Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent representations he has received on reform of the Local Government Pensions Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    We have received a large number of recent representations about the power of intervention in the investment regulations currently before the House. Under the new regulations, administering authorities are significantly more responsible and accountable for their investment decisions. They will no longer be constrained by central prescription on how their assets are invested, provided they act reasonably within the framework provided by the regulations and guidance.

    The power of intervention has been included in the regulations as a backstop in order to protect around £200 billion of funds in the local government pension scheme, in the rare circumstances where it might be necessary to do so. As set out in the Government response to consultation the regulations include a number of safeguards, including full consultation with the relevant authority, to ensure that the power is used appropriately and proportionately. We have made clear that the intervention power will be used sparingly and only where fully justified.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of working families in Northern Ireland who will be affected by proposed changes to working tax credits; and what estimate he has made of the average change in the amount that will be received by such families in the year commencing April 2016.

    Damian Hinds

    This information is not available.

    Information about the number of benefitting families and average entitlement by region and Parliamentary Constituency in the tax year 2013-14 can be found in the publication ‘Personal tax credits: Finalised award statistics – geographical statistics 2013-2014’ here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-tax-credits-finalised-award-statistics-geographical-statistics-2013-to-2014

    “

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on the Sentencing Guidelines Council’s review of sentencing guidelines for driving offences.

    Andrew Selous

    Sentencing guidelines are issued by the independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales. Following the announcement by the previous Justice Secretary of a government review of driving offences and penalties, the Sentencing Council have paused their review of sentencing guidelines for causing death by driving.

  • Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the frequency of use of police detention facilities for mental health patients who pose a risk to themselves or others when mental health facilities are full or unavailable.

    Alistair Burt

    Our departments have worked closely to achieve a reduction of 54% in the use of police custody as a place of safety in the last three years. We intend to amend primary legislation to further reduce its use and are investing up to £15 million in 2016-17 to help achieve this.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average time taken for the transfer of documents between GP surgeries when a patient move to a different health area was in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department does not collect information on the time taken to transfer documents between general practitioner (GP) surgeries.

    The GP contract requires GP practices to use the electronic facility known as “GP2GP” for the safe and effective transfer of any computerised patient records where they have access to this system. As at end September 2015, 97.2% of GP practices were using GP2GP. 5,859,890 patient electronic health records have been transferred by GP2GP to the patient’s new GP since 2007.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she has taken to support the Humber region’s biomass projects.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC officials have met with local biomass generators and developers. There are several biomass projects at different stages of development around Immingham, Hull and Stallingborough. The £162million investment at the Brigg Renewable Energy Plant, a 40 MW straw fired biomass plant, has recently opened.

    Biomass generation is contributing jobs to Humberside. As a result of £100million in investment, the Humber International Terminal (HIT) at the Port of Immingham is already receiving some of the world’s largest shipments of biomass, destined for Drax, in the adjacent county of North Yorkshire. Drax is supported by the Renewables Obligation and has secured a Contract for Difference to convert another unit to biomass (under the Final Investment Decision enabling Renewables programme). If State Aid approval for the contract is obtained, the Humber will see some 6 million tonnes per annum of pellets imported into the UK. This will enhance its position for future business, including in the heat sector. The UK government continue to support Drax with the State Aid case.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of interviews for a first-time adult passport application was conducted on a face-to-face basis in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales.

    James Brokenshire

    In 2015, Her Majesty’s Passport Office interviewed 222,264 adult customers applying for their first passport. Of these 218,742 (98.41%) were face-to-face interviews in person. The remainder were carried out using our Video Interview Service, typically used in the more remote parts of the country. The interview is undertaken by Her Majesty’s Passport Office staff over a video link, and the customer is accompanied at all times by one of our partner organisations.

    This is broken down by country to:

    England: 189,252 (99.99%) in person interviews

    Northern Ireland: 3,965 (100%) in person interviews

    Scotland: 15,496 (85.83%) in person interviews

    Wales: 10,029 (91.24%) in person interviews

  • Lord Luce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Luce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Luce on 2016-04-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of which Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories, if any, fall short of the required standards for the regulation of their financial services.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The regulation of financial services are domestic responsibilities of the governments of the Crown Dependencies and the Overseas Territories. The Crown Dependencies and other British Overseas Territories are encouraged by the UK to meet internationally agreed standards and assessed according to the relevant international practice.

  • Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Mills on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures his Department is implementing to emphasise the importance of hand hygiene in the prevention of infection in hospitals.

    Ben Gummer

    Tackling healthcare associated infections is complex and requires a strong patient safety system that integrates cleanliness, infection prevention and control and antibiotic use. Hand hygiene is an important component and we continuously review and enhance national measures, systems and guidance. For example hand hygiene references in The Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice for prevention and control of infections and related guidance, were strengthened when it was revised in 2015. It will also form part of forthcoming guidance on reducing Gram negative infections such as E. coli.

    Auditing of hand hygiene is a local responsibility and information on hand hygiene compliance is not collected centrally. Therefore, no national assessment has been made of the potential links between hand hygiene compliance levels and the above infections.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to protect the access of UK farmers to European markets.

    George Eustice

    Until we leave the EU, current arrangements for farming, food and drink and our environment remain in place.

    We are now preparing to negotiate our exit. Defra will be working with the Department for Exiting the EU on the UK’s withdrawal and future relationship, liaising closely with other key departments on future support for farmers, the food and drink industry and the environment. The Government will work with industry and the public to develop these new arrangements.