Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when a copy of DCDS(MilCap)/14/06/11, dated 18 June 2014, was presented to the Procurator Fiscal.

    Penny Mordaunt

    A copy of the document was placed in the Library of the house on 20 March 2015 in response to Question 227404. Ministry of Defence (MOD) records suggest that it was not asked for by or provided directly to the Procurator Fiscal. The MOD routinely provides support to the Procurator Fiscal as required in order to support their investigations.

  • Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many former workers of Remploy factories in each Parliamentary constituency are (a) looking for work, (b) in work, (c) retired, (d) in receipt of employment and support allowance and (e) in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The table below is taken from the August 2015 Labour Market Statistics and shows the last data on number of former Remploy employees in work; claiming JSA or claiming ESA in England, Scotland and Wales.

    Currently in work (LMS)

    Claiming JSA (LMS)

    Claiming ESA (LMS)

    867

    234

    422

    These statistics were gathered as part of the 18 month People Help and Support Package (PHSP) made available to ex-Remploy employees. We do not have the required data broken down by constituency and we did not collect data for those looking for work but not claiming ESA or JSA.

    When the PHSP ended in August 2015, 1,523 former disabled employees had received support from a Personal Case Worker and 867 were in work. A total of 1,182 jobs had been found, 422 were on ESA and 234 on JSA.

    DWP asked all disabled former employees made redundant from Remploy to give permission to be tracked. The data we have are necessarily incomplete because they only record the progress and outcomes of those individuals who gave this permission.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding her Department has allocated for projects to prevent flooding in Burnley and Padiham.

    Rory Stewart

    Following the December 2015 flooding, the Environment Agency is developing a revised assessment of flood risk in Padiham, which may identify further measures to reduce flood risk in the area.

    The Environment Agency has also allocated £10,000 to the Burnley Ordinary Watercourse Study in 2018/19. The study aims at better understanding the flood risk from ordinary watercourses and will inform any potential future investment needs.

    The Fulledge Flood Risk Management Scheme was funded through £345,000 Flood Defence Grant in Aid and was completed in March 2013. The scheme reduces the flood risk to 781 properties in Burnley and helped to significantly reduce flooding in Burnley during storm Eva.

  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government to whom instances of female genital mutilation should be reported, and whether there is a mechanism for doing so anonymously.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    We are clear that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. On 1 April we published updated multi-agency statutory guidance on FGM including information to help professionals understand the risk factors that they should be looking out for and what action they should take. In addition, free e-learning is available to all professionals, providing training on how to recognise and respond to FGM. To date the course has been completed by over 30,000 people. In addition, the Department of Health’s £3M FGM Prevention Programme is focused on improving the NHS response and includes free e-learning for healthcare professionals. A new mandatory reporting duty requiring regulated health and social care professionals and teachers to report known cases of FGM in under 18s to the police came into force on 31 October 2015. Professionals encountering instances of FGM in women over 18, or who believe that a girl or woman is at risk, should follow established safeguarding procedures. Anyone who is concerned that a girl or woman has undergone FGM or is at risk can contact the NSPCC FGM helpline. Reports to this helpline can be made anonymously. The Home Office’s Border Force plays a vital role in helping to identify and protect potential victims of FGM travelling to and from the UK. Border Force work with the police in protecting girls and young women at risk of FGM, including carrying out joint operations. FGM Protection Orders (FGMPOs) were fast-tracked for implementation last July and are being used to protect girls at risk of FGM, including those who may be taken abroad. Ministry of Justice data released on 31 March shows 32 FGMPOs were issued between July and December 2015.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 9 June (HL351), what consideration they are giving to (1) the issuing of guidance on the establishment of children’s social care trusts so that lessons can be learned from earlier experiences of doing so; and (2) the regulatory implications for such bodies if more local authorities establish them given the regulatory arrangements in place for the outsourcing of adult social care.

    Lord Nash

    The evaluations of Doncaster and Slough Children’s Services Trusts are underway and will provide learning from the experiences of establishing those organisations. There are no new regulatory implications for trusts. Where a trust is created to carry out children’s social care services on behalf of an authority, the statutory responsibility for those services remains with that authority. Ofsted will continue to inspect children’s social care services whether they are delivered by a local authority or by a trust.

  • Baroness Northover – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Northover – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to share the UK’s experience in implementing tobacco control policies with low- and middle-income countries.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The United Kingdom regularly supports other countries to develop tobacco control policies, sharing our expertise and experience. Most recently, the UK has provided support to other countries looking to implement standardised packaging.

    In addition, the UK Government is funding a project to strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, using official development assistance funds. Through this project, we will share the UK’s experience in tobacco control, thereby supporting low- and middle-income countries to save lives by putting effective measures in place to stop people using tobacco.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department’s policy is on the inclusion of a broad definition of permanent establishment in the UK-Malawi tax treaty.

    Jane Ellison

    As is usual in any negotiation, the text of a tax treaty remains confidential between the two governments during the negotiations. It is not therefore possible to comment on the contents of a treaty before it is signed.

    The majority of the UK’s double taxation treaties are based on the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention. However, some developing countries prefer to follow the United Nations Model, whose provisions differ in some respects from the OECD Model, including in the “permanent establishment” article. Many of the UK’s treaties with developing countries contain at least some of these provisions. A treaty will be signed only when both governments are satisfied with its contents.

    It has long been the UK’s policy to include robust anti-abuse provisions in its tax treaties to ensure that they operate as intended and in particular that residents of third countries cannot indirectly benefit from their provisions.

    The text of the new treaty with Malawi was substantively agreed some time ago. However, in August 2016 Malawi raised some further points for consideration, which we will work together on. When that process is complete, and both countries are satisfied with contents of the new treaty, it will be signed and published. Parliament will scrutinise the revised agreement, as part of the affirmative Statutory Instruments procedures, before the treaty can enter into force.

  • Chris Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Chris Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 on the number of pitbull terriers in the UK.

    George Eustice

    No estimate has been made of the number of dogs humanely destroyed under section 1 of the 1991 Act. There are 3,222 dogs on the list of exempted section 1 dogs in Great Britain. These are dogs assessed by the courts not to be a danger to public safety including, since 13 May 2014 in relation to England and Wales, assessed as being in the charge of a fit and proper person. Guidance for enforcers of the law on dangerous dogs was issued in March 2009 and is available on line via the link below.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69263/dogs-guide-enforcers.pdf

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to retire the Sentinel aircraft from service.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Under plans announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (Cm9161), Sentinel will be extended in service into the next decade.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients were treated by gamma knife radiosurgery machines (a) in England and (b) at each hospital in the last three years.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England does not routinely collect, or hold, information on the numbers of gamma knife treatment platforms in use in England. However, NHS England can confirm that, as at summer 2015, there were at least seven providers equipped with gamma knife machines in England:

    – BUPA Cromwell*

    – London Gamma Knife Centre*

    – Queens Square Radiosurgery Centre*

    – Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    – Leeds Gamma Knife Centre*

    – Thornbury Radiosurgery Centre Ltd*

    – University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

    NHS England took over responsibility for commissioning intracranial stereotactic radiosurgery/stereotactic radiotherapy services in April 2013. This is supported by a national service specification, together with a number of clinical commissioning policies. The service specification sets out that there are three acceptable treatment platforms to deliver the service, of which Gamma Knife is only one. National Health Service providers, that are commissioned to deliver the service, are responsible for determining which platform(s) to use.

    Notes:

    1. *Denotes independent sector providers.
    2. As the information is not routinely collected by NHS England, the above may not be fully reflective of the current position.