UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) consultants and (b) seconded staff (i) are working and (ii) have been recruited to work at his Department in the last three years; and from which (A) companies, (B) departments and (C) other organisations such staff were recruited or seconded.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    A) Consultants

    The data that the FCO holds on consultancy projects is tracked by project rather than by individual. Consultants are not always appointed as individuals, rather the project in question is delivered via a company, which allocates the work to experts according to requirements. It is not therefore possible to provide, at proportionate cost, data on the number of consultants recruited to work at the FCO in the last three years. We can however confirm that the FCO has spent the following on consultancy projects in the last three years:

    Financial Year 2015/16 – £1.1m
    Financial Year 2014/15 – £1.6m
    Financial Year 2013/14 – £1.5m

    The FCO’s consultancy expenditure is primarily for specialist advice that supports our diplomacy and where ‘in-house’ expertise is not available, such as de-mining surveys.

    B) Secondments

    With regards to staff on loan from other Government Departments and those seconded from the private sector, the numbers are as follows, based on the year the loan started:

    In 2016 (to date) 147 Civil Servants, 1 public servant, and 1 secondee from the private sector have joined the FCO on loan.

    In 2015, 161 Civil Servants, and 3 public servants joined the FCO on loan. There were no secondments from the private sector.

    In 2014, 149 Civil Servants, 1 public servant and 1 secondee from the private sector joined the FCO on loan.

    Due to the small numbers of loans from individual organisations, it is not possible to give a breakdown of all the organisations from which they were loaned, without risking identification of individuals in breach of data protection rules. However the largest numbers of officers loaned to the FCO in all three years came from:

    2016 2015 2014
    DFID 21 25 11
    Home Office 20 20 20
    Cabinet Office 10 9 20
    HM Treasury 11 11 10
    MOD 13 14 12
    BIS 14 12 14
    DECC 12 4 10
    MOJ 6 14 9

    Fewer than five individuals a year were loaned from any other department. The public servants loaned to the FCO were all Parliamentary staff or Police Officers.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the Great Repeal Bill will incorporate all existing EU (a) regulations, (b) Directives and (c) Decisions into UK law.

    Mr David Jones

    The Government will bring forward legislation in the next session that, when enacted, will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 on the day we leave the EU, ending the authority of EU law and returning power to the UK. The Bill will give consumers, workers and businesses as much certainty as possible by maintaining law wherever practicable and desirable.

    The Bill will convert current EU law (including regulations and directives) into domestic law, while allowing for amendments to take account of the future negotiated UK-EU relationship. The Government will then, in slower time, consider the domestic law changes which will be needed to give effect to new policies developed post EU exit.

  • Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what communications they have had with the Northern Ireland Executive about the creation of Enterprise Zones in Northern Ireland.

    Lord Dunlop

    The Government communicates with the Northern Ireland Executive frequently on a wide range of issues.

    In ‘Building a United and Prosperous Community’ (the ‘Economic Pact’) signed in June 2013, the Government made a commitment to consider any Executive-nominated sites to be designated as an Enterprise Zone. Budget 2014 announced that businesses located within the Executive’s proposed pilot Enterprise Zone near Coleraine could benefit from enhanced capital allowances until 2020.

    I understand the Executive continues to work towards the implementation of this pilot Enterprise Zone.

  • Baroness Corston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Corston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Corston on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have a policy on the use of public relations companies by private organisations delivering public services under government contracts.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    We do not currently have a specific policy on the use of public relations companies by private organisations delivering public services under government contracts, but we expect the very highest value for money in all things.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of (1) the present situation in Nepal, especially in outlying villages that cannot be reached by road, and (2) the aid that was sent to Nepal following the recent earthquakes; how much such aid they sent, and what assessment they have made of how much was sent by British citizens; and how much of that aid fulfilled the purposes for which it was sent.

    Baroness Verma

    While emergency aid has reached most areas, we still estimate one million people will be living in temporary shelters at altitudes above 1,500 metres over the winter and are in need of urgent cold weather support. DFID, through its partners, is providing winter support to approximately 42,000 families (over 200,000 people) both via in kind assistance (blankets, mattresses, clothes, shelter insulation, solar lamps and cook stoves), as well as through a number of activities that contribute to an enabling environment for an effective and responsive humanitarian support. For example we are supporting helicopter operations to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance to communities in areas inaccessible by land. Winter distributions are over 60 % complete and are expected to be fully complete by the end of January.

    Information on total aid sent to Nepal in the aftermath of the earthquake can be found online through UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affair’s (OCHA) Financial Tracking System which is updated periodically. DFID’s response to the devastating earthquake now stands at £70 million following further commitments made at the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction. Funds raised by the British public for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal have already reached over £85 million, which includes £5 million in matched funding provided by DFID. More information on Nepal DEC work including a review of the response is available online. The UK is committed to ensuring that our assistance is made available to those most in need. We work with trusted partner NGO’s and UN agencies to deliver the UK humanitarian effort. These groups provide real time feedback of the situation on the ground to ensure DFID funds are used effectively.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Tornados and (b) Typhoons are fitted with the TCAAS II Collision Warning System.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 3 February 2016 to Question 24361 and on 1 February 2016 to Question 24213, to the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Ms Thornberry).

  • 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 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the Government’s proposals for implementing the recommendations of the independent Mental Health Taskforce.

    Alistair Burt

    We welcome the publication of the independent Mental Health Taskforce report and accept its recommendations. We will work with NHS England, other health arm’s length bodies and across government to agree how to take these forward.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential economic benefits to the Calder Valley of accelerating the upgrade of the M62 to a four-lane smart motorway between junctions 20 and 25.

    Andrew Jones

    The recent Budget announced that funding had been brought forward to enable Highways England to accelerate the smart motorway investment for the M62 Junction 10 to 12 scheme by two years, and to accelerate delivery of the M62 Junction 20 to 25 smart motorway.

    Design development work on these schemes is at the very earliest stage, and as such the analysis of the full economic potential of this investment is still being developed as part of the business case.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implication for his policies on a future nuclear deterrent of the development of the Boeing Echo Voyager and other new drone technology.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    We dedicate considerable resources to assessing these emerging capabilities. Despite potential advancements in technology the detection of submarines will remain extremely difficult. It would not be appropriate to go into specific detail of the steps taken to mitigate against these threats but we assess that our current and future submarine fleet remains safe and secure.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many agency staff were contracted to cover classes in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department collects details of all teachers working in state funded schools through the annual School Workforce Census. However, this census does not separately identify agency teachers.