Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to impose large extra tax rises or spending cuts at short notice in order to meet their target of cutting the deficit by 2019–20.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The government has set out a fixed target to achieve a surplus on the headline measure of public sector net borrowing by the end of 2019-20. This is a transparent commitment showing the government’s resolve to complete the repair of the public finances. The Spending Review and Autumn Statement set out the action required to return the country to surplus over the course of this Parliament and on the basis of the latest Office for Budget Responsibility forecast in their November 2015 ‘Economic and fiscal outlook’ the government is forecast to achieve a surplus of £10.1bn by the end of 2019-20.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to update the Drug Driving (Specified Limits) (England and Wales) Regulations 2014, so as to reduce the amount of a drug that can be detected in blood for the purposes of the definition of that offence.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department is evaluating the new specified limits drug driving offence and a final report from the researcher is due at the end of 2016. The Department will consider its findings and assess whether there is any requirement to change the legislation, but currently there are no plans to amend the regulations. Thanks to the tougher law, police are catching and convicting more drug drivers.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32406, if he will make it his policy that the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service collect the number of national minimum wage inquiries relating to the domiciliary care and residential care sectors.

    Nick Boles

    The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) only record trade sector information when a caller chooses to provide it. There are no plans to request Acas collect more detailed sector information other than the sector categories that are currently available for National Minimum Wage (NMW) calls.

    NMW callers that identify as working in the domiciliary care or residential care sectors are categorised in the ‘Health, social work and child care’ sector.

    More detailed sector information may be available where a call is referred to HMRC and results in a full investigation taking place.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Immigration of 20 January 2016, Official Report, columns 1425-30, whether there is no predominant colour for the front doors of properties used to house asylum seekers in Teesside.

    James Brokenshire

    The provision of accommodation for asylum seekers is provided under the COMPASS contracts. It is the responsibility of all of the suppliers to ensure that all accommodation used meets the required contractual standard and complies with the Decent Homes Standards. The accommodation should be safe, habitable and fit for purpose. The COMPASS providers are required to inspect properties each month and UKVI’s contract compliance teams reinforce this by visiting properties regularly.

    The Home Office expects the highest standards and where a contractor is found to be falling short of these standards we work with them to ensure that issues are quickly addressed.

    Earlier this year, we instructed our supplier (G4S) to repaint the doors of G4S and Jomast managed properties to ensure that no one colour is predominant. I have received confirmation from the Provider that this had been completed, UKVI staff have also confirmed that no one colour is predominant as they have visited properties as part of their inspection regime.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions the Government has had with (a) the Dalai Lama and (b) dissidents on human rights in Tibet.

    Alok Sharma

    The Dalai Lama has not visited the UK since September 2015. Ministers did not meet the Dalai Lama during that visit. Officials discuss the human rights situation in Tibet regularly with NGOs and human rights activists. UK officials visited Tibetan regions in Gansu in March. UK officials have requested permission to visit the Tibet Autonomous Region later this year, but the Chinese authorities have not yet confirmed a date.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is offering the Democratic Republic of Congo to achieve peace and economic growth.

    James Wharton

    We remain concerned both by ongoing violent conflict in eastern DRC, and nationwide political tensions relating to democracy and human rights. Stability and economic growth are at the very heart of our strategy for the Great Lakes region, which is implemented by DFID, MoD and the Foreign Office. Politically, we are engaging at the highest levels, including via the UN and EU system, to seek a resolution to the current political impasse and conflict in eastern DRC.

    British Military officers and stabilisation experts are embedded in the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, shaping a more agile force, better able to protect civilians. We fund an £80 million programme to build peace in eastern DRC by establishing a durable political settlement at regional and national levels and addressing root causes of conflict, such as land reform.

    The UK also supports economic growth and prosperity in DRC through a £100 million private sector development programme. The programme works with micro, small and medium enterprises to facilitate access to markets and raise incomes, and helps reform the broader business environment, making it more attractive to international investors.


  • 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 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of partial restrictions on the use of lead ammunition for reducing the incidence of lead poisoning; and what comparative assessment she has made of the effectiveness of that policy and those in place in other jurisdictions.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government is considering the independent Lead Ammunition Group’s report on the effect of lead shot on human and wildlife health and will respond as soon as possible.

    The Food Standards Agency has produced advice on the consumption of lead shot game which can be accessed at https://www.food.gov.uk/science/advice-to-frequent-eaters-of-game-shot-with-lead.

    “

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Prime Minister, when he plans to reply to the letter of 26 November 2015 from the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West regarding mass executions in Saudi Arabia.

    Mr David Cameron

    A reply has been sent.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department paid to charities in 2014-15; and what criteria were used to make decisions about those payments.

    George Freeman

    The Department works with charities and other voluntary sector organisations and makes grant and procurement payments to these organisations. In 2014-15, £120 million was paid to the voluntary sector. Payment data is held at voluntary sector level, as such, charities are not separately categorised within this data set. It would incur disproportionate cost to extract this subset of the information.

    Payments made through the procurement route are processed in line with Departmental processes, which are consistent with payments made to other organisations. Grant payments are made in accordance with the individual terms of the grant.

  • Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton On 4 February (HL5341), what consideration the NHS has given to offering to share outcome data with test providers, where suitable consents can be captured, on the forthcoming re-procurement of the NHS regional genetics labs, such as from the National Cancer Intelligence Network; and what assessment they have made of the impact of doing so on their procurement process, in the light of the experience of Genomic Enterprise.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), strongly condemned the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s satellite launch of 7 February, which used ballistic missile technology in clear violation of a number of UN Security Council Resolutions. On 8 February the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), summoned the DPRK’s Ambassador to make clear the UK’s strong condemnation of the launch. The DPRK’s actions are a further threat to regional security and the stability of the Korean peninsula. It is clear that the DPRK continues to prioritise its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes over the welfare of its people.

    We continue to work closely with other members of the UN Security Council to ensure significant and substantive measures are agreed in response to the DPRK’s provocations. On 8 February the Prime Minister, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and the Foreign Secretary raised this with the Chinese Ambassador and reiterated the need for progress on a new UN Resolution.

    We are not part of discussions with the Republic of Korea on a missile defence system, but we respect and support our allies’ need to defend themselves.