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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of the single-tier state pension on the level of income of widows.

    Richard Harrington

    Under the new State Pension over three million women stand to receive an average of £11 a week more State Pension by 2030.

    Around four percent of women reaching State Pension age in the first ten years following implementation will be affected by ending access to a derived basic pension while still married and/or when widowed. The proportion falls to two percent or less for succeeding cohorts. We are not able to provide an impact specifically on widows as the analysis does not separately identify the proportion of those who are affected only while married because they predecease their spouse.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many civil servants working in his Department have been seconded from other government departments; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Jones

    All departments are equipping themselves with the resources they need to get the best deal for the UK. The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 250 staff plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels, and we are still growing rapidly.

    The term ‘secondment’ to refers to an interchange of staff between the Civil Service and an external organisation as such we have not brought any secondees into the Department from elsewhere in the Civil Service. All joiners from other Government departments have been on a loan basis, which refers to an interchange of staff between Civil Service departments or Agencies.

  • Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training is provided to officials of his Department working on the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Programme and the Saudi Arabia National Guard Communications Project on responding to whistleblowers from the private sector.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Members of the MOD Saudi Armed Forces Projects (MODSAP) and Saudi Arabian National Guard Communications (SANGCOM) Project attend a mandatory bribery and fraud awareness workshop which explains current legislation in this area, assists members to understand their responsibilities under the provisions of the legislation and identifies areas of risk of bribery and fraud within the workplace. This training highlights the statutory protection against dismissal and victimisation provided to whistleblowers under the provisions of the Public Disclosure Act 1998 and provides advice on reporting suspicious activity.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison Thewliss – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the application allocation of winter fuel payments criteria to ensure that all eligible people living in buildings with a high number of occupants in separate homes receive such payments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    There are already procedures in place to try and ensure that the correct amount of Winter Fuel Payment is paid in this situation, using data that is available to the Department, to minimise the need for individual notifications of circumstances. The Department seeks to act quickly to resolve any errors that are brought to its attention.

  • 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 2015-12-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what advice UKFI provided to his Department on when and how to complete a sale of Royal Bank of Scotland shares.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government has been consistently clear that its policy in respect of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to return the bank to the private sector in full. The advice received from Rothschilds and the Governor of the Bank of England relates specifically to the appropriate timing of an initial share sale.

    UK Financial Investments (UKFI) is responsible for the execution of share sales, and advised the Chancellor in August 2015 that it would be appropriate to conduct the first sale of the Government’s shareholding in RBS. On 3 August 2015, UKFI sold approximately 5.4% of the bank via an accelerated bookbuilding process.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to (a) help up-skill and (b) provide technical education for the Bangladeshi workforce.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID is supporting the upskilling of the Bangladeshi workforce through several projects in both the informal and formal sectors. Through our support to the Underprivileged Children’s Educational Programme, a local educational institution, nearly 45, 000 children have received general education and over 13, 000 have received technical and vocational training. Of the latter, 90% have been placed in formal employment or become self-employed. The programme focuses on working children in slums who dropped out of school.

    DFID also launched ‘the Skills and Employment Programme in Bangladesh’ in October 2015. The programme aims to provide private sector training opportunities, with a particular focus on supporting women and disadvantaged populations, in the ready-made garments and construction sectors.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26406, how much is included in the Business Rate Retention Scheme funding stream to reflect the changes to the payment of Bus Service Operators Grant that were introduced in 2013.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Following the 2013 changes to the Bus Service Operator’s Grant (BSOG) system, the Department no longer pays BSOG in respect of bus services in London. Instead, the amount that had previously been paid out under the BSOG scheme (some £90m in 2011/2012) was taken into account in determining the amount of funding received by the Greater London Authority under the Business Rate Retention Scheme introduced in 2013. This money is not ring-fenced and it is a matter for the Mayor to determine how it is spent.

  • Chris Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Chris Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a mandatory dog-breeding licence for any household planning to produce two or more litters per year; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    We are reviewing certain local authority licensing schemes, including the breeding and selling of dogs. The public consultation on this issue closed on 12 March. The consultation proposed that anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs, or who breeds more than two litters in a twelve month period, would need a licence.

    We also proposed to prohibit the sale of puppies under eight weeks of age in all cases. We are currently analysing the 1,500 or so responses before making any firm decisions.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Saudi Arabian-led coalition in relation to reports of the targeting of civilian homes in the al-‘Eram and Sa’da areas of Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We regularly raise the importance of compliance with International Humanitarian Law with the Saudi Arabian Government and other members of the military Coalition. The Saudis have their own internal procedures for investigations and they announced more detail of how they investigate such incidents on 31 January. It is important that all sides conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into all incidents where it is alleged that civilians have been targeted.

  • 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 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the National Screening Committee’s recommendations for the bowel and cervical screening programmes; and whether he plans to support those recommendations

    Jane Ellison

    Ministers have accepted the UK National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC) recommendation on replacing the guaiac Faecal Occult Blood test with the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme. Following the change to FIT we expect that around 200,000 more people per year will take up the opportunity to be screened as part of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in England. This has the potential to save hundreds more lives by detecting bowel cancer earlier. Public Health England is responsible for the leadership of the NHS Screening Programmes and will oversee the change to the programme in partnership with NHS England.

    Ministers are currently considering the UK NSC’s recommendation that human papillomavirus testing should replace the currently used cytology test as primary screening for cervical disease.