Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on proposed legislative steps to protect legally privileged communications from surveillance.

    Andrew Selous

    Policy responsibility for this area lies with the Home Office. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has powers to intercept prisoners’ communications in specific circumstances.

    Section 4(4) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) provides that the interception of communications in prisons is authorised where the conduct is in exercise of a power conferred by the Prison Rules. The Prison Rules allow for interception of a prisoner’s communications if it is necessary on certain specified grounds and proportionate to what is sought to be achieved. The Prison Rules do not permit interception of a prisoner’s communication with the prisoner’s legal adviser, unless the governor of the prison has reasonable cause to believe that the communication is being made with the intention of furthering a criminal purpose and unless authorised by the Chief Executive Officer of NOMS; the director responsible for the national operational services of NOMS; or the duty director of NOMS.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether hon. Members can raise issues relating to Concentrix when using the hotline to HM Revenue and Customs for hon. Members.

    Mr David Gauke

    I refer the honorable lady to the answer I provided on 23 November to question 17151. http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-11-23/17151/

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

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to support the British Heart Foundations’ Wear It Beat It campaign.

    Jane Ellison

    We congratulate the British Heart Foundation (BHF) on its Wear It Beat It campaign, which aims to raise funds for research into heart disease.

    Heart disease is a vital area of research. The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds a wide range of research relating to these conditions, spending £49 million on cardiovascular disease research in 2014/15. The NIHR works in partnership with the BHF and other medical research charities.

  • Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her French counterpart on that country’s current policy of dismantling the refugee camp in Calais.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK Government is in regular contact with French counterparts on the migrant situation in Calais.

    Steps taken by French authorities to clear sections of the migrant camp in Calais are consistent with the shared strategy to encourage those in need of protection to claim asylum in France and to return those not in need to their home country. The French Government, with support from the UK, has made huge efforts to provide decent accommodation in France for all those that need it, including for women and children.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with motor vehicle insurance companies on reducing the number of uninsured drivers.

    Andrew Jones

    Officials in my Department have regular contact with the insurance industry to discuss measures to reduce uninsured driving.

    I last met with representatives from the insurance industry in January to discuss a range of issues related to motor insurance including measures which can reduce the cost of insurance and thereby reduce the incentive to drive without insurance.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2016 to Question 37977, what comparative assessment he has made of trends in the number of passengers travelling from and to (a) Coventry railway station and (b) other stations in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

    Claire Perry

    Work is currently in progress assessing trends on the routes from and to Coventry as part of the West Midlands and InterCity West Coast franchise competitions. The Invitation to Tender for the West Midlands franchise is due to be released shortly.

  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken was to process hardship payments between the day the application was made and the day the claimant received the payment for sanctioned (a) jobseeker’s allowance and (b) employment and support allowance claimants before reviews, reconsiderations or appeals for the period between 1 July and 31 December 2015.

    Damian Hinds

    The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Touhig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Touhig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-10-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the sale of RFA Diligence will amount to, or exceed, the amount of taxpayer-funded expenditure of £16 million that was spent on refitting the vessel to extend its life to 2020.

    Earl Howe

    We do not yet know the sale price of RFA Diligence. In August 2016 the Disposal Services Authority advertised a competition for the sale of the former RFA Diligence for future use. This competition has not reached the stage where formal commercial bids have been received.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to ensure (a) British Overseas Territories and (b) the City of London comply with international standards for transparency in tax matters.

    Mr David Gauke

    In 2013, a major focus of the UK’s G8 Presidency was tax transparency and combatting offshore tax evasion. As part of this the UK promoted the development of a new global standard for reciprocal automatic exchange of financial account information in order to effectively tackle the global problem of tax evasion. Due in large part to the UK’s leadership, over 90 countries and jurisdictions have now committed to the new global standard – known as the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) – and will begin automatically exchanging information under the standard by 2017 or 2018.

    Together with the UK itself, all of the UK’s Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories with a recognised financial centre have committed to the 2017 timetable as early adopters. They will also be automatically exchanging 2014 and 2015 financial account information bilaterally with the UK in 2016. The City of London is covered by the CRS which has been implemented in UK law.

    In addition to their commitments to early adoption of the CRS, all of the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies have engaged fully in the Global Forum Peer Review Process on exchange of information on request, have publicly committed to improvements in the transparency of company ownership and meet Financial Action Task Force requirements.

  • Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2015 to Question 15557, on what date her Department plans to publish updated information on free school projects that opened or were withdrawn or cancelled.

    Edward Timpson

    We intend to publish updated expenditure for free school projects in early 2016.