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 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has commenced a programme of testing shipborne rolling vertical landing of the F35B Lightning II.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) testing will begin during the UK’s F-35B first of class flying trials, which are scheduled to take place aboard HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH from 2018. SRVL testing is scheduled for completion in 2020. A programme of SRVL simulation testing will continue until first of class flying trials begin.

  • Sarah Champion – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sarah Champion – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to increase the number of convictions for carrying out female genital mutilation.

    Karen Bradley

    Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse.

    The Serious Crime Act 2015 introduced a number of measures to break down potential barriers to prosecution, including:

    • a new mandatory reporting duty which requires specified professionals to report known cases of FGM in under 18s to the police; • extending extra-territorial jurisdiction over offences of FGM committed abroad; • providing lifelong anonymity for victims of FGM; • introducing FGM Protection Orders which can be used to protect girls at risk; and • creating a new offence of failing to protect a girl from the risk of FGM.

    To help ensure the police have the guidance they need to tackle FGM effectively, in March 2015 the College of Policing published Authorised Professional Practice on FGM and this was updated in September 2015. In addition, lead FGM prosecutors have been appointed for each Crown Prosecution Service area and have agreed joint FGM investigation and prosecution protocols with their local police forces.

  • 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 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the parents of children with mental health problems are aware that their child may be eligible to claim disability living allowance.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The DWP recognises the position of parents who have children with mental health problems and supports them through the award of Disability Living Allowance where the relevant entitlement conditions are met. As a Department we have multiple channels to ensure our customers are provided with the best possible information about their entitlement to benefits. These include:

    Public Information

    The Department provides information on benefits, including Disability Living Allowance (DLA), in a range of formats on www.gov.uk. This includes information relating to DLA for children and includes links to benefit eligibility calculators that will signpost the user to further information about DLA for children.

    Customer Facing Staff

    Learning and development for our customer facing/telephony staff raises awareness around the different needs of vulnerable customers. We also have a portal that all staff can access to appropriately signpost support available.

    Staff would actively consider this in their dealings with parents of disabled children, offering information on claiming Disability Living Allowance if appropriate.

    Partnership Working

    The Department also works with a range of organisations that provide information and advice on claiming DLA for children, such as Disability Rights UK, Contact a Family, Young Minds, NetMums and Carers UK. Our policy teams ensure that national partner organisations are kept informed about policy changes.

    Visiting

    Where a family is identified as needing a visit, our visiting officers typically complete holistic benefit checks which would include DLA considerations for any child.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff in his Department were in receipt of Continuity of Education Allowance in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15; and what the cost to his Department was of providing that allowance for staff based (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas in each such year.

    Joseph Johnson

    Continuity of Education Allowances are not paid to any staff in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills at present or in the past.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the initiative at Woodford Investment Management to publish monthly all the costs that investors pay.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government is committed to the principle that people should have access to appropriate and accessible investment options and understand the charges that they face. We appreciate the efforts that industry have made to fulfil this aim.

    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is conducting a market study into asset management, where such issues fall under its scope. The FCA expect to publish an interim report in summer 2016 and a final report in early 2017.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2016 to Question 39766, on offshore industry helicopters, how many and what proportion of flights in the UK North Sea oil and gas sector were undertaken by each other licensed model helicopter in each year since 2007.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The proportion of flights between UK airports and oil rigs undertaken by helicopters other than AS3332 SUPER PUMA and Eurocopter EC225 aircraft in each year since 2007 is in the attached table.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the letter to the Times of 17 August by doctors of the Federation of Specialist Hospitals suggesting that some EU doctors will leave the UK, and the statement on the same day by the Royal College of Surgeons that EU doctors are three times more likely than other foreign doctors to face disciplinary action for inadequate command of English and that patients lives are being put at risk, what plans they have to advertise for doctors in Canada, Australia and New Zealand and other fluent English speaking countries.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    It is not for the Government to become involved in the advertising and employment of clinical and healthcare staff. Local healthcare organisations, with their knowledge of the people they serve, are best placed to plan and employ a workforce based on clinical need and sound evidence.

