Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the vulnerability of the UK’s critical infrastructure from cyber attack; and what investment his Department is making to improve the security of the UK’s critical infrastructure from such attacks.

    Matthew Hancock

    For security reasons we do not comment on details of our vulnerability to cyber attacks. The Government takes cyber security very seriously; since 2011 we have invested £860 million in a National Cyber Security Programme. As announced in the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we plan to almost double investment in cyber security to £1.9bn over the next five years, which includes further investment in protecting the UK’s critical national infrastructure.

  • Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any instructions have been issued to passport offices not to prioritise cases raised by a hon. Member to prevent queue-jumping.

    James Brokenshire

    No instructions have been issued to passport offices on the issue of prioritising cases raised by Hon. Members.

  • Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of recent trends in the relative size of the Shia population in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not carried out an assessment on this. We refer to various published sources, including those from the Government of Bahrain and international organisations such as the United Nations and World Bank.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support best practice from successful academy chains being passed on to other academy chains.

    Edward Timpson

    We are building a school-led system which is focused on building on the expertise and knowledge of our best school leaders and most successful Multi Academy Trusts. There is a range of routes through which academy chains can and do learn from each other.

    The Department has a number of system leadership routes, including Teaching Schools and their alliances, and National Leaders of Education, which enable school leaders and our most successful schools to be at the forefront of sharing best practice.

    Around half of nearly 700 teaching schools are academies. A similar proportion of over 1000 National Leaders in Education are also drawn from academies.

    Regional Schools Commissioners also facilitate sharing of best practice, including through regional events, informal networking opportunities and targeted development activity.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether an export customer is being sought for the retired Warthog vehicle.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Warthog vehicle entered service in 2010 as an urgent operational requirement for use in Afghanistan. Since the end of operations in Afghanistan a range of armoured vehicles purchased specifically for operations in that theatre have been brought into the MOD’s core inventory; the Warthog vehicle was not one of these. The options for disposing of the Warthog are now being considered, including the possiblity of an export route, but no decisions have been taken at this time.

    5 and 32 Regiments Royal Artillery will receive the Bulldog armoured vehicle as a replacement for Warthog. 47 Regiment Royal Artillery will continue to use the Coyote armoured vehicle.

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

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department provides to NHS England and clinical commissioning groups on the account they should take of future residential developments with regard to GP service provision.

    George Freeman

    Commissioning of general practitioner (GP) services is a responsibility of NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) with delegated authority. Currently around half of CCGs have delegated authority. As part of these arrangements, NHS England and CCGs are responsible for planning GP services to ensure they are appropriate for the local population. This should take into account a number of factors, including information about known future residential developments and implications for requirements for healthcare provision, including GP services. Based on this information, the commissioners should engage with the local planning authority to enable decisions to be made on the appropriate funding arrangements for the required health infrastructure resulting from the new development.

    Departmental guidance on planning matters for National Health Service organisations is available in Part B of the Department publication Health Building Note 00-08 The efficient management of healthcare estates and facilities and Health Building Note 00-08 Addendum 2 – A guide to town planning for health organisations. These publications are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-efficient-management-of-healthcare-estates-and-facilities-health-building-note-00-08

    “

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to prevent mobile telephone providers from imposing long notice periods on customers who are out of contract and wish to move to another provider.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Most mobile telephone providers include terms within contracts that require customers to serve up to 30 days’ minimum notice period in order to terminate a contract, regardless of whether the customer is within the minimum term of their contract or not. Ofcom’s view is that this may be longer than necessary and is currently consulting to make improvements with regards to mobile switching for consumers. In addition, the Government is committed to making it easier and quicker to switch services and fully supports Ofcom’s interim findings in the recent digital communications review.

  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) benefits to the economy and (b) systemic financial risks from synthetic securitisation.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government welcomed the development of international and EU standards to revitalise the regulatory framework for securitisation by encouraging the use of simpler and more transparent products. We agree with the Bank of England that a well-functioning and stable securitisation market will benefit financial stability and the wider economy. We support the Basel standards for securitisation, set with the intention of enhancing financial stability, which see features such as tranching and synthetic structures as being legitimate activity. We also support the need for all securitisations to adhere to appropriate rules on transparency and investor due diligence, and that they must be afforded sensibly calibrated capital requirements. Following the financial crisis it was Basel, working with the Financial Stability Board and the International Organization of Securities Commissions which, set the 5 percent risk retention standard.

    In the development and delivery of policy, Treasury Ministers and officials are in regular contact with relevant institutions, regulatory authorities, other governments, industry and other civil society groups including think tanks such as Finance Watch.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2016 to Question 43473, when he plans to publish Ministerial responsibilities held by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

    Ben Gummer

    Further to the question asked by the Hon Member of 7 September 2016, Official Report, Column 321, I would add that my Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Derbyshire Dales, is a Minister of the Crown and a member of the Cabinet. He will attend a number of Cabinet Committees, which will be published in due course, and has duties directly related to the Duchy of Lancaster. The List of Ministerial Responsibilities will also be published in due course. He does not receive a Ministerial salary from public funds. Details of Private Office staff will be accounted for as part of the regular transparency data on gov.uk. The Government publishes on a quarterly basis details of Ministerial visits overseas. All Ministers have access to the Government Car Service for official travel.

    My Rt Hon Friend also serves as the Party Chairman of the Conservative Party. Such arrangements are no different from the likes of Charles Clarke, Ian McCartney and Hazel Blears, all of whom held the posts of Minister Without Portfolio and Labour Party Chair under the last Labour Government.

    I would also observe that under the Thatcher and Major Governments, senior figures such as Norman Tebbit, Kenneth Baker and Chris Patten served as both Chairman of the Conservative Party and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the alleged misselling of financial products by high street banks.

    Simon Kirby

    The Chancellor has meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.