Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2016 to Question 38217, on his Department’s BME pay gap, where the information about this is held; and what estimate he has made of the cost of providing the information.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Ministry of Defence does not capture and report data on hourly earnings, and therefore does not provide comparative data in this way.

    The Department has recently published an Equal Pay Audit 2015 report which can be found at the following address:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-equal-pay-audit-report-2015

    This Audit presents a comparison of male to female and White to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) annualised average salaries in the period 1 October 2014 to 1 October 2015. This meets the Department’s obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty to provide information on its workforce identified by the Equality Act 2010.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 10 May 2016 to Questions 36574 and 36576, in what way his Department carried out its assessment of the human rights situation in Tibet; and for what reasons the 2015 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy contained no relevant information on that situation.

    Alok Sharma

    Our assessment of the situation of Tibet is based on range of credible sources and information gathered by diplomats and officials. I draw the Hon. Members attention to the most recent version (updated in July 2016) of the Human Rights and Democracy report where we outline a number of concerns relating to Tibet. We raise these concerns regularly, for example I raised two Tibetan cases involving freedom of expression (Tashi Wangchuk and Druklo (Shokjang)) with the Chinese Ambassador on 1 August.

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will increase investment in decentralised renewable energy to benefit the world’s poorest people.

    James Wharton

    The UK Government is already playing a leading role in improving energy access in developing countries through decentralised renewable energy. DFID has a range of programmes which are working with developing countries to ensure renewable energy markets work effectively as well as supporting energy businesses to grow, and providing consumers with access to funding to buy solar goods.

    DFID’s Energy Africa campaign is one way that we are helping increase access to energy. Energy Africa aims to accelerate the expansion of the household solar market in Africa, and is about making the market work for the poor. It helps remove the barriers to household solar market expansion, including policy and regulatory obstacles, and supports businesses to innovate in energy services and technologies. DFID also supports numerous other initiatives to increase people’s access to energy through decentralised renewable energy. For example, the Renewable Energy and Adaptation to Climate Technologies (REACT) Challenge Fund has supported businesses in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda to provide clean energy for households, communities and businesses.


  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to advise local authorities, under Section 62 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which powers are available to remove illegal traveller camps without recourse to the courts.

    Brandon Lewis

    In March 2015 the Government published a summary of the enforcement powers that enable the police and local councils to remove unauthorised encampments. This includes the powers under sections 61-62 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 which give the police discretionary powers to direct trespassers to leave land and remove any property or vehicles they have with them. The Government sent the summary of powers document to all Council Leaders, Police Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners in England and it is published on the Government’s website at:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/dealing-with-illegal-and-unauthorised-encampments

  • Stephen Metcalfe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Stephen Metcalfe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Metcalfe on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase the use of digital technology in the courts and tribunals system.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    We have secured over £700m of funding to invest in our courts and tribunals system so they deliver swifter, fairer justice. Together with the Crown Prosecution Service, we are already developing shared digital technology for criminal justice so that all can work from the same digital case files. We have introduced online pleas and fines for traffic offences. Courts are now trialling extended opening hours, new ways of scheduling cases to avoid frustration and delays, and extending the use of video links.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many men born in November 1954 resident in Preston parliamentary constituency have been notified of changes in the age at which they will receive the State Pension; and on what date his Department contacted those men with that information.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We do not have the information requested at this level.

    I can confirm that in February 2012, 375,000 letters explaining the State Pension age changes were sent to men and women (across Great Britain and Overseas), with a date of birth in the range 06/10/1954 to 05/04/1955.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on patients of the decision by NHS England to refuse funding for micro-processor knees.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England has not refused to fund micro-processor knees. A revised policy proposal for the routine commissioning of microprocessor controlled knees was considered by NHS England’s expert Clinical Priorities Advisory Group which recommended its adoption for routine commissioning. The proposal was then considered by NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group at its meeting on 9 December 2015 where it was agreed that NHS England would support this service development as a possible call on its resources. However given the potential scale of investment and the need to consider its priority relative to other treatments which would also have a possible call on the specialised commissioning resources it was decided that the policy should go forward for consideration as part of NHS England’s next annual prioritisation round in June 2016.

  • Lord McColl of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord McColl of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McColl of Dulwich on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to prevent homelessness among victims of modern slavery who are EEA nationals with positive Conclusive Grounds National Referral Mechanism decisions on their departure from the government-funded victim care contract.

    Lord Bates

    During the recovery and reflection period, support providers work with the victim of modern slavery to produce a detailed and tailored ‘move on plan’. Following a positive Conclusion Grounds decision, victims are entitled to a further 14 days of support, at which time the ‘move on plan’ assists the victim in their transition from the specialist service. The victim either returns to their home country or if they wish to stay and are eligible to do so move on to access mainstream support services in the UK. In addition, the Home Office considers extension requests for victims who need longer than 14 days to make the transition from the specialist service on a case-by-case basis.

    On leaving the Government-funded service that is provided under the victim care contract, victims who are EEA nationals may be able to exercise Treaty rights and remain lawfully in the UK on that basis but those who are not exercising such rights are encouraged to return home unless they are entitled to remain on other grounds. The Home Office also considers whether to grant Discretionary Leave to victims who are unable to exercise free movement rights where there are particularly compelling circumstances, they need to stay in the UK to pursue a compensation claim or to assist with police inquiries/investigations.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many people in each (a) region and (b) constituent part of the UK will be affected by changes to personal independence payments: aids and appliances; and what support he plans to give to those affected.

    Justin Tomlinson

    As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead.

    We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the total amount of income paid to UK citizens living in other EU countries except Ireland which derived from UK sources in the most recent year for which statistics are available.

    Mr David Gauke

    The information requested is not available.