Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Stephen Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to improve the resilience of healthcare provision in West Africa.

    Grant Shapps

    In countries affected by the Ebola virus, DFID is committed to building resilient health systems and to ensuring we learn the lessons from the crisis.

    The World Health Organisation declared Sierra Leone ‘Ebola free’ on 7 November 2015. The UK’s objective is to maintain the vigilance necessary to prevent any future outbreaks from growing into epidemics. The UK has announced a two-year £240 million package of support to Sierra Leone’s long term recovery, which includes boosting capability to respond to future Ebola outbreaks, and improving basic services including, vitally, healthcare. DFID will also support Liberia’s Health Pooled fund with £6 million to help ensure that health system is resilient to future shocks.

    Beyond Sierra Leone and Liberia, DFID is providing £17 million through its Regional Preparedness Programme, which aims to prevent the transmission and spread of the Ebola in at-risk countries in West Africa; and to strengthen national capacities to accelerate preparedness measures and improve readiness to detect and act to contain disease outbreaks.

    In doing this, as well as through wider health programmes across West Africa, we are helping countries to have better health systems for normal times – as well as in case of emergency.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken since the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Homeless Claimants) Amendment Regulations 2014 came into force to increase awareness of the easement of conditionality rules among Jobcentre Plus staff.

    Priti Patel

    All Jobcentre Plus staff have access to comprehensive and clear procedures, instructions and learning which equips them to advise customers appropriately. These products were updated to reflect the implementation of the conditionality easement for homeless claimants.

    In addition, the homeless easement was communicated separately through internal staff memos and on the Department’s internal Intranet site. More recently, an internal Homelessness ‘Ask the Expert’ telephone conference was hosted for managers and staff. The event was aimed at improving services to homeless customers and covered the conditionality easement introduced in 2014.

  • Baroness Young of Old Scone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Young of Old Scone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Young of Old Scone on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an environmental assessment has been made of the impact of the likely withdrawal of the landfill operators from the Landfill Communities Fund scheme as a result of the proposed removal of the provision for contributing third parties on the environment and projects funded through that scheme, and if so, what environmental impact has been assessed; and what measures the Government are planning to put in place to counteract that impact.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Since its introduction in 1996, the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) has contributed over £1.4 billion to community projects in areas near a local landfill site or other qualifying site and the Government acknowledges the positive impact of this funding for communities. However, as the LCF is a tax credit scheme, it reduces the Government’s tax revenues and we therefore have a responsibility to seek value for money for the taxpayer. This is a particular concern given the need to reduce the deficit and return the public finances to a sustainable path.

    Despite difficult decisions on spending, the Government has decided to retain and reform the LCF. The aim of these reforms is to encourage money to get to communities more quickly. The LCF will provide £39.3 million of additional funding in 2016-17 alone. We also hope more unspent funds, which this year totalled £118 million, will reach projects as soon as possible.

    The Government is committed to providing the best value for communities, and over the next five years £20 million of the additional Landfill Tax revenues will be used by the Environment Agency to address waste crime, which can be a danger to both human health and the environment.

    The government has received representations on the LCF reforms. We are taking views into consideration and our priority is to ensure that the LCF operates effectively and encourages money to be spent in the communities that need it.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of non-emergency care in the NHS for non-EEA seafarers employed on UK registered ships in each year since 2009-10.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department does not hold this information.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is being taken about consultant lobbyists not on the Register of Consultant Lobbyists.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Enforcement is a matter for the independent Registrar who has a duty to monitor compliance. The legislation provides a range of powers and sanctions for the Registrar to use in pursuance of this duty and in dealing with those who will not comply, including both civil and criminal measures.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the Farnborough International Airshow due to take place in July 2016.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Farnborough International Air Show is an important event which supports UK defence industry seeking to trade internationally and offers valuable defence engagement opportunities with our allies and partners. The support to the Farnborough International Air Show 2016 will be delivered through the course of normal departmental business and in-line with existing budgetary provisions. Any additional costs will be recouped in line with standard practices.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department established the Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE); who has been appointed as Senior Responsible Owner for that programme; who the key stakeholders for that programme are; how many scientists from the US national nuclear weapons laboratories are seconded to work on that programme; how many AWE scientists have visited the US national nuclear weapons laboratories as part of that programme; what that projected full cost of that programme is; how many scientists are working on that programme; how much has been spent on that programme to date; and what estimate he has made of the cost of that programme to completion.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme (NWCSP) commenced following an announcement on 19 July 2005 (Official report col 59WS). The current Senior Responsible Owner is Dr Paul Hollinshead. The key stakeholders in the NWCSP are the Ministry of Defence and the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). Since 1 April 2008, financial planning for AWE has made no distinction between management and operation costs and those associated with the NWCSP. Expenditure at AWE since 2005 is as follows:

    £ million at outturn prices

    2005-06

    493

    2006-07

    687

    2007-08

    894

    2008-09

    800

    2009-10

    870

    2010-11

    944

    2011-12

    941

    2012-13

    861

    2013-14

    961

    2014-15

    998

    Spending plans beyond this Parliament will be set as part of the Government’s spending review process.

    The NWCSP draws on the skills of all 5,000 AWE employees. No scientists from the US national nuclear weapons laboratories are seconded to the programme, but a US engineer and serviceman are seconded. The information on how many AWE scientists have visited the US national nuclear weapons laboratories as part of the programme is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the role of Numis Securities is in the bidding process for the musculoskeletal service in Greenwich; what funding has been paid to that company relating to that role; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The procurement of local health services by means of competitive tendering is a matter for the local National Health Service.

    However, we are advised that NHS Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group has not had any involvement with Numis Securities during the process leading to the recent award to Circle Health of the contract for the provision of musculoskeletal services in Greenwich.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether High Speed 2 will be a fully electrified railway line.

    Andrew Jones

    High Speed 2 will be a fully electrified railway.

  • Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the illegal trade of cigarettes in Northern Ireland.

    Damian Hinds

    Estimates of the volume and total revenue losses associated with the tobacco illicit market are published in ‘Tobacco Tax Gap Estimates 2014 to 2015’.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tobacco-tax-gap-estimates

    These estimates cannot be broken down on a regional basis.

    The methodology for producing the estimates are provided in the ‘Measuring Tax Gaps 2015 edition: Methodological Annex’.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/469973/HMRC-Measuring-tax-gaps-2015-methodological-annex.pdf

    “