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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of her Department’s policies have been assessed against the family test; what steps she has taken to publish the outcome of such assessments that have been carried out; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    The family test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. The Department for Work and Pensions published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy which can be found online[1]. The Department for Education follows this guidance.

    The family test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policies in line with the family test guidance.

    As stated in the guidance, there is no requirement to publish family test assessments. The Department has published the outcome of such assessments on a number of occasions, including as part of the impact assessments of the Childcare Bill[2] and the Education and Adoption Bill[3].

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-test-assessing-the-impact-of-policies-on-families

    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childcare-bill-impact-assessment

    [3] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-and-adoption-bill-impact-assessment

    “

  • Julian Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which roles currently fulfilled by HMS Ocean will be carried out by HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales when they enter service; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (Cm9161), we will enhance a Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carrier to support our amphibious capability. Together with existing amphibious ships of the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, this will provide the capacity and capability to deploy our amphibious forces.

    HMS OCEAN can carry up to 690 Embarked Military Forces (EMF) – Royal Marines and Aviation Group personnel – in addition to her ship’s company. She can deploy a variety of helicopter types in multiple combinations as required by her mission and role.

    The QEC aircraft carriers can embark up to 900 EMF, in addition to their ship’s company, in support of their missions and tasks and a flexible mix of helicopters subject to the operational tasking.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much Public Health England (PHE) plans to spend on HIV prevention in 2016-17; and which HIV-prevention projects PHE plans to support financially in that year.

    Jane Ellison

    In 2016/17 Public Health England (PHE) will support local, regional and national HIV prevention activities by providing stakeholders, commissioners and policy makers with specialist public health services. PHE is working through its detailed budget setting process having regard for the outcome of the Spending Review. PHE is not yet in a position therefore to confirm funding figures for 2016/17.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what incentives are in place to encourage major infrastructure projects to use steel manufactured in the UK.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government is committed to addressing any barriers that prevent UK steel suppliers from competing effectively for public sector contracts.

    The Government adopted new rules on public procurement last year to offer greater flexibility around social and economic considerations, alongside best value for money, in Government procurement activities.

    In line with this, all departments are required to implement new guidelines, which we published on 30 October, on how government buyers should source steel for major projects so that the true value of UK steel is taken into account in major procurement decisions.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the use of (a) credit unions and (b) the help to buy scheme by armed forces personnel.

    Mark Lancaster

    In October 2015, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) launched a facility to make Credit Union services available to UK Armed Forces personnel via payroll deductions. The launch was communicated through the MOD intranet and gov.uk website, and also cascaded to the single Service welfare and internal communications leads.

    Three chosen Credit Unions are now working together collectively under the banner ‘Joining Forces’ to provide Service personnel with access to dependable savings facilities and safe affordable loans. Further details are available from their website: http://joiningforcescu.co.uk/

    Joining Forces have an employee who works solely on behalf of the collective to deliver presentations and information packages to personnel on military bases. They are also examining various strategies to promote their services through Armed Forces publications and engagement with the Families Federations.

    Work is currently under way to enable veterans who are in receipt of an Armed Forces pension to access the services provided by Joining Forces. It is expected that this facility will go live later this year.

    Take-up of the £200 million Forces Help to Buy (FHTB) scheme has been very encouraging. The scheme has already given £93.7 million to help over 6,100 Service personnel buy or extend their homes. While there is no advertising budget for FHTB, the success stories of the scheme continue to be communicated through routine internal channels, as well as MOD social media where appropriate. These examples are cascaded via the individual Service networks to raise awareness of the scheme and to inform Service personnel of the support available to them.

  • Robert Syms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Syms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Syms on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the potential reduction in revenue to the public purse resulting from the EU Tobacco Products Directive.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department assesses the impact of all proposed measures before laying legislation using standard government methodology. These assessments are set out in Impact Assessments which are scrutinised by the Regulatory Policy Committee before publication alongside the Statutory Instrument. Impact Assessments include a thorough analysis of the costs, benefits and risks associated with policy options.

    A number of the tobacco measures contain commitments to further review the impact of the legislation within five years of them coming into force.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of efforts by the Nigerian government to tackle Boko Haram.

    James Duddridge

    We welcome the successes achieved by the Nigerian armed forces against Boko Haram, which have resulted in the group being pushed out of key towns in North East Nigeria. However, Boko Haram continues to present a serious threat to security in North East Nigeria and the wider region.

    The United Kingdom is providing a substantial and increasing package of military, intelligence, development and humanitarian support to help Nigeria and the region in the fight against Boko Haram. We support Nigeria’s plans to host a high-level Regional Security Summit in Abuja in May. This will bring together regional leaders and international partners, including the United Kingdom, to reaffirm their shared commitment to the fight against Boko Haram.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage local authorities to adopt proactive enforcement policies to help combat fly-tipping.

    Rory Stewart

    We are committed to tackling fly-tipping, and as set out in the Government’s manifesto we have given local authorities the power to issue fixed penalty notices for small-scale fly-tipping. These new enforcement tools provide local authorities with an alternative to prosecutions and will assist them to take a proportionate enforcement response.

    This builds on other Government action to tackle fly-tipping, which has included: working with the Sentencing Council on its guideline for sentencing for environmental offences, which came into force on 1 July 2014; making it easier for vehicles suspected of being involved in waste crime to be stopped, searched and seized; and continuing our work with the Defra-chaired National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to promote and disseminate good practice in the prevention, reporting, investigation and clearance of fly-tipped waste.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her foreign counterparts on the use of pellet guns and other non-lethal weapons for crowd control purposes.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Home Office has not had any discussions with foreign counterparts on the use of pellet guns and other non-lethal weapons for crowd control purposes.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS England operations were cancelled in 2015 due to doctor illness.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The information requested is not collected centrally.