The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-06-10.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the remit of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to cover Ombudsman Services provided by the Ombudsman Services Company.
Matthew Hancock
I refer the hon Member to my Written Ministerial Statement of 1 March 2016 [Hansard reference HCWS566]. There are no current plans to extend the scope of the FOI Act.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 June 2016 to Question 40553, whether (a) local Health and Wellbeing Boards, (b) Clinical Commissioning Groups, (c) NHS Trusts, (d) hon. Members and (e) members of the public will be consulted ahead of the implementation of Sustainability and Transformation Plans.
David Mowat
Clinical commissioning groups and National Health Service trusts have come together with local authorities to decide how to improve health and care services in their local area. This is a unique exercise in collaboration, with local doctors, hospitals and councils working together to decide the way forward in consultation with local communities.
We expect all local leaders to be regularly talking to members of the public and stakeholders, including hon. Members. It is vital that people are able to shape the future of their local services. No changes to the services people currently receive will be made without local engagement and, where required, consultation. There are longstanding assurance processes in place to make sure this happens. The national health and care bodies are about to publish engagement guidance for local areas developing Sustainability and Transformation Plans.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions the Government has had with the European Investment Bank on continued investment in the UK following the UK leaving the EU; and how many loans were issued by the European Investment Bank to projects in each region of the UK in the 2015-16 fiscal year.
Mr David Gauke
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the UK Governor of the European Investment Bank and continues to fulfil his governance duties. The Chancellor continues to meet his European counterparts on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues.
The EIB publish all loans made to UK borrowers as well as details on future projects yet to be financed. In 2015 the EIB lent over €7.77bn to UK projects. The link below provides full details on EIB lending to the UK.
http://www.eib.org/projects/regions/european-union/united-kingdom/index.htm
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-11-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government with which countries the UK is currently negotiating prisoner transfer agreements.
Lord Faulks
Revealing negotiations regarding prisoner transfer agreements can be counterproductive given their sensitivity. My Ministerial colleagues and I are actively engaging with a number of countries and remain determined to secure compulsory agreements wherever possible. Currently the UK has over 100 prisoner transfer agreements with other countries and territories.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which devolution from central government to the North of England should be based on devolving decision-making and administration to (1) local authorities, (2) the areas covered by Local Economic Partnerships, (3) city regions, (4) the three traditional regions of the North West, the North East and Yorkshire, with or without Humberside, and (5) the North of England as a whole.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
This Government is committed to devolving significant powers away from Whitehall, and we have already agreed devolution deals with five great Northern areas. We have been very clear that it is for places to define their own aspirations for devolution. We encourage all relevant local partners, including local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships, to engage in discussions to ensure consensus is reached on the most suitable geography to pursue devolution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what debt, if any, they have that dates from before 1 January 1901; and what are the arrangements for payment of that debt.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The government has redeemed all gilts issued before 1 January 1901. On 5 July 2015, the government redeemed all outstanding undated gilts, some of which pre-dated 1901. These were the 2½% Annuities, 2¾% Annuities and 2½% Consolidated Stock, first issued in 1853, 1884 and 1888 respectively.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Thompson on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what changes to operating arrangements were made as a result of the decision to cease displaying radioactive material hazard signs on vehicles carrying special nuclear materials to ensure that relevant information is available to emergency services in the event of an accident.
Penny Mordaunt
The Defence Equipment and Support organisation decided to cease displaying radioactive material hazard warning signs on vehicles carrying special nuclear materials in July 2011. Before implementing this decision we sought legal advice and notified the regulator. The change was implemented in 2012 in anticipation of the transition to a single type of vehicle for the transport of both nuclear weapons and special nuclear materials and was needed in order to maintain the policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons. No changes were required to operating arrangements as a result of this decision. The Ministry of Defence’s arrangements for the safe transport of defence nuclear materials include the provision of information to the emergency services in the event of an incident; this does not rely on displaying radioactive material hazard warning signs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent progress his Department has made on the (a) composition and (b) operation of the individual funding requests screening process; and if he will make at statement.
George Freeman
NHS England has advised that updated standard operating procedures for NHS England’s management of individual funding requests was published on 26 February 2016 and is available at:
www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/policies/gp/
Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for managing their own individual funding requests.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the National Living Wage on the level of child poverty in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Nottinghamshire.
Nick Boles
The Government has made no such assessment.
The Government is committed to working to eliminate child poverty and improving life chances for children. This includes making work pay, in which the National Living Wage has an important part to play, and also through our wider reforms to support parents to move into work, increase their earnings, and keep more of what they earn.
The National Living Wage will benefit over 1 million low paid workers this year and 2.9 million directly by 2020. The introduction of the National Living Wage will mean that a full-time worker aged 25 or over previously on the National Minimum Wage will see their annual earnings increase by £910.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is technically possible for Trident missiles to be used by the UK without US knowledge and agreement.
Michael Fallon
Yes. The UK’s nuclear deterrent is fully operationally independent.