Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent steps the Government has taken on approving the City Deal proposals for the (a) Inverness, (b) Aberdeen and (c) Edinburgh city regions; and if he will make a statement.

    David Mundell

    I was pleased to be in Aberdeen on 28 January to announce a £250 million City Deal for the city and region. We are currently considering the Inverness and Edinburgh proposals and hope to make an announcement on next steps shortly.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Cabinet Secretary has given direction to the civil service on their involvement in the political debate over the referendum to leave or remain in the EU.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Cabinet Secretary has provided guidance for the Civil Service on conduct between now and the start of the 28 day pre – referendum period

    This letter has been published and is available in the Libraries of both Houses. It is also available on Gov.uk.

  • Ian Lavery – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Ian Lavery – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government’s policy is on contingency planning for potential major industrial accidents.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    A robust statutory framework exists for contingency arrangements in the event of a major industrial accident. This focuses on both accident prevention and multi-agency contingency planning delivered through the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 and legislation addressing specific industrial hazards, including the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 2015, the Pipeline Safety Regulations (PSR) 1996, and the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (PEPPIR) 2001. The CCA requires multi-agency partnerships to assess the risks associated with industrial accidents and to undertake suitable specific or generic contingency planning. COMAH, PSR and REPPIR require site operators, local authorities and others to ensure effective arrangements are in place to respond to the onsite and offsite consequences of major accidents and provide for warning and informing those who might be affected.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether, in the event of the takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Börse, LCH and Eurex will have a regulator in common, and if so, whether that regulator will be the Financial Conduct Authority.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    I refer the noble Lord to the investor relations section of the London Stock Exchange Group website, which contains information about the proposed merger, including some information on the combined group’s proposed structure. I also refer the noble Lord to my previous written answer HL7153.

    Once formally notified of the proposed merger, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (as supervisors of the London Stock Exchange Group’s UK-authorised subsidiaries) must assess the proposal from a regulatory standpoint.

    In addition the proposed merger must be approved by competition authorities and is subject to a range of other assessments including those of overseas regulators and shareholders.

    European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) sets out detailed standards on the quality of collateral that a central counterparty (CCP) can accept, and includes a general requirement that the CCP can demonstrate to its supervisor that the form of collateral in question does not present unmanageable risk to the CCP. Furthermore, CCPs are permitted under EMIR to invest their collateral “only in cash or in highly liquid financial instruments with minimal market and credit risk.”

    Any proposals for inter-CCP links would need to be assessed against relevant parts of EMIR by the Bank of England, as supervisor of LCH. EMIR requires that models used to set CCP margin requirements (and any changes to them) are validated by the CCP’s supervisor. EMIR also requires that a CCP wishing to extend its business to additional products or services must obtain the authorisation of its supervisor.

  • Edward Argar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Edward Argar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Argar on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what criteria her Department uses to determine the award of contracts for projects overseas.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    To determine the award of contracts, tenders are assessed against pre-defined and published evaluation criteria by an evaluation panel with relevant expertise. This assessment follows the EU Public Procurement principle of selecting the ‘most economically advantageous tender’. The evaluation has two main sections – technical evaluation and commercial evaluation.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy that (a) plug sockets, (b) tables and (c) WiFi equipment should be installed in all standard class Thameslink Class 700 carriages.

    Claire Perry

    Contract variations have been proposed by my Department to introduce seat back tables and WiFi infrastructure throughout the new Class 700 Thameslink trains and officials are negotiating the details with the other contractual parties. My officials are also exploring with Siemens, the manufacturer of the new Class 700 Thameslink trains, the scope for increasing the number of plug sockets.

  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on how many residential planning permissions which were granted in England in the last five years have yet to commence building work.

    Gavin Barwell

    As of 1 July 2016 planning permission had been granted since 1 January 2011 for 311,000 homes on sites where work had not yet started. However, latest figures show that on these sites yet to be started, 90 per cent of the dwellings are now progressing towards a start, up from 85 per cent in July 2015.

    There are a range of factors which can delay the start of work on site. We are taking forward a range of proposals to help drive up delivery post permission, including changes in legislation to tackle unnecessary planning conditions and providing additional investment in infrastructure to help unlock housing sites and we expect developers and local authorities to work together to tackle problems at a local level.

  • Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it is his policy to allow members of the public to make an application for a cremation in Welsh.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Cremation (England and Wales) Regulations 2008 require that, in order for a cremation to proceed, the crematorium medical referee must scrutinise the application and associated medical or coroner forms before authorising a cremation.

    An application made in Wales may be for a cremation in Wales or a cremation in England. A medical referee in Wales may not be a Welsh speaker, and a medical referee in England will almost certainly not be a Welsh speaker.

    Applications in Wales must therefore be made in English, to make sure that the medical referee can understand and authorise the cremation in a timely manner wherever the cremation is to take place.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Solutions for Public Health has had with the European Medicines Agency and US Food and Drug Administration on developing a draft commissioning policy for everolimus.

    George Freeman

    Solutions for Public Health has confirmed that they have not had any discussions with either the European Medicines Agency or US Food and Drug Administration in relation to Everolimus.

    This is outside of the scope of the evidence review methodology commissioned by NHS England and would not be relevant to their role as a provider of stand-alone clinical evidence reviews.

  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of adults with autism are in full-time employment; and what steps his Department is taking to help adults on the autism spectrum into work.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Government does not collect data specifically on employment rates for people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC).

    Estimates are available from the National Autistic Society (NAS), who suggest that 15% of working age people with autism are in full time employment.

    Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is taking a number of steps to help adults on the autism spectrum into work, including:

    • the development of an Autism/ Hidden Impairment Network across Jobcentre Plus;
    • the expansion of the Access to Work Mental Health specialist advisory team to cover people with autism and associated hidden impairment conditions;
    • work to implement autism specific opportunities on LMS, Jobcentre Plus’s IT system;
    • the introduction of a Job-Shadowing Work Placement Initiative for young disabled people (65% of participants in the first tranche had autistic spectrum conditions)
    • The formation of an Autism Taskforce involving disability organisations and disabled people.

    DWP has worked in close partnership with the Hidden Impairment National Group (HING) to produce an ‘Uncovering Hidden Impairments’ toolkit, which helps employers to recruit and retain people with hidden impairment conditions.

    DWP is fully committed to the Government’s Autism Strategy. The latest progress report on the Autism Strategy can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/progress-report-on-strategy-for-adults-with-autism

    “