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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many child refugees have been accepted by the UK under the Immigration Act 2016.

    Mike Penning

    The Government is firmly committed to bringing vulnerable unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, in accordance with the Immigration Act 2016. Over 20 children who meet the criteria in the Act have been accepted for transfer from Europe since Royal Assent, the majority of who have already arrived in the UK.

    We are in active discussions with the UNHCR, UNICEF and NGOs, in addition to the Italian, Greek and French governments, to strengthen and speed up mechanisms to identify, assess and transfer children who meet the criteria to come to the UK where this in their best interests.

    As is required by the Immigration Act 2016, we are consulting with local authorities to confirm available capacity and to ensure appropriate support systems are in place.

    We cannot put a fixed number on arrivals at this point. The legislation is clear that consultation with local authorities is needed before any figure is set. It is vital that their capacity and ability to help is taken into account. We must also ensure that we are able to continue to fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many breaches of animal welfare regulations (a) in slaughterhouses and (b) during transportation his Department recorded in each of the last six years.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The new legislation Welfare at Time of Killing implemented in Wales in 2014 and in England in 2015 introduced new welfare reporting requirements. In addition, during 2015/16 the Food Standards Agency (FSA) introduced new animal welfare measures in slaughterhouses which included increased consistency of reporting of transport related breaches. Both these factors are likely to have contributed to the increased instances recorded in the previous two years.

    The FSA does not record the numbers of individual animals which died as a result of transportation to slaughterhouses. The FSA records the number of instances that animals were found to be Dead on Arrival (DOA). The number of DOA instances for the last six years are set out in the following table:

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    144

    64

    5

    16

    28

    265

    The FSA does not record the number of individual animals involved in a welfare breaches in slaughterhouses or during transportation. The FSA records the number of instances of breaches. The number of critical welfare breaches in slaughterhouses and transportation for the last six years are set out in the following tables:

    Slaughterhouses

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    158

    132

    65

    113

    217

    234

    Transportation

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    394

    342

    308

    535

    1,488

    2,097

  • Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Scottish Government and (b) Scottish FA on strengthening security at Scottish stadiums and sporting events.

    David Mundell

    Protective security postures for public events are coordinated across the United Kingdom by the UK National Counter-Terrorism Policing Headquarters; the Police Service of Scotland forms part of the national counter-terrorism police network. The UK National Counter-Terrorism Policing Headquarters is providing guidance to ground safety staff for sports stadia across the UK. The Home Office is also in regular contact with the Scottish Government on counter-terrorism measures.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare, The Urgent Need for an Effective, Enforceable and Enforced Equine Identification System, published in February 2014; and if she will bring forward proposals for such a system to be in place before the end of the current Parliament.

    George Eustice

    Defra accepts that the current EU system for equine identification does not work well and has pushed for a strengthened regime which is fit for purpose throughout Europe. Defra is now working with the other Governments of the United Kingdom, enforcement authorities and the equine sector to implement a new EU regulation which will help to ensure the regime operates effectively and efficiently in the future.

  • Mrs Caroline Spelman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mrs Caroline Spelman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Caroline Spelman on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of hospitals in England that have at least one embedded specialist nurse dealing specifically with organ donation.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has a network of specialist nurses for organ donation throughout the United Kingdom who are an integral part of the donation process and provide support to potential donor families.

    All hospitals in England with donation potential have input and support from specialist nurses for organ donation. There are currently 98 hospitals in England that have specialist nurses for organ donation embedded within them. In addition NHSBT is recruiting specialist nurses to a further seven hospitals, making a total of 105. The level of support and resource allocated varies according to the donation potential for the individual hospital and the number of hospitals in each acute trust. The larger trusts will have a larger team allocated to them. The specialist nurses work to provide support to all hospitals within the trust, adopting a hub and spoke approach.

    These specialist nurses provide an on call service 24 hours, seven days a week, to ensure each donor referral is responded to in a timely manner and facilitated.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what duties are placed on regional school commissioners to consult with local authorities on school place planning.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities are responsible for ensuring there are sufficient school places in their local area.

    The RSCs are responsible for approving the sponsors of new free schools and intervening in underperforming academies and free schools in their area. The RSCs consider basic need when making decisions on proposed changes to academies, and must consider any representations from local authorities.

  • Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of when the tax optimisation for cigarettes will be reached.

    Damian Hinds

    The government believes that cigarette duty achieves a balance between its two fiscal goals on tobacco; to raise revenue and to protect public health.

    In considering fiscal impacts of duties, the illicit trade is an important consideration. The government is committed to tackling illicit tobacco, which undermines health and tax policy objectives and harms legitimate business. HMRC and Border Force have an established and effective strategy for tackling tobacco fraud which has seen the illicit market reduce significantly since the strategy was first launched in 2000. This has meant that, since the introduction of the tobacco duty escalator, the size of the illicit market has continued to fall.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons the Government decided to reduce the allocation of top-up funding for provision for children with special needs.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    We have not reduced the allocation of top-up funding for children with special educational needs (SEN). We announced in December that we would provide an additional £92.5 million nationally for high needs in 2016-17. Bristol City Council’s share of this additional funding is £750,000.

    It is for local authorities to determine how best to use their high needs allocation, after consultation with local providers.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to make morbidly obese persons whose obesity is caused by over-eating and lack of exercise pay some or all of the cost of NHS treatment received for that condition.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    There are no plans to make persons whose obesity is caused by over-eating and lack of exercise pay any of the cost of National Health Service treatment received for that condition.

    The NHS Constitution states in its second principle “Access to NHS services is based on clinical need, not an individual’s ability to pay. NHS services are free of charge, except in limited circumstances sanctioned by Parliament.” A copy of the NHS Constitution is attached.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of proposed changes to the work related activity group on the effectiveness of the assessment process.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The change is not related to the work capability assessment process, which happens prior to a claimant being placed in the work related activity group. Therefore no assessment of the change on the effectiveness of the work capability assessment process has been undertaken.