Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department’s legal costs were in the Supreme Court cases UKSC 2016/0029 and UKSC 2016/0025.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government has incurred approximately £52,299 to date on legal costs in the joined cases of MA, A & Rutherford v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions at the Supreme Court (UKSC 2014/0129, UKSC 2014/0139, UKSC 2016/0029 and UKSC 2016/0025). Due to the way in which the cases are billed, it is not possible to provide a separate figure for UKSC 2016/0029 and UKSC 2016/0025.

    It should be noted that this figure includes VAT where this is payable (e.g. on Counsel’s fees) and disbursements but does not include costs attributable to the time spent by Government advisory lawyers, as time spent by such advisory lawyers is not recorded in a manner that allows it to be attributed to individual cases.

    It should also be noted that this figure does not include all of Counsel’s fees incurred in relation to proceedings during February and March which have not yet been billed.

  • Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 8 December (HL4345), and in the light of recent electoral statistics from the ONS regarding the 40 per cent decrease in the proportion of 16 and 17 year-old attainers registered to vote, whether they will now issue special guidance to Electoral Registration Officers in Great Britain reminding them of their powers to work with schools and colleges to register young people to vote in the same way that the Northern Ireland Chief Electoral Officer does.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are fully aware of their powers and their duties and their performance is monitored by the independent Electoral Commission. The Cabinet Office periodically reminds EROs of democratic engagement resources, including those specifically aimed at young people, which are available to them. The Government has no plans to issue special guidance along the lines suggested.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what representations the Government has received from (a) the Chinese government and (b) Chinese energy companies on the use of alternative nuclear technology to that proposed by EDF at Hinkley Point.

    Andrea Leadsom

    No representations have been received from (a) the Chinese Government, or (b) Chinese energy companies on the use of alternative nuclear technology to that proposed by EDF at Hinkley Point.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the planned start date is for construction of High Speed 2 Phase One.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Construction is expected to begin in 2017.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much Official Development Assistance was disbursed via non-grant financing mechanisms for sexual and reproductive health and family planning in (1) 2014–15, (2) 2013–14, (3) 2012–13.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    DFID primarily provides support in developing countries through grants to delivery partners. We work in the poorest countries, including fragile and conflict affected states, for whom non-grant options can pose more risk.

    No DFID resources that are specifically disaggregated as supporting sexual and reproductive health and rights or family planning were provided via non-grant mechanisms during those periods. While we do support World Bank IDA, which is a non-grant source of finance, we believe it is important that countries establish their own priorities for spending these resources.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many incidents of A&E departments diverting admissions to other hospitals there were in London in each year since 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    The information is not available in the format requested.

    The following data includes incidences of accident and emergency departments diverting admissions to other hospitals in London during the period April 2012 to December 2015.

    Total Hospital Redirects: April 2012- December 2015

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    2015-16

    April

    19

    32

    18

    9

    May

    10

    6

    6

    12

    June

    9

    16

    10

    6

    July

    6

    17

    8

    9

    August

    7

    4

    10

    7

    September

    10

    19

    13

    21

    October

    6

    25

    17

    21

    November

    24

    5

    8

    39

    December

    21

    13

    42

    29

    January

    36

    16

    17

    February

    22

    22

    16

    March

    31

    13

    14

    Source: NHS England

    Note:

    NHS England was formed in 2012. Therefore data are not available prior to this period.

    “

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-11-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions the Government has had with (a) Amazon and (b) eBay on VAT fraud conducted by online traders operating from outside the EU; and what safeguards his Department has put in place to prevent such fraud.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is actively targeting operational and intelligence activity, as well as a range of other options, to tackle this issue. However, HMRC is unable to give details of their plans in respect of any individual taxpayer because of taxpayer confidentiality.

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of halving Air Passenger Duty in Scotland on Birmingham Airport.

    Damian Hinds

    The government is currently undertaking a consultation into options to support regional airports from the impacts of air passenger duty devolution. We are carefully considering the evidence we have received from stakeholders and will respond in due course.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to support Liverpool’s status as a City of Music as declared by UNESCO.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government will be providing over £12 million of public funding via the Arts Council to support arts organisations in Liverpool in 2015/16. The Arts Council has also supported major capital projects in Liverpool including over £16 million towards the redevelopment of the Everyman Theatre and over £7 million towards the refurbishment of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

    Venues in Liverpool such as Constellations, Lomax and the Zanzibar Club demonstrate the impact of Government’s approach to entertainment licensing, planning guidance and business rates relief, all aimed at supporting and promoting music across the UK.

    The Government supports the UNESCO Creative City Network, including Liverpool as a designated City of Music through its membership of UNESCO. The UK National Commission for UNESCO will be holding a workshop with Liverpool and the UK’s other Creative Cities to consider new opportunities and practical ways of working together to enhance the benefits that UNESCO accreditation brings, both nationally and internationally.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken as a result of the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons’ report on HM Prison Rochester, published in September 2015; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Selous

    HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ (HMIP) report on HMP Rochester was published on 13 January this year.

    Rochester prison faces a significant challenge from new psychoactive substances, which the Governor and his staff are determined to tackle. They have already put in place additional security measures, along with measures to increase awareness of substance misuse issues and extend support to overcome it. Progress has also been made since this inspection to improve safety and purposeful activity with more prisoners engaged in high quality work and training opportunities.

    The Governor will use the recommendations in this report to drive further improvements over the coming months. An action plan responding to all the recommendations in the report will be published at the following link in due course: http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/inspections/

    “