Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the current state of Anglo-Polish relations.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK has a strong bilateral relationship with Poland, one that the Government is committed to strengthening even further. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has agreed with his Polish counterpart to work more closely together to enhance the relationship towards a more strategic partnership. The UK and Poland share a vision for the future of the EU and of European security including many foreign, defence and security policy priorities. We are partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and share a commitment to the security of our allies and ensuring that NATO continuously adapts to changing threats. We continue to work together to deliver the outcomes of the Wales NATO Summit as we look forward to the Warsaw Summit in July. The UK and Poland are also partners in trade; the UK is Poland’s second largest export market. There are also close historical links between our countries. Together with the President of Poland the Prime Minister was honoured to attend the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral last September to pay tribute to those who fought, including the brave Polish pilots who played a crucial role in standing up for freedom.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that engagement and consultation with key stakeholders, communities and local voluntary sector organisations is undertaken within each Sustainability and Transformation plan footprint prior to finalisation of those plans.

    George Freeman

    As set out in the NHS Shared Planning Guidance, published in December 2015, the success of Sustainability and Transformation Plans will depend on having an open, engaging, and iterative process that involves patients, carers, citizens, clinicians, local community partners including the independent and voluntary sectors, and local government through health and wellbeing boards. The arm’s length bodies responsible for the NHS Five Year Forward View – NHS England, NHS Improvement, the Care Quality Commission, Public Health England, Health Education England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – have asked for local engagement plans as part of the Sustainability and Transformation Plan process, building where appropriate on existing engagement through health and wellbeing boards and other local arrangements. Where plans propose service changes, formal consultation will follow in due course in line with good practice and legislative requirements. The arm’s length bodies will be holding conversations with each area to assess their plans for local engagement.

  • David Nuttall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Nuttall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2016-07-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints relating to class 2 national insurance contributions have been received by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last three years.

    Mr David Gauke

    Each year HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) receives and responds to 50 million phone calls and 15 million letters from Self Assessment and PAYE customers. HMRC commits to responding to complaints within 15 days of receipt and therefore expects that, excluding any that may be received in the last few weeks before abolition, outstanding complaints will have been cleared.

    The number of complaints relating to Class 2 contributions received in the last three years is set out in the table below:

    Year

    No. of complaints

    2013/14

    1122

    2014/15

    1210

    2015/16

    831
  • Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason his Department has not implemented the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s commitment to a biannual budget reconciliation process for the new feed-in tariff scheme, set out in its review of that scheme in December 2015.

    Jesse Norman

    The Government response to the 2015 review of the scheme set out that a budget reconciliation process could be biannual, or more or less frequent, depending on deployment. As well as our current consultation on support for anaerobic digestion and micro-combined heat and power under the scheme, we are reviewing the deployment that has taken place since the revised scheme was re-launched in February of this year and will make a statement in due course.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with HM Treasury on the removal of the fuel duty escalator for liquefied petroleum gas as part of government proposals to reduce emissions from road transport.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra has had no discussions with HM Treasury about the removal of the fuel duty escalator for liquefied petroleum gas.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2015 to Question 223992, how many applications were made to the Access to Elected Office Fund in each year following its establishment; how many of those applications were (a) granted and (b) refused; and what the total amount paid to successful applicants was.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The number of people who have applied to the Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund is in the table below:

    Financial Year

    Number of applicants (some applicants made more than one application)

    2012/13

    27

    2013/14

    34

    2014/15

    48

    The total amount claimed by successful applicants was £271,260 (out of awards totalling £418,733)

    An evaluation of the pilot fund is currently being undertaken and will be published in due course. An announcement regarding the future of the fund is anticipated early in 2016.

    The information on regional breakdown of expenditure and the diversity of candidates can be found in the tables below:

    Region (location of election seat)

    Amount claimed and paid (£)

    East Midlands

    1,099

    East of England

    480

    Greater London

    89,399

    North East England

    4,382

    North West England

    20,567

    South East England

    69,474

    South West England

    21,260

    West Midlands

    20,281

    Yorkshire and Humberside

    17,882

    Total (rounded)

    271,260

    Political Party

    Amount claimed and paid (£)

    Conservative

    32,361

    Democracy 2015

    350

    Green

    5,791

    Labour

    120,846

    Liberal Democrat

    32,601

    Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

    276

    UKIP

    53,236

    Independent

    25,798

    Total (rounded)

    271,260

    Gender

    Amount claimed and paid (£)

    Male

    139,524

    Female

    131,736

    Total

    271,260

    Ethnic Group

    Amount claimed and paid (£)

    White; all backgrounds

    218,117

    Mixed ethnic origin

    1,348

    Asian; all backgrounds

    26,680

    Black/African/Caribbean/Black British

    22,977

    Other ethnic group

    350

    Prefer not to say

    1,788

    Total

    271,260

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 7 January (HL4728), whether independence was one of the criteria by which candidates to chair the independent review of localisation of Council Tax support schemes were assessed.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    While independence was not referenced in my earlier answer, Ministers were mindful of independence in considering a chair, and have made it clear that this would be an independent review.

  • Lord Rowlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Rowlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rowlands on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the European Commission on when their revision of the European Arrest Warrant handbook will be issued.

    Lord Bates

    We continue to press the European Commission to revise the European Arrest Warrant handbook as soon as possible, in particular as it relates to proportionality. We have done so through both working groups in Brussels and bilateral contact.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Turkey about its actions against Zaman newspaper, its editor and chief columnist, together with other media; and what response, if any, they have received.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We continue to monitor specific cases and regularly underline the importance of freedom of expression and all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish government. We welcomed the EU Commission’s Annual Progress Report on Turkey, released on 10 November, which highlighted the need for further reforms from Turkey in these areas. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), did so on 7 March when he met Turkey’s Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, and underlined the importance of protections for a free press and human rights in Turkey. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), set out the UK’s concerns on freedom of expression when he met his Turkish counterpart on 12 March. The Minister for Europe, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), discussed media freedoms and rule of law issues when he met Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister on 12 March.

    As a friend and ally, we urge the Turkish government to uphold the right of media to operate without restriction.

  • Andrew Bridgen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Bridgen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will (a) commission research to estimate the number of people from other EU member-states who receive universal credit and (b) publish that information before 23 June 2016.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    There are no current plans to conduct the analyses listed.