Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Iain Wright – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Iain Wright – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that adequate funding is provided to North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust to maintain a full range of services during the winter period.

    Jane Ellison

    Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees Clinical Commissioning Group received an additional £1,994,000 in its baseline in 2015/16 with the specific purpose of ensuring resilience throughout the year, of this funding around two-thirds was allocated to North Tees and Hartlepool Foundation Trust.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what input businesses make to the national strategy of the National Crime Agency.

    Lord Bates

    The National Crime Agency’s (NCA’s) Annual Plan sets out its priorities and how it plans to exercise its functions in leading the fight to cut serious and organised crime. The NCA also produces on behalf of UK law enforcement the National Strategic Assessment (NSA) which draws together a single picture of the threat from serious and organised crime and is produced in consultation with a broad range of partners.

    In discharging its functions, the NCA maintains close, collaborative and productive relationships with the police and other law enforcement agencies, Police and Crime Commissioners, the intelligence and security agencies, government departments (in particular with the Home Office), local government and the private and voluntary sectors, and Devolved Administrations.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West are trained to use tasers.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not hold information centrally on the number of police officers who are trained to use Taser.

    Taser deployments in each police force area are an operational matter for Chief Officers. This includes decisions on the number of specially trained officers deployed with Taser, which is based on the assessment of threat and risk.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of deployment by China of surface-to-air missiles on the Paracels Islands in the South China Sea.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We are very concerned about Chinese missile deployments on Woody Island in the Paracel Islands, as reported in the media on 17 February. The UK opposes any actions which are likely to increase tensions in the South China Sea, including militarisation. We urge all parties to exercise restraint, to pursue the settlement of disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, and to uphold freedom of navigation and freedom overflight.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Table 1 in her Department’s publication, Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2014, HC 511, what aspects of the preservation of the species were the 22 experiments on cats were designed to assist.

    Karen Bradley

    The 22 cats used for the preservation of the species in the Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2014 were involved in a project on the genetic status and health of Scottish wildcats. The Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris grampia) was once found across the British mainland but is now confined to the Scottish Highlands. The key aims were to:

    • Undertake a targeted survey of Scottish wildcats and domestic feral cats in key areas in Scotland

    • Assess the genetic purity of Scottish wildcats and degree of interbreeding with domestic feral cats

    • Assess the health of both the Scottish wildcat and domestic feral cat population

    To do this, wildcats and feral domestic cats were humanely trapped and given a full health check under general anaesthesia which included the taking of a blood sample to assess the genetic purity of the wildcat as well as to look for evidence of infectious disease in both. All animals were then immediately released back into the wild.

    The findings of this study are being used to establish much needed baseline information which will inform key conservation management decisions for the Scottish wildcat in order to protect the population. The influence of feral domestic cats, both through interbreeding with wildcats and transmission of infectious diseases that may contribute to wildcat population decline, is being used to inform feral cat management and control programmes in wildcat areas, and may lead to specific disease control measures such as targeted vaccination.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government’s strategy is for litter and fly-tipping.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra has announced plans for a new litter strategy and we are working with industry, experts and councils across England to improve the way we all tackle the scourge of litter. The litter strategy will promote affordable and replicable ways to influence littering behaviour – and reduce littering. It will encourage innovation in physical infrastructure and cleansing methods, and in product design, and will help to make a compelling and engaging case for investment in work to tackle litter and littering.

    To develop the strategy we will seek the views of, among others, representatives from local government, campaign groups and independent experts, as well as voices from the packaging and fast-food industries. As part of this process we will also establish a number of working groups on specific issues, such as roadside litter, data and monitoring and enforcement.

    We are committed to tackling fly-tipping as set out in the Government’s manifesto. Subject to Parliamentary approval, we will give local authorities the power to issue fixed penalty notices for small-scale fly-tipping. Regulations were laid in Parliament on 11 March. These new enforcement tools will be available to local authorities from 9 May, providing them with an alternative to prosecutions and will assist them to take a proportionate enforcement response. This will build on other actions, including:

    • Cracking down on offenders by strengthening the Sentencing Council’s

      Guideline for sentencing for environmental offences, which came into force on 1 July 2014.

    • Making it easier for vehicles suspected of being involved in waste crime to be

      stopped, searched and seized.

    • Continuing our work with the Defra-chaired National Fly-Tipping Prevention

      Group to promote and disseminate good practice in the prevention, reporting,

      investigation and clearance of fly-tipped waste.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the suitability of the UK’s existing (a) road infrastructure and (b) skills in the workforce for the anticipated rise in the number of autonomous vehicles.

    Andrew Jones

    Autonomous vehicles could potentially have significant impacts on congestion, safety, and efficiency. The Government recognises that this is an important issue and needs to be better understood to properly inform long-term policy and investment decisions. For this reason, the Department for Transport is currently engaging with interested parties and conducting research and development to understand the specific requirements on the road infrastructure needed for the deployment of these technologies.

    The Transport Systems Catapult is developing a report on current and future skills for the fast-growing Intelligent Mobility sector, which includes autonomous vehicles. This report will be complete in early summer.

    This work is ongoing, and forms part of a much wider programme of research and development that the Government is supporting to examine the issues associated with these technologies.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to engage with (a) coal generators and (b) the biomass sector on whether a future biomass auction will take place.

    Jesse Norman

    We plan to hold the next Contracts for Difference allocation round in due course We will announce further details about the allocation round and engage with stakeholders in good time.

  • Baroness Wolf of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Wolf of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Wolf of Dulwich on 2016-09-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of advanced learner loans in 2015–16, as a percentage of the total number of individual loans made in that year, were made for courses at (1) level 3, and (2) level 4.

    Lord Nash

    82,990 eligible applications for Advanced Learner Loans were received for courses starting in the 2015/16 academic year. Approximately 94% of courses taken were for provision at Level 3, with approximately 6% for provision at Level 4.

  • Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Marie Morris on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will change the criteria for primary and acute care provision better benefit rural communities.

    George Freeman

    All new care model vanguards, which include multispecialty community providers, integrated primary and acute care systems, enhanced health in care homes, urgent and emergency care and acute care collaborations have now been selected.

    Selection of the 50 vanguards followed an open and rigorous process, with participating organizations being selected from urban and rural areas.

    While NHS England is only able to have a limited number of vanguards as part of its national programme, it aims to support all local areas with an ambition to deliver care in new ways that improve patient experience and outcomes.