Tag: Parliamentary Question

Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department spent from the public purse on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) legal fees for employment tribunals for the last twelve months, where invoices have so far been received (January 2015 – December 2015), total £46,385.52. The FCO is in the process of recovering £3,000 of this following a Costs Order in our favour.

01/01/2023
Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he has taken to promote the take-up of employee ownership schemes by small and medium-sized businesses in each nation of the UK.

Anna Soubry

In 2012, the previous Government asked Graeme Nuttall to advise on what more could be done to increase the number of businesses with employee ownership. The Nuttall Review identified 28 recommendations to address three main constraints: lack of awareness of the concept; lack of resources to support the model; and actual or perceived legal, tax and other regulatory barriers. The action taken to address the recommendations is explained in the ‘The Nuttall Review of Employee Ownership – One Year On’ report published in November 2013 and available on the gov.uk website.

The Government now expects the private sector to make the business case for this model through organisations such as the Employee Ownership Association – the representative body for employee-owned businesses.

Ongoing encouragement for employee ownership is provided through four approved share schemes which have tax-advantages for both employees and employers. These are the Company Share Option Plan (CSOP), Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI), Save As You Earn (SAYE) and Share Incentive Plan (SIP) which are administered by HMRC. In 2013-14 the total value of shares and options awarded under these schemes was around £3.45bn with over £1bn of income tax and national insurance relief given.

01/01/2023
Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-04-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an equality assessment has been carried out regarding the move of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills office from Sheffield to London, and if so, what the findings were.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

An Equality Analysis on both the proposed move of all policy posts to London, and the proposed closure of the Sheffield office, has been carried out.

The Equality Analysis and findings have already been shared with the Departmental Trade Unions as part of the consultation.

01/01/2023
Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made on negotiations with the Libyan government on plans to tackle human trafficking and smuggling.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK, working with our international partners, is committed to working in partnership with the new Libyan government to take concrete action to tackle illegal migration through Libya. The Prime Minister has been clear on the need to do more to break the business model of the people smugglers. At the G7 Summit in Japan on 27 May, he announced that the UK will work to agree a plan to boost the capability of the Libyan coastguard to help stem the flow of illegal migration across the Mediterranean into Europe. Prime Minister Serraj wrote to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, on 21 May requesting cooperation with the EU on the training of the Libyan coastguard. Once a detailed plan has been agreed with the Libyan authorities, the UK will send a training team to assist in its implementation, and as soon as the relevant permissions and UN Security Council Resolution are in place, we will deploy a naval vessel to the South Central Mediterranean to combat arms trafficking in the region. Together these developments will help secure the coast of Libya, limit Daesh terrorists’ freedom of movement and help tackle the migrant crisis.

01/01/2023

Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many performance meetings the Departmental Board has held since his appointment; and how many of those meetings he has attended.

David Mowat

The frequency of performance meetings held by the Departmental Board and how many of these were attended by the Secretary of State for Health is published in the Annual Reports and Accounts which can be located via the following links to the Gov.UK website for each financial year of his term –

2012-13	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013
2013-14	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014
2014-15	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447002/DH_accounts_14-15_web.pdf
2015-16	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/539602/DH_Annual_Report_Web.pdf

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01/01/2023

Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of projects that foster co-operation and co-existence have had on the prospects of securing lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Rory Stewart

Projects that foster cooperation and coexistence can help to build understanding between Israelis and Palestinians, and maintain a constituency of support for peace. The Secretary of State is currently assessing options for providing further support to coexistence programmes.

01/01/2023

Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Questions 11484, on Army: Scotland, for what reasons the figures cited for 6 SCOTS and 7 SCOTS do not reflect the general increase in reserve numbers forecast in the Future Reserves 2020 programme.

Mr Julian Brazier

It is assumed that the question relates to the reduction in the establishment figures for 6 and 7 SCOTS. These changes reflect the move to a standard structure for all reserve infantry battalions with three companies rather than four as part of the Future Reserves 2020 programme.

