Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the grant from Viridor Credits to Holy Trinity Church in Wallington was audited by ENTRUST and what assessment they have made of environmental objectives that grant fulfils.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Landfill Communities Fund is a tax credit scheme. It allows landfill operators to gain a tax credit against 90% of the voluntary donations they make to environmental bodies for spending on certain prescribed objectives.

    The prescribed objectives include:

    • the restoration of a building of historic interest or place of religious worship; and
    • the maintenance or improvement of a public amenity;

    within the vicinity of a landfill site.

    ENTRUST, the independent regulator of the Landfill Communities Fund assesses and approves applications for project funding to ensure they meet the objectives of the scheme. ENTRUST also carries out a programme of assurance under which a cross-section of projects are selected for audit to ensure they meet the prescribed objectives, and that funds are spent compliantly.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received on local authority non-compliance with statutory requirements in relation to (a) education, health and care plans and (b) the Local Offer; what mechanism is in place to ensure that local authorities comply with such statutory requirements; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure such compliance.

    Edward Timpson

    We are monitoring implementation of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reforms very closely. We undertake termly surveys of local authorities and Parent Carer Forums. We also engage in regular dialogue with voluntary and community sector partners, including parent representatives, and we monitor issues raised in ministerial and official correspondence.

    The SEND reforms are complex and will take time to embed fully. The transition period from statements to Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCPs) runs until 2018. Our team of SEND Advisers has focused on improving the quality and timeliness of Local Offers and EHCPs, and is offering support to local authorities. In 2015, we responded to widespread feedback to extend the timescale for transferring a statement of SEN to an EHCP from 16 weeks to 20 weeks. We have also provided workshops on Local Offers and on transition; we are currently working with partners to run a series of workshops for local authorities on drafting good EHCPs.

    Early in the process, feedback showed that local authorities were at different stages in developing their Local Offers. All local authorities now have a Local Offer in place, and are working with their partner bodies, families and young people to ensure Local Offers respond to local needs.

    Parents/carers and young people have various options if they are dissatisfied with the way an authority has acted in relation to an EHCP or about the Local Offer. They may wish to complain directly to their local authority, following its formal complaints procedure. Once a local authority’s complaints procedure has been exhausted, the complaint can be referred to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO). The LGO can investigate complaints of maladministration or service failure made by parents/carers and young people about their local authority, including non-compliance with statutory duties relating to EHCPs and the Local Offer. The LGO will not usually investigate complaints about decisions that the local authority has taken in relation to EHC needs assessments and plans that can be appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability).

    If a complaint is not resolved locally or by the LGO, it can be referred to the Secretary of State under sections 496 and 497 of the Education Act 1996. If the Secretary of State finds that the local authority has failed to carry out a statutory duty, or has done so unreasonably, she can then issue a direction to the authority in order to put matters right, if it is expedient to do so.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on HIV support services of changes to commissioning and delivery of such services.

    Jane Ellison

    Decisions on funding and access to social care support services for people with HIV are made by local authorities. The Care Act 2014 sets out the legal framework for social care in England, and this applies to all adults with support needs including those living with HIV.

    Diagnosed early most people with access to HIV treatment can expect a near normal life expectancy. Public Health England monitors the results of individuals receiving NHS HIV treatment. In 2014, 91% of people attending for care were receiving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment of which 95% were virally suppressed and very unlikely to be infectious to others. The United Kingdom is already ahead in meeting two of the three ambitious UNAIDS 90/90/90 global goals of 90% of people with HIV being diagnosed, 90% on ARV treatment and 90% viral suppression for those on ARV treatment by 2020.

  • 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 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department plans to provide to (a) the public and (b) potential investors on the proposed sale of the M6 Toll Road.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department provides a wide range of information about the UK road network, including traffic counts for all major roads. However it does not plan to provide any information specifically on the proposed sale of the M6 Toll Road.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the case of Giulio Regeni was raised with the Egyptian government by the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to Egypt during his visit to Egypt in February 2016.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Prime Minister’s trade envoy to Egypt, Jeffrey Donaldson MP, visited Egypt between 7 and 11 February 2016. The trade envoy discussed a range of issues but given his role focused on business conversations and promoting trade links. We regularly raise the case of Guilio Regeni with the Egyptian authorities including at Ministerial and senior official level.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with NHS Supply Chain on that organisation’s decision on the choice of urine drainage bags available through the NHS Core List Programme.

    George Freeman

    The NHS Supply Chain Core List Programme was developed in collaboration with NHS Business Services Authority and the Department. The Core List aims to achieve best value by reducing the range of like-for-like products that the National Health Service purchases. This allows the NHS to commit to larger volumes of a smaller range of products which in turn allows suppliers to provide improved prices to the NHS as greater economies of scale in manufacturing can be achieved.

    Items identified as ‘Core List’ have been reviewed and assessed by a selection of industry specialists, clinical advisors and customers. Products not included in the NHS Core List are not discontinued and are therefore still available for purchase via the wider NHS catalogue offered by NHS Supply Chain.

    Ultimately, decisions with regard to which urine drainage bag to purchase lies with the procurement team for each individual NHS trust.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether electricity companies are required to provide financial compensation to business customers who are affected financially by delays in connection to the electricity network.

    Jesse Norman

    Electricity network companies are required, under specified circumstances, to make a payment to business customers where agreed connection dates are missed. For distribution connections these arrangements are covered by the Guaranteed Standards of Performance.[1] For transmission connections any payment to the customer for late delivery of a connection would be set out in the customer’s bilateral connection agreement.

    [1] http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/698/contents/made

    “

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to assess the number of people earning less than £11,000 a year who are auto-enrolled or paying into net pay arrangement workplace pension schemes.

    Lord Young of Cookham

    The Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax.

    The Government’s latest analysis of the eligibility of workers for automatic enrolment was published on 13 October 2016 in ‘Workplace Pensions: Update of analysis on Automatic Enrolment’. Information on age and earnings breakdowns for all workers can be found in table 3a on page 6, and is available in the report titled: Workplace pensions: Update of Analysis on Automatic Enrolment 2016, which is available on the gov.uk website.

    The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not therefore hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many responses have been received to the feed-in tariff consultation; and what account she will take of those responses in making her final decision on the feed-in tariff support scheme.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC has received approximately 55,000 consultation responses. We currently estimate that just over 2,600 are unique and detailed responses; the rest are briefer and more uniform responses, generated by campaigns. We are currently analysing feedback submitted during the consultation which we will take into account when deciding on the Government Response.

  • The Earl of Clancarty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The Earl of Clancarty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Clancarty on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 2 December (HL3697) regarding the sale of 41–71 Commercial Road, Aldgate, for which school the site will be developed; and whether that school will use the entire site.

    Lord Nash

    The school site has been leased back to the university until August 2016. This allows the EFA to develop the site in time for a school to open there in September 2017.