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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Minute to Parliament describing the contingent liability with an indicative value of up to £500 million, as created by the Market Disruption Facility agreed and signed by the Secretary of State and Bazalgette Tunnel Limited on 24 August 2015 in connection with the Thames Tideway Tunnel project was published, in the light of the fact that the potential exposure of the public purse exceeds £300,000; and when a Minute to Parliament was published in respect of the further contingent liability created by the Secretary of State in connection with the same project through his agreement to the Contingent Equity Support Agreement, signed on the same day with the same party, in the light of the fact that the liability could be as great or greater than that in the Market Disruption Facility.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Defra did not submit departmental Minutes on the various limbs of the Government’s contingent financial support package for the Thames Tideway Tunnel because the Secretary of State has statutory authority to give financial assistance for major water or sewerage infrastructure projects under section 154B of the Water Industry Act 1991. This is consistent with the approach set out in HM Treasury’s guidance, Managing Public Money, paragraph A5.4.21 & Box A5.4C.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effects on recipients of disabled students allowances of transferring responsibility for funding support from Government to universities.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government carried out an Equality Analysis as part of the recent consultation on reforms to Disabled Students’ Allowances. This is available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/481527/bis-15-658-disabled-students-allowances-equality-analysis.pdf

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  • Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2016 to Question 42983, when his Department plans to publish the impact assessment for changes to the budget for community pharmacy in 2016-17.

    David Mowat

    No publication date has yet been finalised. The Department remains committed to publishing the full and final impact assessment alongside any Drug Tariff determination.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the army has been of teaching children in private schools in the UK and abroad in each year since 2010.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The total spend by the Department on Continuity of Education Allowance in the UK for Army personnel in each financial year since 2009-10 is shown below.

    The Department also funds a range of education provisions overseas for Army personnel. However these are not all defined as ‘private schools’. The cost of this is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

    Financial Year

    Spend by Army (£million)

    2009-10

    62.745

    2010-11

    67.021

    2011-12

    67.669

    2012-13

    62.134

    2013-14

    57.595

    2014-15

    55.960

    2015-16

    54.887
  • Lord Quirk – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Quirk – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Quirk on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 9 July (HL896, HL897) and 30 July (HL1654), why according to recent press reports HMRC are still failing to answer telephoned inquiries and complaints from the public within an acceptable time frame.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) recognise that their customer service has not been good enough, and have taken major steps to improve, including recruiting 3,000 new staff into customer service roles, available outside normal office hours when many of their customers choose to call them. The process of recruiting and training the new staff is now complete. These improvements have started to make a difference. This month, HMRC have answered more than 80 per cent of calls, and average queue times are now around 10 minutes.

    HMRC also recognise that some customers have been waiting too long for a response to their complaint. HMRC have recovery plans in place and their performance is improving week on week.

  • Fabian Hamilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Fabian Hamilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much of the £1 billion over five years for use by the Ross Fund in conjunction with the Gates Foundation is UK Aid funded.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    All of the £1 billion Ross Fund, announced in November 2015, is UK Aid funded. Discussions are underway with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation about how their investments can contribute to the objectives of the Fund.

  • Lord Inglewood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Inglewood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Inglewood on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Forestry Commission refuses to allow the use of air rifles by experienced, trained, and insured volunteers as part of an integrated programme for grey squirrel control.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Landowners are free to choose any legal method to control grey squirrels on their own land and to choose the methods they believe to be most effective and appropriate in any location. However, Forestry Commission England currently considers that free shooting has limited effectiveness in controlling grey squirrel populations, with better, more effective methods often available. In addition, the majority of the public forest estate has unrestricted public access and public safety is of paramount importance. For these reasons the Commission does not allow the shooting of grey squirrels by volunteers on its land. Volunteers are, nevertheless, an essential part of controlling grey squirrels and control methodologies continue to be developed and evaluated against the criteria of efficacy, safety and animal welfare. The Commission is additionally encouraging improvements to other methods of control including trapping, as well as assessing the findings of a recent study from Ireland which suggested that an increased pine marten population may result in a reduced grey squirrel population.

    The Commission is seriously concerned about the negative impact of grey squirrel populations on woodland and specifically on native woodland. The Government is committed to pursuing co-ordinated action at a national level and in conjunction with partners through the Squirrel Accord, to which both Defra and Forestry Commission England are signatories. Work is continuing to improve the effectiveness of control methods; the structure of grants has been changed to support grey squirrel control and substantial work continues with partners to support our red squirrel populations, including through the control of grey squirrels. The Commission is open to further engagement with national and local organisations as well as landowners sharing our commitment to grey squirrel control for the protection of woodland and red squirrel populations.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment for his policies of the findings of the National Federation of ALMOs Welfare reform survey relating to universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    DWP is currently considering the report from the National Federations of ALMOs and the Minister of State for Welfare Reform will be meeting to discuss their findings in due course.

  • 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 2016-03-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the televised public confession of Kai Zhang prior to formal arrest, indictment or trial; what assessment they have made of what legal assistance he is receiving and what contact he has been permitted to have with his family; what contact the UK authorities have had with him; and what representations they have made to the government of China on his behalf.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We remain concerned that a number of Chinese lawyers and human rights defenders, such as Zhang Kai, have been arrested, detained, or have simply disappeared since last July. We have raised the cases regularly with the Chinese authorities. In January, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised our concerns directly with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. We supported a public statement by the Delegation of the EU in Beijing on 29 January, expressing concerns about the human rights situation in China, which included the detention of lawyers.

    We urge the Chinese authorities to release the detained lawyers, including Zhang Kai, and ensure all detainees have access to legal counsel of their choice.

  • The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Leeds on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 5 April (HL7332), what financial and technical assistance they are providing to the Kurdistan Regional Government in its efforts to document the evidence of mass graves and genocide committed by Daesh.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of reports that mass graves have been discovered in northern Iraq. The relevant authorities in the Kurdistan Regional government (KRG) have not requested us to send forensic teams to investigate these reports, and we have no plans to do so.

    We condemn in the strongest terms the targeting and persecution of Yezidis, Christians and other communities by Daesh. We continue to urge the Government of Iraq and the KRG to do all it can to ensure the security and rights of all communities in Iraq.