Tag: Parliamentary Question

Nick Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effect of tax credits on farmers.

George Eustice

The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on this issue. However, the NFU has written directly to the Chancellor about tax payments and the National Living Wage. Ministers and Defra officials meet regularly with representatives of the farming industry to discuss a range of issues affecting farm businesses.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce the incidence of money-laundering in the UK.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government’s Anti-Money Laundering regime has a clear aim: to make the UK financial system a hostile environment for illicit finances, whilst minimising the burden on legitimate businesses and reducing the overall burden of regulation.

In Europe, we worked hard during the negotiation of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive to encourage European partners to match our level of ambition in combatting money laundering. The Directive was formally adopted in June 2015 and it will be transposed into UK law by June 2017. The Government plans to publish a consultation on the changes early next year. The consultation will run for a full 12 weeks. We will consult on areas where the Directive gives us options or discretion on how we transpose its provisions.

Domestically, HM Treasury and Home Office have worked closely together to draw up the UK’s first National Risk Assessment (NRA) of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, which was published on 15 October 2015. The NRA is the next step in ensuring that our anti-money laundering regime is robust, proportionate and responsive to emerging threats. The NRA found that while the UK’s response to money laundering and terrorist financing risks is well developed, more could be done to strengthen the UK’s anti-money laundering regime. The Treasury and Home Office are working together on a comprehensive Action Plan to address these issues, to ensure that the UK continues to lead the global fight against illicit financial flows.

01/01/2023
Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 21142, if he will make it his policy to make mandatory the recording of the diagnosis code in the accident and emergency data set.

Jane Ellison

Following a review of the Accident and Emergency Commissioning Data Set in 2014, a specific project was established to support the development of an improved data set for urgent and emergency care. This is a collaborative project which includes wide-ranging membership across our key partners. The mandatory recording of primary diagnosis within accident and emergency departments is expected to be considered within the scope of this project, which will report in due course.

01/01/2023
Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what percentage optimism bias his Department applied to the Successor Trident programme.

Mr Philip Dunne

Successor submarine is categorised as "Production of a Platform" for optimism bias purposes. In line with normal Ministry of Defence processes, the optimism bias will be addressed as part of the process of securing approval for the next investment point.

I am withholding information for the current calculations for optimism bias, as the formal internal scrutiny process has not been completed.

01/01/2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 29560, what assessment he has made of trends in the number of active Daesh fighters in (a) Iraq, (b) Libya and (c) Syria in each of the last 24 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

As outlined in our response to PQ 29560 the latest available public figures on the number of Daesh fighters in Iraq and Syria come from the US. These put the number at approximately 19,000 – 25,000, compared to 20,000 – 31,000 fighters in 2014.

Our current estimate for the number of Daesh fighters in Libya is between 3,000 – 6,000. We do not have earlier estimates from which we could extrapolate a trend. The vast majority of Daesh fighters in Libya are foreigners rather than Libyans. While some Daesh figures have called for foreign fighters to go to Libya rather than Iraq/Syria, we have not seen any evidence to suggest this has happened.

01/01/2023
Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value was of (a) jobseeker’s allowance and (b) employment and support allowance sanctions imposed by his Department in each of the last five years.

Priti Patel

The Department does not make an estimate of the value of benefit withdrawn as a result of benefit sanctions.

01/01/2023

Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what has been the change in sea bass stocks available to the UK fishing industry since the Council of European Fisheries Ministers meeting in 2014.

George Eustice

Updated scientific advice is expected from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea at the end of June this year, which will provide the latest assessment. However, the overall estimated reductions of the EU bass measures for the main gear groups in the commercial sector are set out in the Table below (calculated for the UK fleet). These are estimates which take into account the effects of the initial six-month moratorium, related derogations and the subsequent monthly vessel catch limits.

Those parts of the industry that use hook-and-line and fixed gillnets benefit from derogations in the form of higher monthly catch limits and a moratorium of two, rather than six, months.

More in-depth analysis, also taking into account additional factors such as the effects of the 2015 increase in the minimum conservation reference size for bass, and reduced availability, will be undertaken.

Gear type	Previous average tonnage, 2011-13	Estimated tonnage catch potential for 2016	Estimated reduction from 2011-13 average (%)
Bottom Trawl	131	37	72
Nets	378	224	41
Hook and line	171	167	2
Purse seine	56	21	63
pelagic trawl	77	11	86
Totals	813	460	43

Table. Estimated reductions in catch potential for UK bass stocks (%).

01/01/2023

Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Written Statement of 26 May 2016, HCWS30, whether his Department carried out an equality effect assessment on the effect on the public of the decision to centralise policy functions in his Department’s London office.

Joseph Johnson

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has carried an Equality Analysis to consider the impact of the decision on staff with protected characteristics, in compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.

01/01/2023
Lord Porter of Spalding – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Porter of Spalding on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the emerging findings of the Local Government Association’s Housing Commission report Building our Homes: communities and the future.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

We welcome the work which the Local Government Association is doing to meet our shared aims of delivering the homes which communities need, and creating a housing market that works for everyone. Many of our existing measures will help to achieve those aims.

The government has already doubled the housing budget to help deliver a million homes and double the number of first time buyers. We have allocated £8 billion to deliver 400,000 affordable homes, including shared ownership, starter homes and homes for affordable rent. This government and its predecessor have pursued a wide range of actions to improve the speed of the planning process, and we are taking steps to diversify the market.

We look forward to reading the full report, and engaging with the Local Government Association on existing and future policies.

01/01/2023
Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wasserman on 2016-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applications were received for the job of independent Chair of the Board of Directors of the College of Policing; and when they expect to announce the name of the successful candidate.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Home Office received 23 applications for the role of Chair of the College of Policing. The selection process has commenced and an announcement will be made in due course.

01/01/2023