Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for how long Saxton Bampfylde Ltd has acted as an employment adviser to his Department.

    Anna Soubry

    Saxton Bampfylde does not act as an “employment adviser” to the Department. When recruiting for some senior positions Ministers may choose to engage an executive search agency to ensure a strong and diverse field of candidates. A procurement exercise is undertaken to contract with a suitable executive search firm for each specific recruitment campaign.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Higher Stamp Duty Land Tax rates announced in Budget 2016 will be levied on properties acquired by social landlords under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

    Mr David Gauke

    The higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for additional properties was introduced to try to make it fairer for people trying to get their foot on the property ladder. Under SDLT legislation, there are exemptions to the tax, including the higher rates, for certain acquisitions by registered social landlords.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether airlines are obliged to comply with the requirements of the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulations No. 1169/2011.

    George Eustice

    The Food Information for Consumers (FIC) Regulation (1169/2011) applies across the European Economic Area, including catering services that are provided by airlines when the departure takes place in a Member State. The requirements apply to packaged and unpackaged food served on airlines. In both cases information required by the regulations must be provided to the consumer, namely allergen information. Other food labelling rules may apply if departing from a non-EEA state.

  • Sarah Champion – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sarah Champion – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when guidance on Part 1 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 was sent to (a) Chief Police Officers in England and Wales, (b) the National Crime Agency, (c) HM Inspectorate of Constabularies and the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.

    Sarah Newton

    Guidance on Part 1 was sent to Chief Officers of Police, the NCA, HMIC and other partners on 9 July 2015 as part of a broader Home Office circular on the Modern Slavery Act. The circular was not copied to the Independent Chief Inspector of Border and Immigration but is easily accessible on GOV.UK. All Border Force officers undergo mandatory training on identifying victims of modern slavery and have access to relevant guidance.

  • John Mc Nally – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    John Mc Nally – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mc Nally on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will register the UK’s support for closing domestic ivory markets irrespective of the EU support of this position.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    At the Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) that took place from 24 September to 5 October, proposals on the closure of domestic ivory markets where they contribute to poaching or illegal trade were agreed by all Parties by consensus. The UK supported this outcome, negotiating on the basis of a common EU and Member State position.

    The agreement at CITES should form a strong basis for a global position on this important issue, which the UK will continue to support. It will not be revisited in the CITES context before the next Conference of Parties, which will take place in 2019. The UK will continue to comply with our EU treaty obligations, including our duty of sincere cooperation, until we formally leave the EU.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to embed the Family Test into its policy making.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The Family Test does not apply to DFID’s work as its scope is limited to domestic policy areas.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she has reviewed the fitness-for-purpose of the UK Nuclear Industry Malicious Capability Planning Assessment to deal with attacks similar to those carried out recently in Paris and San Bernadino.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The security of the UK’s civil nuclear sector is of paramount importance to the Government. The Nuclear Industry Malicious Capability Planning Assumptions (NIMCA) provide a common basis for determining the sector’s required protective security posture. It is reviewed by DECC, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), and industry representatives on an annual basis. To ensure that the NIMCA assumptions remain appropriate, these annual reviews are supplemented with assessments of threat information provided by the police and the intelligence agencies on an ongoing basis. Additionally, the ONR maintains a permanent presence within the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which guarantees the fastest possible identification and notification of intelligence that might indicate changes to present and foreseeable threats to civil nuclear sites.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to amend current charging rules for veterans injured in service before 5 April 2015 on compensation awarded under the War Pensions Scheme being taken into account in assessing the cost of their social care support.

    Alistair Burt

    Armed forces veterans injured in service receive payments either through the War Disablement Pension (WDP) or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS). The AFCS applies to veterans injured from 6 April 2005. These payments are divided into a personal injury compensation element and other payments. Traditionally, only the personal injury compensation payment has been fully disregarded.

    Since October 2012 Guaranteed Income Payments made to veterans under the AFCS have been disregarded. The Department has been in discussion with the Royal British Legion about how WDP payments are treated. Currently the first £10 per week of WDP payments is disregarded. The Government is considering how WDP payments to veterans should be treated in the financial assessment for social care charging in future.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to improve links between schools and elite sports organisations.

    Edward Timpson

    The national curriculum sets out the expectation that pupils should be provided with opportunities to engage in a broad range of competitive sports and activities.

    Many national governing bodies of sports and elite sporting organisations offer a programme for schools, to engage children and young people in their sports. Through their school sports programme, the Premier League is currently working in over 4,000 schools to support the PE curriculum, provide sports clubs, and deliver enrichment activities. In October 2015, the Premier League announced that they will expand their schools offer to every primary school in the country within 6 years.

    The Department funds ‘On the Front Foot’, a programme designed and delivered by Premiership Rugby to develop character and resilience in primary and secondary schools across the country. The programme delivers classroom based and physical activity character building programmes to 17,250 pupils.

    The Football Association’s Skills programme is a nationwide football coaching programme working in over 1,000 primary schools a year, providing specialist football coaching for children and supporting teachers in their delivery of sport. Sessions are offered during PE lessons, extra-curricula clubs and holiday clubs.

    The Tennis Foundation and the Lawn Tennis Association support teachers with training, resource and equipment to help them deliver tennis in schools. Their aim is to increase access to tennis across schools, further and higher education through a wide range of programmes. They offer support to make tennis inclusive and accessible to all pupils. Over 60,000 primary, special and secondary school pupils take part in schools tennis competitions every year.

    The Rugby Football Union works with hundreds of maintained schools as part of its ‘All Schools Plan’ to help more secondary school children play rugby. This was launched by the RFU and the Rugby Football Foundation in 2012, as part of the RFU’s Rugby World Cup 2015 legacy plans.

    The School Games is the Government’s framework for competitive school sports. The programme provides a national final event where the most talented young people in the UK compete in 12 different sports. More than 150 of the athletes who competed at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow had previously competed at the School Games and 59 athletes claimed 84 medals.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Skills of 10 March 2016, whether the £1.5 billion raised by the apprenticeship levy in England referred to will be part of the £2.5 billion for 2019-20 or additional to it.

    Nick Boles

    By 2019-20 we expect the apprenticeship levy to raise £3 billion annually. We expect to spend £2.5 billion on apprenticeships in England. This is an increase of £1 billion on the £1.5 billion committed to apprenticeships in 2015-16.

    This increase in expenditure demonstrates the importance that the Government places on high quality apprenticeships in supporting employers and growth of the economy.