Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to enact primary legislation ensuring that UK World Heritage Sites receive statutory protection from inappropriate planning consents.

    Lord Ashton of Hyde

    Where appropriate UK World Heritage sites are afforded statutory protection through designation of specific assets through existing legislation. Other aspects of World Heritage Sites are key material considerations in the determination of planning applications.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been paid to employees in arrears as a result of enforcement of minimum wage legislation by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last 10 years.

    Mr David Gauke

    The information requested is provided in the ‘Final Government Evidence for the Low Pay Commission’ reports.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to seek the views of pensioners on (a) his Department’s policies and (b) dementia since the closure of the UK Advisory Forum on Ageing.

    Alistair Burt

    We are committed to continuing to listen to and act on the wishes of older people. For example the Department plans to carry out an engagement programme with stakeholder groups representing older people as part of the forthcoming Carer’s Strategy.

    The Government is clear that dementia remains a priority and will implement the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020 in full to make sure that dementia care, support, awareness and research are transformed by 2020. The 2020 Challenge aims to build on the achievements of the Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia 2012-2015.

    The Department continues to engage with a range of people with dementia and carers including stakeholders who represent them in both delivering the Prime Minister’s Challenge 2012-2015 and in developing and implementing the Prime Minister’s Challenge 2020. The Department also works closely people with dementia and carers through its work with the Dementia Action Alliance.

    The Department has funded a number of projects on dementia education and training which have worked directly with people with dementia, in order to better understand the training needs of the staff who support and care for them.

    More generally through the Health and Care Voluntary Sector Strategic Partner Programme, the Department, NHS England and Public Health England are already able to work directly in partnership with well-connected voluntary sector organisations. The programme provides a way for policy makers to reach thousands of voluntary and community sector organisations. Many of these groups whom support and represent older people within their communities through the extensive depth and reach of the partners’ networks. This helps to ensure that the voice of small voluntary and community sector organisations is in direct contact with national bodies at the heart of decision making. Age UK is one of the 22 strategic partners, ensuring that older people’s needs are strongly represented.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to support farmers in obtaining fair production contracts with supermarkets.

    George Eustice

    The Government introduced the Groceries Code Adjudicator so farmers receive fair contracting, adherence to the code, from supermarkets.

    We are also pursuing a host of measures, including better branding and labelling in supermarkets, to improve the stability of the industry and help farming businesses to become more resilient and take advantage of the growing demand for British food both at home and overseas.

    I have recently spoken to all the major supermarkets to encourage them to source more British produce, to promote British produce at point of sale and to consider greater use of aligned contracts linked to cost of production.

  • Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policy on school admissions of the finding of the report, An Unholy Mess, published by the Fair Admissions Campaign in October 2015, on the use of supplementary information forms which assume that parents are of the opposite sex; and if she will take steps to ensure that such forms are not used by schools in future.

    Nick Gibb

    Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code (the code) and other admissions law.

    Where an objection is made to the Schools Adjudicator, if the arrangements are found to be unfair or fail to comply with the code, the admission authority must make changes to ensure their arrangements comply within two months of a determination. This includes requiring schools to amend their supplementary information forms when they do not comply with the code.

    We support the right of schools with a religious designation to prioritise children of their faith designation but the code requires that any measure of religious activity used for admission purposes must be as laid out by their faith body.

    The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the School Admissions code which will both respond to concerns from parents and to the findings in the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Report. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.

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

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to identify children who are eligible for free school meals under Pupil Premium funding who are unaware of their eligibility for that funding.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The provision of a free, nutritious meal and the additional funding that free school meal (FSM) pupils attract through the pupil premium means there is a very strong incentive for parents to register for FSM; and the vast majority do so.

    We know that schools and local authorities have worked hard to encourage all families to register for FSM and the Department has highlighted and disseminated best practice for other schools to use, including a model a registration form. This is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-and-pupil-premium-registration-form

    The Department is continuing to explore ways of increasing registration rates further.

    “

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the reasons why the EU Action Plan on VAT consultation document issued by the European Commission on 7 April 2016 omits any reference to the decision of EU Leads of Government that the UK can remove VAT from women’s sanitary products; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    The content of the EU VAT Action Plan is a matter for the European Commission.

    European Council Conclusions welcomed “the intention of the Commission to include proposals for increased flexibility for Member States with respect to reduced rates of VAT, which would provide the option to Member States of VAT zero rating‎ for sanitary products”.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria the Government plans to use to assess the suitability of a local authority’s capacity to provide suitable care for resettled children under the Immigration Act 2016.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK Government takes it’s responsibility in all cases involving children seriously and we will continue to ensure that all unaccompanied children are provided with appropriate care, regardless of their route to the UK.

    It is important that we work with local authorities to understand their capacity to support all unaccompanied children and ensure their needs can be met. That is why my officials are working closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Education to ensure consultation with local authorities is consistent and coordinated across all resettlement and relocation programmes. Consultation with local government partners will take place over the coming weeks and Parliament will be updated in due course.

    We are keen to ensure that there is a more equitable distribution of unaccompanied children across the UK and that no local authority is required to take more children than they can support.

    The Home Office provides funding to local authorities for the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking children and recently announced new enhanced rates to support the transfer scheme. We will continue to measure the impacts on local authorities, but are clear that funding for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and refugees must be aligned, regardless of the route of entry for the child.

  • Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-07-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made an assessment of the amount of benefits to which people are entitled that go unclaimed.

    Lord Freud

    On 28th June 2016 the Department for Work and Pensions published the report “Income-related benefits: Estimates of take-up in 2014/15”. The full report has been published online.

    For Great Britain, the following estimates are available for 2014/15:

    • Pension Credit: Up to £3.1 billion of available Pension Credit went unclaimed;
    • Housing Benefit: Up to £4.6 billion of available Housing Benefit went unclaimed;
    • Jobseeker’s Allowance (Income-based): Up to £2.4 billion of available Jobseeker’s Allowance (Income-based) went unclaimed.
    • Income Support and Employment and Support Allowance (Income-related): Up to £2.9 billion of available Income Support and Employment and Support Allowance (Income-related) went unclaimed.
  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to address the shortfall in revenue from Vehicle Excise Duty since October 2014.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The amount of vehicle excise duty (VED) collected varies year on year. The Office of Budgetary Responsibility forecast that VED revenue would fall by £300 million in 2015-16. The actual reduction of £93 million was principally caused by the ever increasing number of fuel-efficient cars on the road which attract a lower rate of VED, as well as a small increase in evasion.

    The DVLA operates a comprehensive package of measures to tackle VED evasion. These measures range from reminder letters, penalties and court prosecutions through to the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras, wheel-clamping and the removal of unlicensed vehicles. The latest figures show that 98.6% of all motorists comply with the requirement to pay VED.