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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether regulations are in place to ensure that (a) town councils, (b) parish councils and (c) local communities can exercise a community right to bid for independent qualified contractors to deliver highways infrastructure works that are funded by Section 106 contributions from developments within their parish as part of any competitive bidding process carried out by the local highways authority.

    Brandon Lewis

    Provisions are in place under the Community Right to Challenge to enable town and parish councils and voluntary and community organisations to challenge how council services are delivered by submitting a bid (Expression of Interest) to the relevant council.

    Expressions of Interest need to be made in respect of an existing service and one that the local authority has responsibility for providing, which councils must consider and can only reject if specific circumstances set out in legislation apply. If a developer is undertaking work as part of an agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, then this would not fall under the scope of the Right to Challenge as it would not be a local authority service.

    However, if a highways service was to be delivered by a local authority as a result of a Section 106 contribution then this would be within the scope of the Right, although it is important to note that local authorities are able to reject an Expression of Interest if a service is already the subject of a procurement process or pre-procurement negotiations. If this is the case, the town or parish council or community group would be able to participate in the procurement process.

    The Community Right to Bid provides local people and parish councils with the opportunity to nominate a building or land for listing by a local council as an Asset of Community Value (ACV), which, if the owner decides to sell, a moratorium of up to six months is triggered. During the moratorium period, the asset cannot be sold except to a community bidder.

    If a highways service was to be delivered by a local authority as a result of a Section 106 contribution then this should be within the scope of the Community Right to Challenge. It is important to note though that local authorities are able to reject an expression of interest if a service is already the subject of a procurement process or if the authority has entered into negotiations with a third party to deliver the service and these are at least in part conducted in writing. Where the services are currently being procured, the organisation in question would be able to participate in the procurement exercise.

  • Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people resident in the UK hold an EU non-British passport and previously held a non-EU country passport.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many bilateral trade agreements the UK has with countries outside the EU.

    Anna Soubry

    Since the EU has sole competence on trade policy, the UK has no bilateral trade agreements in force with countries outside the EU.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contingency plans are in place for the young asylum seekers in Calais when the camp there closes.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Although the decision to clear the camp in Calais is a matter for the French Government, the UK and France remain committed to working together protecting our shared border in Calais and addressing the humanitarian challenges in the camps.

    The Home Secretary reaffirmed this when she met her French counterpart in August. Since the beginning of this year, over 130 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Europe have been accepted for transfer to the UK under the family reunion provisions of the Dublin Regulation, of whom over 80 are from France. We continue to support the French Government to provide alternative accommodation for those in Calais, including thousands of new places in reception centres across France to accommodate migrants and unaccompanied children. The French Government continues to urge anyone who does not want to live in the makeshift camps in Calais to engage with the French authorities who will provide accommodation and support.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the triple lock on pensions does not apply to disability war pensions.

    Mark Lancaster

    Compensation payments under the War Pensions Scheme are uprated annually in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figure. This is the same measure the Department for Work and Pensions uses for uprating social security disability benefits and is in keeping with other public service schemes. Our approach ensures consistency with the measure of inflation used by the Bank of England.

    The triple lock applies only to the State Pension. Members of the Armed Forces will therefore benefit from the triple lock once they reach State Pension age.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times claimants of working age on unemployment benefits have been interviewed under caution by staff of his Department in each of the last five years.

    Priti Patel

    We do not hold official statistics to the National Statistical Authority and so we are unable to provide this information.

  • Glyn Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Glyn Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Glyn Davies on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were admitted to hospital for catheter-associated urinary tract infections in each of the last five years; and what the cost was of treating those people.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department does not hold information on the number of people admitted to hospital for a catheter-associated urinary tract infection, urinary tract infection or urinary incontinence.

    The following table shows a count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) in the last five years with a primary diagnosis of catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

    YEAR

    FAEs

    2010-11

    215

    2011-12

    294

    2012-13

    447

    2013-14

    641

    2014-15

    942

    The following table shows a count of FAEs in the last five years with a primary diagnosis of urinary incontinence in England.

