Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will reinstate legal aid for qualifying UK residents seeking to re-unite with their immediate family members from overseas; and if not, why not.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    Our limited legal aid resources should be available for the highest priority cases and to the most financially vulnerable. There are no plans to change the legal aid arrangements for family reunion. As with all cases outside the scope of legal aid, exceptional funding may be available where required under ECHR or EU law.

    Guidance to support applications for family reunion is available from the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). UKVI issue guidance to help applicants, and the types of evidence requested to accompany an application – such as marriage and birth certificates – will usually be straightforward to collate.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many single destitute asylum seekers were granted accommodation and support under section 4 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in the last year because they were (a) unable to leave the UK due to medical reasons and (b) taking all reasonable steps to leave the UK; and how many such applications were made within 21 days of that person’s appeal rights being exhausted.

    James Brokenshire

    Our records indicate that a total of 105 destitute asylum seekers were granted accommodation and support under section 4 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in the last year (2015) due to pregnancy, medical reasons or because they were taking all reasonable steps to leave the UK.

    A full breakdown of categories is given below:

    (a) unable to leave the UK due to medical reasons – 42 (including 6 due to late pregnancy)

    (b) taking all reasonable steps to leave the UK – 63

    (c) how many of these applications were made within 21 days of that person’s appeal rights being exhausted:

    – Medical – 1

    – Steps to Leave – 5

    This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2016 to Question 30916, for what reason the 26 related party transactions by academy trusts classified as irregular or improper by the Education Funding Agency were not repaid by the trusts.

    Edward Timpson

    Repayment is considered on a case by case basis and may be sought where there has been a serious breach of requirements or standards of conduct. Some transactions may be classified as irregular or improper because of less serious procedural and compliance issues, or because of insufficient evidence to form an opinion. Repayment may not be pursued in these cases. The 26 related party transactions classified as irregular were assessed on this basis.

  • Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 27610, on Volkswagen, what response he has received from Volkswagen on the difference in compensation offered to US and UK customers.

    Andrew Jones

    We continue to engage with Volkswagen on the issue of compensation for UK consumers. The Secretary of State summoned the Managing Director of VW UK to a further meeting earlier this month to discuss the issue. Volkswagen’s position is that there is no evidence that drivers in the UK have suffered a loss, and so they maintain there is no need for compensation.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the Local Housing Allowance cap on the level of supply of supported housing.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable, including through protecting and further boosting the supported housing supply we have already.

    We are continuing to work with the supported housing sector and other partners to develop a sustainable and workable future for supported housing and will announce next steps in due course.

    In the meantime we have put in place a one year exemption for supported housing from the Local Housing Allowance cap.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the final report and recommendations of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance published on 19 May, what actions they are taking to reduce to agreed target levels the use in the UK of antibiotics in livestock and fish farming by 2018.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government published its response to the final report and recommendations of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance on 16 September 2016.

    In response to the Review, we have committed to work closely with different individual sectors to ensure that appropriate sector specific reduction targets are agreed by 2017 so that future reductions are greatest where there is most scope, and that they are underpinned by improvements which focus on encouraging best practice and responsible use of antibiotics.

    This work aligns with the actions already set out in the Government’s Five-Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy, including improving the stewardship of existing antibiotics, improving infection prevention and control and optimising prescribing practice.

  • William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that local education authorities do not specify the designs of building extensions when attributing funding from the Education Funding Agency to schools for building projects, as in relation to the case of Greave Primary School in Hazel Grove.

    Edward Timpson

    School building baseline designs were introduced in October 2012 to help finalise briefs for school building projects and for discussion with local planning departments. It is for contractors to develop them into detailed schemes, or propose alternatives. Guidance on the designs is available online[1].

    Officials from the Department have had regular dialogue with the local authority, the school and its representatives as part of ongoing work to monitor and progress the project.

    While there has been no representation, the Secretary of State and the Department will work with all parties to support the successful delivery of this school’s expansion project.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/baseline-designs-for-schools-guidance

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  • Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she plans to produce an updated version of her Department’s carbon capture and storage scoping document.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government continues to view Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as having a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors. The detailed design and implementation of CCS policy changes are currently being assessed.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to prevent the exploitation of consumers by salesmen of stair lifts and other aids to the elderly and disabled.

    Nick Boles

    The Department funds the Citizens Advice Service to provide valuable advice to consumers, including how to avoid scams. Citizens Advice also lead the annual Scams Awareness Month, working with Trading Standards to help give consumers the confidence to spot and report a scam.

    Trading Standards Officers have powers to take action under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 against salesmen who use misleading practices and aggressive pressure selling. Additionally, National Trading Standards Scambuster Teams take action against large scale national and regional scammers, including those who exploit the elderly and vulnerable through the sale of substandard or unnecessary mobility aids.

    Since 2014 the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Regulations 2014 introduced important new rights for consumers to take their own action against such traders to get their money back.

  • Baroness Northover – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Northover – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the £536 million spent by the Department for International Development on malaria in 2013–14 was disbursed, and how much of the total committed to malaria in 2014–15 has not yet been spent.

    Baroness Verma

    The methodology used to monitor UK malaria spend between 2008/09 and 2014/15 was published in the 2010 Framework for Results for Malaria. In 2013/14 the UK provided £536 million to help reduce malaria deaths. The UK is helping to tackle malaria through bilateral and multilateral channels. The UK’s bilateral support includes: malaria-specific bilateral programmes (36% of total malaria spend in 2013/14); support to strengthening health systems (20% of malaria spend in 2013/14); and other bilateral support including the delivery of interventions to reduce malaria in pregnancy and supporting malaria related research (10% of 2013/14 malaria spend).

    The main contribution to tackling malaria through multilateral channels is the UK support to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (31% of total malaria spend in 2013/14).All of the Department’s 2014/15 spend on malaria has been disbursed. The UK’s investment on malaria has contributed to saving more than six million lives over the past 15 years.