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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the invasion of fungi and insects into the UK which can threaten British trees; and what assistance is available to landowners to tackle such diseases locally.

    George Eustice

    Upholding plant biosecurity is a key priority for my department and we have taken a number of measures to reduce the risk of introduction of pests and diseases.

    We have invested over £26 million into tree health research. Our long-term national strategy to tackle tree and plant disease is based on science, international best practice and advice of the UK Chief Plant Health Officer. We have also invested more than any other country in research on Ash Dieback and are conducting the world’s largest screening trials to identify a disease-tolerant tree.

    We are promoting biosecurity internationally, at UK borders, and inland targeted inspections at the border to intercept high risk trades.

    There are regulations on importing plants and products from outside the UK where it is known that certain pests or pathogens are present. These are updated regularly, in response to new evidence. We are working collaboratively with the international community, industry, NGOs, landowners and the public to reduce the risks of pests and diseases entering the country, and mitigate the impact of newly established pests.

    Our approach to tackling plant and tree pests and diseases also includes:

    • Identifying and assessing new threats using the UK Plant Health Risk Register; and
    • Targeted import inspections at ports and airports combined with inland surveillance.

    The Forestry Commission provides advice to woodland managers about how best to manage and adapt to tree pests and diseases. The Animal and Plant Health Agency provide similar advice for the nursery sector, including how to build resilience to pests and diseases.

    Support is available for some landowners on specific tree diseases through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, subject to grant conditions.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures his Department has in place to (a) monitor and (b) limit the amount of profit which pharmaceutical wholesalers are able to make from the NHS each year.

    David Mowat

    The Department introduced the Health Service Supplies (Costs) Bill on 15 September. This Bill is intended to enable my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State to make regulations to obtain information from across the supply chain to assure itself that all parts of the supply chain provides value for money to the National Health Service and the taxpayer. We expect everyone in the NHS and the supply chain should play its part in achieving efficiency savings.

  • Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made on implementing the recommendations set out in the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report revealed deep-rooted and historical challenges which will take time for the Government of Bahrain to address fully. The BICI put forward 26 recommendations. As a trusted partner we will continue to offer practical and technical assistance to help the authorities deliver reforms that benefit all Bahrainis.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers or trainee teachers received each of the scholarship and bursaries for teacher training courses in each subject in each of the last four years.

    Nick Gibb

    Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries of varying amounts are available to eligible trainees, depending on the academic year in which they undertake their ITT, the subject in which they are training to teach and their highest relevant academic award. The amounts and eligible subjects change each year based on assessment of need informed by the targets and past performance.

    Scholarships are awarded to those trainees who have gone through an additional selection procedure over and above that of their chosen ITT provider. These were available in 2012/13 in physics, and from 2013/14 in chemistry, computing, maths and physics.

    The table below shows a breakdown of the total number of trainees who have received training bursaries and scholarships (where relevant) over the last full four academic years, 2011/12, 2012/13, 20/13/14 and 2014/15.

    Table 1: Summary of the number of trainees that received training bursaries or scholarships in academic years 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15

    Academic year

    Bursary

    Scholarship

    Total

    2011/12

    6348

    0

    6,348

    2012/13

    16759

    87

    16,846

    2013/14

    17434

    201

    17,635

    2014/15

    16359

    422

    16,781

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which countries were invited to the Syria Donors Conference; and which of those countries she expects to attend.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The Prime Minister is co-hosting the conference on “Supporting Syria and the Region (London 2016)” along with the Amir of Kuwait, the Federal German Chancellor, the Prime Minister of Norway and the United Nations Secretary-General.

    Over 70 countries have been invited to the conference to raise significant new humanitarian and development funding, and address the longer-term needs of those affected by the Syria crisis. This includes current and potential donors as well as countries hosting large numbers of Syrian refugees, Representatives from Non-Government Organisations and the private sector. We are still receiving responses but expect strong attendance at the highest levels.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make representations to the government of Slovenia about the case of Bostjan Bozic and the issues it raises under the European Convention on Human Rights.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of the case of Slovenian photo journalist Jani Bozic who was given a five month suspended prison sentence by a Slovenian court in March 2015 for invasion of privacy of then Slovenian Prime Minister Bratusek. In all cases, we would expect the Slovenian government to meet its international obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with Ofsted on assessing the quality of teaching English and mathematics in adult basic skills courses undertaken by (a) further education providers and (b) other providers.

    Nick Boles

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is in regular contact with Ofsted both at Ministerial and official level to discuss the performance of further education (FE) colleges and providers. This includes the extent to which teaching, learning and assessment support adult learners to develop their skills in English and maths.

    Together with Department for Education, we have invested over £30m over the past 3 years to fund a range of measures to improve the further education workforce, with a focus on improving the teaching of English and maths. This has resulted in over 1,000 bursaries to attract graduates to teach in further education and over 3,800 existing FE teachers have benefited from training to improve their capability to teach high quality English and maths courses.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.228 of Budget 2016, when he expects the new money guidance body to be established.

    Harriett Baldwin

    At Budget 2016, the government published its response to the Public Financial Guidance Review and launched a consultation seeking views on the government’s plans to restructure the statutory financial guidance providers – the Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise. This paper, which closes on 8 June 2016, sets out a new delivery model for public financial guidance and seeks views on how, within this model, the proposed services could best be offered. The new delivery model is designed to better complement the financial guidance provided by the third sector and the industry and provide more targeted support for consumers.

    The government will consider the responses to this consultation over the summer, and in parallel, work closely with the affected organisations to finalise the delivery structure. A detailed timetable will be set out with the final response, which will be published in the autumn. The government has been clear that the three affected organisations will continue to provide guidance to consumers until at least 2018.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to instruct NHS England to commission fertility treatment centrally.

    Jane Ellison

    Information about clinical commissioning groups’ approach to commissioning fertility services is not collected centrally.

    The Department has not made any estimate of the proportion of children conceived in the United Kingdom using in-vitro fertilisation relative to those countries mentioned.

    The Department has no plans to instruct NHS England to commission fertility treatment centrally. Fertility services do not meet the criteria set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to be nationally commissioned by NHS England.

  • Graham Stuart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Graham Stuart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Stuart on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects her Department to have collated and put in a format ready to send all the information required by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China following its inspections of UK pig trotter production plants in April 2015.

    George Eustice

    We are working with the UK pork industry to collate the necessary data and information required by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China, which will be submitted by the end of June. The UK Agriculture, Food and Drink Counsellor, based in Beijing, has met with the Chinese authorities to raise the importance of this agreement and press for expeditious consideration of the UK application to allow exports of UK pigs’ trotters to commence as soon as possible.