    Year

    FAEs

    2010-11

    27,797

    2011-12

    26,751

    2012-13

    24,938

    2013-14

    23,498

    2014-15

    20,969

    The following table shows a count of FAEs in the last five years with a primary diagnosis of urinary tract infection in England

    YEAR

    FAEs

    2010-11

    168,581

    2011-12

    174,818

    2012-13

    184,924

    2013-14

    187,594

    2014-15

    195,282

    Source: Hospital episode statistics (HES), Health and social care information centre

    Notes:

    A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.

    The primary diagnosis provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.

    The costs to the National Health Service of treating people with urinary tract infections and urinary incontinence is not available centrally.

    Such information as is available is from reference costs, which are the average unit costs of providing defined services to patients. Reference costs for acute care are published by Healthcare Resource Group (HRG), which are standard groupings of similar treatments that use similar resources. For example, costs relating to kidney or urinary tract interventions are assigned to the same HRGs.

    Table: Estimated total costs of kidney or urinary tract interventions and urinary incontinence or other urinary problems reported by NHS trusts and foundation trusts, 2010-11 to 2014-15 (£ millions)

    Kidney or urinary tract interventions

    Urinary incontinence or other urinary problems

    2010-11

    370.5

    28.2

    2011-12

    398.9

    28.1

    2012-13

    432.4

    27.8

    2013-14

    464.8

    28.3

    2014-15

    506.5

    27.6

    Source: Reference costs, Department of Health

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the additional cost to the public purse will be of storage of additional spent fuel arising from the lifetime extension of nuclear reactors.

    Andrea Leadsom

    EDF Energy has contracts with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) for the management of AGR fuel. Under these contracts EDF Energy, not the public purse, pays the NDA for the storage of each tonne of AGR fuel that is loaded into the reactor, including for each tonne of fuel loaded during the lifetime extension of the AGR reactors.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the compatibility with international law of NATO ships operating in the Aegean Sea returning migrants to Turkey.

    Mr David Lidington

    The purpose of this NATO activity is to provide monitoring, surveillance, and reconnaissance (MSR) of the Aegean migration routes to cue Turkish and Greek coastguards and Frontex (the EU’s border management agency) to intercept the migrant boats and disrupt the business model of illegal migration

    If UK vessels encounter migrants in distress at sea, they will be rescued in accordance with international obligations and arrangements made for them to be returned to land. The choice of destination will be guided by international law and consideration for the safety of the migrants

    The UK will act at all times in accordance with its obligations under domestic and international law. Turkey has agreed that rescued migrants who have travelled from Turkey can be returned to Turkey. We are co-ordinating our approach with our NATO Allies as well as with Frontex.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many single source contracts his Department placed in 2015; and how many such contracts were classed as (a) new contracts and (b) amendments to existing contracts.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Each year the Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes an analysis of all new contracts which sets out whether they were placed competitively or non-competitively. This analysis appears in the Department’s Statistical Bulletin Trade, Industry and Contracts and the most recent period for which data is available can be found through the link below. Table six in the excel tables and page 11 of the pdf refer to the relevant information.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015

    Figures for amendments to existing contracts are not held centrally and, due to the large number of such cases, an analysis could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

    All single source procurement contracts which met the criteria set out in Part two of the Defence Reform Act 2014 (DRA) are subject to the new single source procurement framework, apart from a very small number which have been specifically exempted from the framework by the Secretary of State for Defence, using the powers granted to him under section 14(7) of the DRA. The Department does not release details of these exemptions in order to avoid influencing future decisions.

    Contracts which were signed prior to the new single source procurement framework coming into force can become subject to the regulations on amendment by agreement between the MOD and the contractor. To maximise the benefits from the regulations, the MOD intends to seek such agreement where appropriate, except where there are well founded commercial or practical reasons not to. However, the Department does not hold a central record of the number of contracts which have, on amendment, not been converted to Qualifying Defence Contracts, and the data could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

    Contracts which fall under the Regulations are only referred to the Single Source Regulations Office (SSRO) when there is a disagreement between the supplier and the contracting authority which cannot be resolved through negotiation between these two parties. The subjects that can be referred to the SSRO are set out in the DRA, and include whether or not costs are allowable, attributable to the contract and reasonable. Should a referral be made by either the MOD or the supplier, the consent of the other party is not required. One such referral was made in 2015, by the MOD.

    The MOD is currently pursuing the recruitment of a Chair for the SSRO. The SSRO has an Interim Chairman in post and the Department plans to advertise this substantive position shortly.