    It is vital for patient safety that all doctors and dentists practising in the United Kingdom have the necessary English language skills.

    Under the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive (MRPQ) regulatory healthcare bodies, including the General Medical Council and the General Dental Council, are required to recognise primary and specialist medical qualifications gained in an European Economic Area (EEA) doctor’s home member state.

    National Health Service employers are expected to carry out local checks, which are compliant with European Union Law, to ensure that EEA applicants have the right skills needed to carry out their job, including the appropriate level of English language. The revision to the MRPQ Directive states that language controls must be proportionate to the activity to be pursued.

  • 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 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent representations she has received on violations of the law protecting birds of prey.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Defra Ministers have received a number of representations, including from Members of this House on behalf of their constituents, highlighting their concerns about illegal persecution of birds of prey such as the hen harrier and wildlife crime more generally.

    The Government takes wildlife crime very seriously. All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, with strong penalties for committing offences against birds of prey and other wildlife. All incidents of wildlife crime should be reported to the police.

    Raptor persecution is a UK wildlife crime priority and has a taskforce led by a senior police officer to develop a plan to prevent crime, gather intelligence on offences and enforce against it. It focuses on the golden eagle, goshawk, hen harrier, peregrine, red kite and white tailed eagle.

    The National Wildlife Crime Unit, which Defra funds jointly with the Home Office, monitors and gathers intelligence on illegal activities affecting birds of prey and provides assistance to police forces when required.

    It is a matter for the prosecuting authorities to ensure those who commit such offences receive the appropriate penalties as set out in law.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the retesting of Volkswagen vehicles being carried out by the Vehicle Certification Agency includes testing for carbon dioxide emissions.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government takes the unacceptable actions of Volkswagen (VW) Group extremely seriously. As we investigate what went wrong and what we can do to stop it happening again, the priority of course remains to protect the public. We expect VW to take every step necessary to protect its UK customers, but it is right that the Government carry out their own thorough and independent investigation.

    A written statement was made today (10 November) informing the House of the latest developments on the Department for Transport’s vehicle emissions testing programme, following the revelations that VW had fitted defeat devices to some of its vehicles.

    The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) is working to confirm that this issue is not industry wide. They have tested two VW group vehicles known to contain a defeat device and will rerun laboratory tests on popular cars sold in the UK to compare real world driving emissions against laboratory performance. This will include measuring CO2 .

    The Secretary of State spoke to Dr Herbert Deiss of VW on 4 November to discuss CO2 emissions, seeking information on those vehicles affected in the UK and the extent of the discrepancy. VW have stated that they are working hard to clarify the situation and are liaising with relevant approval authorities.

    The Secretary of State has written jointly with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to VW seeking clarification on several issues. Separately, officials from the Department for Transport, and its Agencies have held a number of discussions with VW regarding the recall of affected vehicles.

    The Department for Transport has not made a specific assessment of on road emissions in relation to type approval requirements, but officials are aware of the findings in published reports suggesting significant differences.

  • Lord Rowe-Beddoe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Rowe-Beddoe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rowe-Beddoe on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 30 November (HL Deb, col 931–3) about the non-devolution of the long-haul element of air passenger duty to Wales, how they differentiate between Edinburgh and Newcastle, and Cardiff and Bristol with respect to state aid.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    As set out in the St David’s Day Agreement, the government is considering the case and options for devolving powers to the Welsh Assembly over air passenger duty (APD). Any next steps pursued by the government will comply with EU State aid rules on tax devolution.

    Discussion of State aid is relevant to options we are considering to mitigate the effects of APD devolution with respect to English airports. In July, the government published a discussion paper on several options to do this. We will respond to the consultation and announce next steps in due course.