In practice Army Reserve manning levels have been historically below establishment. Actual numbers are now increasing in 6 and 7 SCOTS, as they are across the Army Reserve.

The following table shows the manning levels of the reserve battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, complete with establishment and strength as at April of each year between 2004 and 2014.

	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
52^nd Lowland Regiment/6 SCOTS
	392	452	406	406	406	406	406	406	406	406	367
	273	278	280	182	216	190	196	186	155	160	188

51^st Highland Regiment/7 SCOTS
	557	656	627	471	472	471	472	472	472	472	367
	390	425	425	338	294	253	262	191	237	205	270

Unit details are single service estimates only and have not been produced by Defence Statistics.

01/01/2023

Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of how many barrels of oil Daesh sells through Turkey on a daily basis.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

There are no reliable statistics available on how much oil, and related products, are smuggled over the border to Turkey. However, last year the Turkish government greatly increased the number of border guards to tackle oil smuggling across its border with Syria and captured 79 million litres of smuggled oil.

We work closely with Turkey and there is no evidence to suggest that the Turkish government has been involved in the oil trade.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will request that NICE work with the manufacturers of nivolumab to ensure patients with lung cancer can access that medicine at the earliest opportunity.

George Freeman

No such assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising nivolumab (Opdivo) for squamous non-small cell lung cancer and has not yet issued its final guidance.

In developing its technology appraisal guidance, NICE works closely with stakeholders, including manufacturers. NICE’s consultation on its draft guidance closed on 19 January 2016.

In the absence of NICE guidance, it is for commissioners to make funding decisions based on the available evidence.

01/01/2023

Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for how many days (a) HMS Daring, (b) HMS Dauntless, (c) HMS Diamond, (d) HMS Dragon, (e) HMS Defender and (f) HMS Duncan underwent (i) planned maintenance and (ii) repair work in each of the last six years.

Mr Philip Dunne

The amount spent on Maintenance and Repair for the six Type 45 Destroyers is detailed in the table below rounded to the nearest half million:

Name of Ship	In-Service Date	Maintenance/Repair	Cost (£ million)
HMS DARING	July 2010	Programmed Maintenance	£7
Unprogrammed Work/Repair	July 2010	£4.5
HMS DAUNTLESS	November 2010	Programmed Maintenance	£4.5
HMS DAUNTLESS	November 2010	Unprogrammed Work/Repair	£4.5
HMS DIAMOND	July 2011	Programmed Maintenance	£9.5
HMS DIAMOND	July 2011	Unprogrammed Work/Repair	£3.5
HMS DRAGON	April 2012	Programmed Maintenance	£7
HMS DRAGON	April 2012	Unprogrammed Work/Repair	£2
HMS DEFENDER	March 2013	Programmed Maintenance	£2
HMS DEFENDER	March 2013	Unprogrammed Work/Repair	£3
HMS DUNCAN	December 2013	Programmed Maintenance	£1.5
HMS DUNCAN	December 2013	Unprogrammed Work/Repair	£2

The table below reflects the number of planned maintenance days per ship over the six year period. Repair work on individual ship systems takes place during both planned maintenance periods and operational deployments and data relating to the number of days’ worth of repair work is not collected. Unprogrammed work/repair figures shown cover the extension of maintenance periods.

Name of Ship	In-Service Date	Maintenance/ Repair	Duration
HMS DARING	July 2010	Programmed Maintenance	360
		Unprogrammed Work/Repair	105
HMS DAUNTLESS	November 2010	Programmed Maintenance	215
		Unprogrammed Work/Repair	20
HMS DIAMOND	July 2011	Programmed Maintenance	350
		Unprogrammed Work/Repair	0
HMS DRAGON	April 2012	Programmed Maintenance	250
		Unprogrammed Work/Repair	0
HMS DEFENDER	March 2013	Programmed Maintenance	100
		Unprogrammed Work/Repair	0
HMS DUNCAN	December 2013	Programmed Maintenance	130
		Unprogrammed Work/Repair	0

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01/01/2023