Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure more members of the Commonwealth abolish the death penalty.

    Alok Sharma

    The Government supports a global moratorium on use of the death penalty as a step towards eventual abolition. Since 2010 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has funded a number of projects promoting reform of the death penalty in individual Commonwealth countries. We also continue to engage diplomatically and urge Commonwealth countries to support the United Nation’s resolution on a global moratorium on the death penalty later this year.

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the evidential basis is for the statement in her speech on energy policy at the Institute of Civil Engineers on 18 November 2015 that nuclear power is safe.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government views safety at nuclear sites as paramount. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has regulatory and operational independence and is staffed with nuclear safety experts. It carries out inspections across the nuclear estate and has a wide range of enforcement powers with which to hold duty holders to account and secure sustained compliance with the law. Further, safety is kept under regular review in line with international best practice.

    The Chief Nuclear Inspector’s Statement about the nuclear industry can be found in the 2014-15 Annual Report and Accounts (pages 26-44), which clearly sets out further the work undertaken by the ONR to ensure that industry meets the safety requirements:

    http://www.onr.org.uk/documents/2015/annual-report-2014-15.pdf.

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment he has made of the potential economic benefit to the north of England of faster rail links between north and south and better connectivity within the north of England.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department and Transport for North (TfN) are currently developing options for delivering the transformational rail connectivity in the north of England set out in the Northern Transport Strategy, and aim to have an understanding of the relative scale of costs and benefits of these options in autumn 2016.

    As outlined in the recent HS2 Economic Case published in November 2015, the benefits of the full HS2 Y-Network are estimated to be £72.8bn (2011 prices, PV). This analysis calculated that the benefit cost ratio (BCR) of HS2 is 2.2 for the full Y-network, including wider economic impacts. Therefore, over £2 worth of benefits are expected for every £1 spent which represents high value for money.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the comments made by a spokesperson of his Department made in an article published in the Herald newspaper on 10 January 2016, and pursuant to his oral contribution of 18 January 2016, Official Report, column 1118, if his Department will retrospectively re-examine reports of civilian casualties received from September 2014 to January 2016 to see whether any credible reports of potential civilian casualties from UK strikes were overlooked.

    Penny Mordaunt

    There has been no change in Ministry of Defence (MOD) policy with regard to considering external reports when making an assessment of possible civilian casualties resulting from air strikes.

    The MOD takes allegations of civilian casualties very seriously and we do an assessment after every British strike of the damage that has been caused, and check very carefully whether there are likely to have been civilian casualties. As has always been the case, we continue to consider all available credible evidence to support such assessments.

  • Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which lobbying campaigns organised by charities have been funded by government grants since May 2010.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Information on lobbying campaigns organised by charities is not collected by government.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 28610, which outsourced providers his Department uses for cleaning services; and if he will request information from those providers on the rate of pay for cleaners providing services for his Department.

    Mike Penning

    All employers are obligated to pay a minimum of the new National Living Wage from April 2016.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons the Environment Agency’s Climate Ready Support Service has ended; and when the decision to end that service was made.

    Rory Stewart

    The Environment Agency’s Climate Ready Support Service was originally envisaged as a three year programme that was extended to a fourth year in March 2015. This enabled completion of the majority of National Adaptation Programme actions to which the service was contributing. The remaining ongoing actions are continuing without the need for the designated service. Adaptation is integrated throughout the work of all Government departments who continue to deliver, alongside local Government and many other organisations, their commitments set out in the National Adaptation Programme.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with local enterprise partnerships in Yorkshire about the creation of new enterprise zones.

    James Wharton

    In 2015 we ran a competitive bidding round that provided an opportunity for Local Enterprise Partnerships to submit bids for a new round of Enterprise Zones.

    All Local Enterprise Partnerships within Yorkshire successfully submitted bids for new Zones or extensions to existing ones. We announced two new Enterprise Zones in November, in Leeds and York, and at Budget we announced an extension to the existing Sheffield Enterprise Zone that is subject to local approval.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) detainees, (b) security guards and (c) independent witnesses were on board the deportation charter flight from Stansted Airport to West Africa on 24 May 2016.

    James Brokenshire

    Home Office records indicate that, on the 24th May charter to Nigeria & Ghana, 47 detainees were returned with 118 escorts. On this particular flight there were no independent observers.

    This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to develop milk banks.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The United Kingdom Association for Milk Banking promote and support the accountable provision of safe, rigorously screened donor breastmilk for sick and premature babies. However they do not routinely supply milk for mother who through illness cannot breastfeed their babies even though they would consider providing the supply of breastmilk on a case by case basis.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that all donor milk administered in the National Health Service should be from milk banks that can demonstrate adherence to the NICE guidelines on the operation of donor milk bank services.

    It is up to the local NHS in each area to consider whether to introduce a milk bank for mothers attending maternity units. There are at present 14 milk banks in NHS trusts in England.