delivery of therapeutic care to support survivors.

    The Government has set up the first ever cross-Government Ministerial Child Protection Taskforce to overhaul the way police, schools, social services and others work together in tackling abuse of children. The Taskforce’s work will build on the Government’s wide-ranging reforms to create a care system that puts children’s needs first.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the terms of reference for the blood donations review will be approved by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs.

    Jane Ellison

    The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) is carrying out a review of blood donor selection criteria. Currently a working group is being formed. The process will fully involve stakeholders, similar to the previous 2011 SaBTO review, and contacting stakeholders inviting their contribution to the review will begin imminently. The terms of reference will include input from stakeholders and be published once approved by SaBTO which will be at their next meeting. The review will be holistic and evidence relating to the risks of blood-borne infections in people who have previously injected drugs or received money or drugs for sex will be included. The review will be incremental, with published progress reports and any intermediate advice.

    It is anticipated that the group will publish its final report in 2017.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people were refused student loans as a result of their discretionary leave to remain immigration status in each of the last three years.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Student Loans Company does not hold information on the number of student loan applicants with discretionary leave to remain who have had their application for support refused.

    A public consultation on the introduction of a new category of eligibility for those with long residence in the UK, including periods of discretionary leave, closed in January 2016. The consultation can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/student-support-for-non-UK-nationals-who-have-lived-in-the-UK-for-a-long-time

    “

  • Baroness Coussins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Coussins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the Language Trends Survey 2015–16, published by the British Council on 18 April.

    Lord Nash

    The Department welcomes the survey; in particular its findings on the steps primary schools are taking to improve the quality of language teaching since it became compulsory in maintained primary schools in September 2014. By introducing the EBacc, we have stopped the decline in modern foreign languages seen in the last decade, where 200,000 fewer GCSE students studied a modern language in 2010 than in 2002.

    Last year’s results showed 20% more pupils are taking languages at GCSE than in 2010 while A level entries in modern languages have increased by nearly 4% since 2014.