Tag: Parliamentary Question

Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received on the ethics of fixed odds betting terminals; and if he will make a statement.

David Evennett

On 21 January the Government published its evaluation of the £50 regulations introduced in April 2015. You can find it here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493714/Evaluation_of_Gaming_Machine__Circumstances_of_Use___Amendment__Regulations_2015.pdf

The evaluation indicates that a large proportion of players of FOBTs may now be making a more conscious choice to control their playing behaviour and their stake level. We will now consider the findings of the evaluation before deciding if there is a need for further action.

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January 1, 2023
Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that funds, financial assets or economic resources are not being made available by UK nationals, UK-owned businesses, including tour companies, or other entities within UK territory, to sanctioned North Korean entities, or to that country’s nuclear and ballistic missiles programme.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

UN sanctions measures on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) include the requirement of all member states to freeze funds, other financial assets and economic resources on their territories, which are owned or controlled by individuals and entities designated by the UN Sanctions Committee or Security Council as being engaged in or supporting DPRK’s nuclear or ballistic missile programmes. The EU has legislated to give effect to UN sanctions. In the case of the DPRK it has gone beyond them by designating additional individuals and entities at the EU level. It is a criminal offence within the UK to make available funds or economic resources to a listed individual or entity under UN or EU DPRK sanctions measures.

January 1, 2023
Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many nationals of other EU member states have given birth in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Rob Wilson

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

January 1, 2023
Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what fee his Department agreed with Learndirect in connection with its negotiated exit from the Drive and Vehicle Standards Agency contract for provision of the UK Driving Theory Test.

Andrew Jones

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and learndirect Ltd have concluded an exit from the contract for the provision of the UK Driving Theory Test, which was due to transfer to learndirect Ltd in September 2016.

The supplementary agreement to that exit is subject to commercial confidentiality. The agreement with Pearson Vue, the current provider of the theory test, to extend their contract is expected to lead to overall net benefits of more than £8million over four years to the theory test service and its customers.

January 1, 2023

David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of coal burnt in UK coal-fired power stations in each of the last three years was mined in the UK.

Andrea Leadsom

This can be estimated by subtracting the amount of steam coal imports (mainly used by coal-fired power stations) by the total amount of coal used in electricity generation. Please see the table below:

	Imports of steam coal (thousand tonnes)	Coal used in generation (thousand tonnes)	*UK produced coal used for generation (thousand tonnes)**	Proportion of UK produced coal used for generation %
2013	42,995	50,041	7,046	14.0%
2014	35,294	38,400	3,106	8.0%
2015 (provisional)	20,631	29,342	8,711	29.6%

* This includes stocks from earlier years.

Source:

Energy Trends tables 2.1 and 2.4, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solid-fuels-and-derived-gases-section-2-energy-trends.

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January 1, 2023

Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the results of the sentencing review of motoring offences and penalties will be published.

Dr Phillip Lee

Both the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Transport are aware of concerns about a number of issues relating to serious driving offences and the maximum penalties those offences carry. The Government are committed to making sure that the courts have sufficient powers to deal with driving offences appropriately and proportionately within the context of our wider sentencing framework. It is our intention to commence a consultation before the end of the year which will look at driving offences and penalties.

The new Justice Secretary will meet the new Transport Secretary to discuss further in due course.

January 1, 2023
Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure consistency of provision in the quality of care in mental health services across England.

Nicola Blackwood

Mental health is one of the six core clinical areas to be covered by NHS England’s new CCG Improvement and Assessment Framework. NHS England is working to ensure that this will provide as broad a view as possible of how well commissioners are supporting and driving improvement in mental health.

A dashboard for mental health will be published this autumn, containing a set of standard indicators to articulate progress in mental health services at a national level and allow benchmarking of services across the country.

NHS England will continue to ensure that mental health is represented within the full suite of levers and incentives at its disposal including Commissioning for Quality and Innovation payment framework (CQUINs), Quality Premium, the NHS Standard Contract and within the design of new models of care. The Technical Guidance for NHS planning covering 2017/18 and 2018/19 that accompanied the publication of the main NHS Planning Guidance earlier this autumn included a number of draft proposals for specific mental health CQUINs:

– Improving services for people with Mental Health needs who present to A&E;

– Improving physical health care for people with Severe Mental Illnesses; and

– Improving transitions for children and young people.

The Quality Premium is based on measures that cover a combination of national and local priorities, and on delivery of the fundamentals of commissioning. The Premium is paid to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in 2018/19 and 2019/20 reflects the quality of the health services commissioned by them in 2017/18 and 2018/19. There will be six mandated indicators including a mental health indicator.

Mental health service providers are responsible for the consistency and quality in the services that they provide. Services in England are regulated by the Care Quality Commission which introduced a new regulation and inspection regime in 2014. CCGs are expected to increase their spending on mental health in line with overall growth in their baseline allocations.

January 1, 2023
Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for Rural Community Councils.

Rory Stewart

The Secretary of State discussed a range of issues with the Chancellor of the Exchequer as part of the Spending Review. The Chancellor announced the outcome of the Spending Review on 25 November.

January 1, 2023
Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the Government has ended the (a) Mandatory Work Activity scheme and (b) Community Work Placements element of the Help to Work scheme.

Priti Patel

The economy and labour market have improved since the introduction of our employment programmes. Long-term unemployment has fallen by 35% since 2010 to 509,000, the lowest level in six years. The support we provide to claimants needs to reflect recent labour market changes and the needs of claimants. That is why there will be an increase in funding and new contracted provision to help people with disability and health conditions and the very long-term unemployed return to and remain in work.

The Mandatory Work Activity and Community Work Placement contracts come to an end in March 2016. We always intended to review the contracts at this time. We will provide support to the long-term unemployed through a strengthened JobCentre Plus offer for those out of work for 12-24 months, and for anyone still unemployed after 2 years we will refer them to contracted provision for further support.

This approach builds on our best evidence of what works to support claimants back into work, and gets a good deal for the taxpayer.

January 1, 2023
David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22430, what plans his Department has to communicate those developments in domestic and international research referred to UK Gulf War veterans.

Mark Lancaster

As stated in my answer to Question 22430, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has funded extensive research into Gulf War Illness, including some research into rehabilitative therapies for those veterans with persistent symptoms. There are no plans to fund any further research.

The MOD has no plans to issue guidance on treatment best practice to healthcare professionals or partners in the military charity sector in respect of veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf Conflict. Neither do we have any plans in January 2016 to communicate the findings of independent research on the 1990-91 Gulf Conflict, published in the UK or overseas, to UK veterans.

There is a wide range of support already available to veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf conflict. This can be accessed through MOD’s Veterans UK website and free help line.

January 1, 2023