Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to monitor the provision and use of food banks.

    Priti Patel

    There are no plans for my Department to monitor the use of food banks. This is because as the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Hunger noted that the reasons why people use food banks can be complex and are frequently overlapping. Their use cannot be attributed to a single cause.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Open Banking Standard report published in February 2016, how the Government plans to ensure that customers provide informed consent when using open banking services.

    Simon Kirby

    The Open Banking Working Group was created at the request of the government to explore options for allowing customers to use their bank data in a safe, secure and efficient manner. The Group published its report in February 2016. The conclusions reached represent the views of the Working Group and are not government policy.

    Subsequently, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued the final report of its investigation into retail banking on 9 August 2016. As part of this, the CMA requires nine leading UK banks to create an open API (Application Programming Interface) to allow access to customer account information as set out in the revised Payment Services Directive (PSDII), which will come into force in January 2018. Informed consent, data protection and cyber security are key considerations in the PSDII, and the government will be consulting on the transposition of this directive shortly.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    NHS Improvement (NHSI) is responsible for overseeing National Health Service trusts. NHSI advises that East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust’s (EEAST’s) performance has seen a sustained improvement since March 2016. However, the Trust is still not meeting the national standards for category A (immediately life-threatening) calls. In August 2016, it responded to 68.9% of Red 1 calls and 62.3% of Red 2 calls within eight minutes, against a standard of 75%. For all category A calls, it responded to 90.8% within 19 minutes, against a standard of 95%.

    NHSI advises that overall demand on the Trust’s services has increased by 4.6% over the last 12 months, although the higher acuity ‘Red’ demand has increased by approximately 15%. This substantial increase in high acuity demand represents thousands more calls needing a response against the eight-minute standard. In 2016/17, to the end of August 2016, the Trust had responded to 3,699 more high acuity patients (Red 1 and Red 2 calls) in eight minutes than in the same period in 2015/16.

    NHSI advises that staff turnover at EEAST has been steadily reducing over the last eight months. Turnover of EEAST frontline staff for the period 1 August 2015 to 30 September 2016 was 7.12%. The Trust’s reference period for reporting staff turnover is 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015, and within this period turnover was 8.31%. Based on the most recent national benchmarking data for June 2016, turnover for all staff at EEAST was 9.85%, fifth lowest of the 11 English ambulance trusts.

  • Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will (a) discuss with the Moroccan Ambassador to the UK and (b) instruct the British Ambassador to Morocco to investigate the condition and treatment of Ali Aarrass who is on hunger strike in Sale prison.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Non-Government Organisations reported on 10 November that Ali Aarrass suspended his hunger strike after 72 days. We monitor the human rights situation in Morocco closely.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Charlotte Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of NHS hospitals in coordinating with private or third sector care providers to optimise results for patients.

    Ben Gummer

    We would encourage working between all providers of health and care, to maximise safe and effective care for all patients.

    Decisions about whether to use non-NHS capacity are generally made at local level, as part of the operational management of capacity and demand.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to press the government of the Maldives for the unconditional release of former President Mohamed Nasheed for medical treatment in the UK.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), visited the Maldives on 17 and 18 January. He met key members of the Maldives government, including President Yameen and reiterated our call for the release of all political prisoners. The UK welcomed the Maldivian government’s decision on 18 January to allow former President Nasheed to travel overseas for medical treatment.

  • Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason trade statistics are collected on a different basis by HM Revenue and Customs and the Office for National Statistics; and what plans the Government has to align the collection of such data.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is required to collect trade in goods statistics by EU legislation. This legislation sets out the detail and frequency of the data to be collected and provided to the EU Commission.

    Council Regulation (EC) No 471/2009 and Commission Regulations (EU) No 92/2010 and No 113/2010 set out the requirement for HMRC to collect trade in goods statistics between the UK and non-EU countries. Council Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1982/2004 sets out the requirement to collect the corresponding statistics between the UK and other EU Member States.

    HMRC provides trade in goods data to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). As required by the sixth edition of the International Monetary Fund’s Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6) and the European System of Natural and Regional Accounts (ESA 2010), National Accounts and Balance of Payments also include trade in services. The ONS collects this data.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made at the UN Security Council in drafting a new Resolution on sanctions against North Korea, in particular to require that (1) in stemming the flow of illicit goods, UN member states conduct mandatory inspections of all cargo passing through their territory to or from North Korea; (2) member states freeze the assets of North Korean entities linked to Pyongyang’s nuclear or missile programmes; and (3) the opening of new branches or offices of North Korean banks, or the engagement with North Korean banks, is prohibited.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2270 on 2 March 2016 in response to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) nuclear test of 6 January 2016 and subsequent satellite launch, which used ballistic missile technology, of 7 February 2016.

    The Government welcomes this Resolution, which was agreed unanimously. This is a clear demonstration that the international community is prepared to take tough measures in response to the North Korea’s repeated violations of UN Security Council Resolutions.

    The Resolution contains a comprehensive set of measures aimed at tackling DPRK’s illicit proliferation. These include a ban on the export of coal, titanium, gold and other specialist metals which finance North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. In addition to this, all states are now required to conduct inspections of DPRK flagged vessels, and small arms and light weapons are included in the arms embargo.

    UN Member States are obliged to freeze the assets of companies and entities linked to North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programme. The Resolution also bans DPRK banks and their subsidiaries from opening new branches overseas and prohibits financial institutions from establishing any joint ventures with these banks.

    We urge all states to ensure these measures are implemented and all obligations under previous UN Security Council Resolutions are enforced.

  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to establish a minimum price below which Government shares in Royal Bank of Scotland will not be sold.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The first sale of Government shares in RBS was conducted in August 2015 and raised £2.1 billion for the taxpayer. This was an important first step in returning the bank to private ownership, which is the right thing to do for the taxpayer and for British businesses: it will promote financial stability, lead to a more competitive banking sector, and support the interests of the wider economy.

    The government will conduct further sales of RBS shares subject to market conditions, and in doing so will maximise value for the taxpayer. The returns on the government’s interventions in RBS will be determined by the success of the whole of the selling programme, rather than the terms achieved on the first few disposals.

  • Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 26 April (HL7737), what representations they have made to the government of Israel about why it rejected Turkey’s proposal of a floating power-generating ship to help solve the electricity crisis in Gaza.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK has not made representations to Israel about this specific issue. We are in regular discussion with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and other development actors, specifically the UN and EU, about Gaza’s energy crisis. Improving Gaza’s provision of electricity will in turn improve Gaza’s water supply and wastewater treatment. We regularly call on both parties to work on solutions to increase the electricity supply, including press for the extension of the 161 power line and progress towards the conversion of the Gazan power station to gas.