Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to encourage more businesses to sign the Armed Forces Covenant.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence recognises the value of open, mutually beneficial relationships with employers, which is why we have introduced professionalised employer engagement at the national and regional level.

    The relationships we are building show that supporting the Armed Forces community is not only the right thing for employers to do, but can also yield tangible business benefits. Showing support by signing the Armed Forces Covenant can enhance the reputation of a company and attract the interest of Reservists and Service leavers; highly skilled, well-trained professionals who can add real value to a business.

    Since 2014 the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) has provided visible recognition to those employers which support Defence and is inspiring others to do the same. The scheme encompasses bronze, silver and gold awards for employer organisations that pledge, demonstrate or advocate support to Defence and the Armed Forces community. Publicity around the ERS and the Armed Forces Covenant is valuable to both Defence and the employers involved. Ministers regularly attend Armed Forces Covenant signing events, most recently with ISS UK.

    Our approach is delivering benefit; almost 1,000 employers have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and research shows that overall awareness of the Covenant has increased significantly over the last year.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-06-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Thames Tideway Tunnel project will send clean excavated materials to landfill permit sites as a waste or to be beneficially reused as a material or product as recovery in accordance with its commitment to reduce waste to landfill in the development consent order.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Tideway, the infrastructure provider set up to finance and deliver the Thames Tideway Tunnel, has been assessing several sites identified through the Development Consent Order (DCO) process to receive the tunnel excavated material.

    Amongst other things this assessment looks at maximising the beneficial use of excavated material and its transport by river to meet environmental commitments made under the DCO. The relevant site operators have already made a number of applications to the Environment Agency (EA). The type of permit these sites require will be assessed by the EA in line with its guidance. This guidance is currently being revised following a recent Court of Appeal judgment which in some cases may lead to the reclassification of some waste activities as disposal rather than recovery. It is possible for appropriate disposal to deliver beneficial use such as habitat creation.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to support local television services.

    Baroness Mobarik

    A total of 21 local television services have launched since November 2013 with a further 13 local services due come on air next year. The development of local television has been supported by up to £40m of ring-fenced funding under arrangements agreed with the BBC in 2011. Under these arrangements, the BBC will provide up to £25 million to cover the capital costs of building the local television transmission network and up to £15m for content funding from the BBC for each station’s first three years on air.

    The draft Charter agreement published on 15 September included an extension to the content funding arrangements. This would ensure that all local television stations launching by 31 July 2017 and that wish to receive BBC support for their first three years on air will able to receive funding under these arrangements until March 2020.

    In addition to BBC funding, local television also benefits from having prominence on electronic programme guides (EPG) on Freeview and on other platforms and from certain exemptions to requirements in broadcasting legislation, such as having to source a proportion of their content from independent producers.

  • Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training is provided to officials of his Department working on the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Programme and the Saudi Arabia National Guard Communications Project on responding to whistleblowers from the private sector.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Members of the MOD Saudi Armed Forces Projects (MODSAP) and Saudi Arabian National Guard Communications (SANGCOM) Project attend a mandatory bribery and fraud awareness workshop which explains current legislation in this area, assists members to understand their responsibilities under the provisions of the legislation and identifies areas of risk of bribery and fraud within the workplace. This training highlights the statutory protection against dismissal and victimisation provided to whistleblowers under the provisions of the Public Disclosure Act 1998 and provides advice on reporting suspicious activity.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison Thewliss – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the application allocation of winter fuel payments criteria to ensure that all eligible people living in buildings with a high number of occupants in separate homes receive such payments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    There are already procedures in place to try and ensure that the correct amount of Winter Fuel Payment is paid in this situation, using data that is available to the Department, to minimise the need for individual notifications of circumstances. The Department seeks to act quickly to resolve any errors that are brought to its attention.

  • 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 2015-12-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what advice UKFI provided to his Department on when and how to complete a sale of Royal Bank of Scotland shares.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government has been consistently clear that its policy in respect of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to return the bank to the private sector in full. The advice received from Rothschilds and the Governor of the Bank of England relates specifically to the appropriate timing of an initial share sale.

    UK Financial Investments (UKFI) is responsible for the execution of share sales, and advised the Chancellor in August 2015 that it would be appropriate to conduct the first sale of the Government’s shareholding in RBS. On 3 August 2015, UKFI sold approximately 5.4% of the bank via an accelerated bookbuilding process.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to (a) help up-skill and (b) provide technical education for the Bangladeshi workforce.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID is supporting the upskilling of the Bangladeshi workforce through several projects in both the informal and formal sectors. Through our support to the Underprivileged Children’s Educational Programme, a local educational institution, nearly 45, 000 children have received general education and over 13, 000 have received technical and vocational training. Of the latter, 90% have been placed in formal employment or become self-employed. The programme focuses on working children in slums who dropped out of school.

    DFID also launched ‘the Skills and Employment Programme in Bangladesh’ in October 2015. The programme aims to provide private sector training opportunities, with a particular focus on supporting women and disadvantaged populations, in the ready-made garments and construction sectors.

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

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26406, how much is included in the Business Rate Retention Scheme funding stream to reflect the changes to the payment of Bus Service Operators Grant that were introduced in 2013.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Following the 2013 changes to the Bus Service Operator’s Grant (BSOG) system, the Department no longer pays BSOG in respect of bus services in London. Instead, the amount that had previously been paid out under the BSOG scheme (some £90m in 2011/2012) was taken into account in determining the amount of funding received by the Greater London Authority under the Business Rate Retention Scheme introduced in 2013. This money is not ring-fenced and it is a matter for the Mayor to determine how it is spent.

  • Chris Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Chris Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a mandatory dog-breeding licence for any household planning to produce two or more litters per year; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    We are reviewing certain local authority licensing schemes, including the breeding and selling of dogs. The public consultation on this issue closed on 12 March. The consultation proposed that anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs, or who breeds more than two litters in a twelve month period, would need a licence.

    We also proposed to prohibit the sale of puppies under eight weeks of age in all cases. We are currently analysing the 1,500 or so responses before making any firm decisions.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he made of the funding needs of (a) university health centres and (b) other GP surgeries with atypical patient profiles in applying the core funding formula for GP surgeries.

    Alistair Burt

    Approximately 55% of general practitioner (GP) practices operate under General Medical Service (GMS) contract arrangements. Typically, at least half of the money that a GMS practice receives is in the form of the ‘global sum’, derived through the Carr-Hill Formula.

    The formula, as agreed with the British Medical Association (BMA) before the introduction of the 2004 GP contract, is used to allocate the global sum and related payments on the basis of the practice population, weighted for factors that influence relative needs and costs.

    There are indications that the formula does not work as effectively in areas with demographically atypical populations, such as new towns or areas with high student populations. NHS England is working with the BMA’s General Practitioners Committee, NHS Employers, the Department and academic partners on the review to develop a formula that better reflects the factors that drive workload, such as age or deprivation. As part of this work, the effect of any changes on practice funding in specific areas such as Huddersfield and Kirklees will be considered. It is intended that the review of the Carr-Hill formula will inform the 2017-18 GP contract.

    A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified one item of correspondence received since 1 May 2015 from university health centres. There has also been a Ministerial meeting related to areas with demographically atypical populations, in this case new towns. It was not possible to identify correspondence received from GP surgeries with atypical patient profiles. This represents correspondence received by the Department’s ministerial correspondence unit only.