Tag: Parliamentary Question

Kelvin Hopkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures her Department has in place to assess at the conclusion of any animal experiment whether the severity level expected by researchers before the experiment corresponded to what the actual severity level was.

Mike Penning

The Home Office has published detailed guidance (see: Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986), which describes the requirements the Home Office places on researchers in the assessment of retrospective severity. At the end of a series of regulated procedures the project licence holder is required to classify the actual severity of the series of procedures carried out using observations taken from the animals during day-to-day monitoring. This information has to be reported to the Home Office annually, and at the conclusion of a programme of work, and following implementation of 2010/63 EU was published for the first time in the Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 2014.

Where appropriate, Home Office Inspectors cross-check and assess these records against the severity categories set out in project licences.

All project licences using non-human primates, cats, dogs and equidae, all those involving procedures classified as severe as well as those for education and training purposes or using endangered animals, are also required to be assessed retrospectively. In such cases, the Secretary of State requires an establishment’s Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body to conduct the retrospective assessment, which has to be submitted to the Home Office within three months in order that an inspector can complete the assessment on behalf of the Secretary of State.

01/01/2023
Sarah Wollaston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make one of the qualifying criteria for children under three years of age to access the mobility component of the disability living allowance possession of a blue badge by either of a child’s parents.

Justin Tomlinson

I refer the honourable lady to the answer provided to her on 2 November (13660).

01/01/2023
Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what impact assessment his Department has carried out on the effects of reductions in the universal credit work allowance on (a) working families and (b) people’s ability to take on part-time work.

Priti Patel

The impact of the work allowance change cannot be considered in isolation – it is part of a broader package of measures announced at the Summer Budget, such as the increase to the personal tax allowance and introduction of the national living wage, which strengthens incentives to find work and better paid jobs.

01/01/2023
Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 28 January (HL Deb, col 1405), what is the estimated cost of the next two years’ work by Network Rail that has now been cancelled on (1) the stabilisation of the cliff between Parsons and Teignmouth, and (2) breakwaters, groynes and revetments in the Dawlish area; and what are the new estimated completion dates for those works.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

No work on this study has been cancelled. Network Rail is currently progressing the Exeter to Newton Abbot geo-environmental study on the existing route via Dawlish to explore options which will reduce the chances of future route failure. The work will produce a short-list of options for further strengthening of the existing railway from Control Period 6 (CP6) (2019 to 2024) and beyond. It is due to be fully complete in May 2016 and will feed into the funding deliberations for CP6 and beyond.

Plans for Control Period 6 will be defined through the standard industry planning processes. These will take into account the recommendations of the Bowe and Shaw reviews and the re-profiling carried out by Sir Peter Hendy, along with the views of both PRTF and Network Rail .This process is led by Network Rail, with input from a wide range of stakeholders and funders, and covers the needs of each 5-year Rail Investment Strategy (RIS) with consideration of longer term requirements up to 2043.

01/01/2023
Lord Mawson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawson on 2016-02-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their planned pharmacy cuts on patients and health services in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020-21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.

We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, other pharmacy bodies and patient and public representatives on our proposals. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.

NHS England has a statutory duty to ensure the adequate provision of NHS pharmaceutical services across England and will ensure that duty continues to be met, including in respect of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

01/01/2023
Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which bus operators his Department has had discussions with on the Buses Bill; and how many meetings his Department has had with each of those bus operators.

Andrew Jones

Bus operators attended a series of workshops in the Autumn of last year, and since then officials have engaged, on a regular basis, with both large and small bus operators via the Confederation of Passenger Transport and the Association of Local Bus Company Managers.

01/01/2023
Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what he expects the take-up rate of tax-free childcare to be.

Damian Hinds

Tax-Free Childcare is being designed to be as straightforward as possible for parents. It will be quick and easy to apply online for the vast majority who are able to do so. However, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will ensure that assistance is provided to families who cannot access the internet so that they do not miss out on the support available via Tax-Free Childcare.

Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.

The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested before the scheme is launched.

01/01/2023

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-06-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British citizens are resident in each European Union member state; how many from each of those states are resident in the UK; and in each case how many are of pensionable age.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

There is no legal obligation on a British citizen living overseas to register with the British Embassy, but the UN estimated that in mid-2015 there were more than 1.2 million UK citizens living permanently elsewhere in the EU. These estimates do not include British citizens travelling or residing for part of the year in another Member State.

* Population of UK citizens permanently resident in the European Union; UN estimate, mid-2015

Total (thousands)
TOTAL UK IN EU	1,216.0
Austria	11.0
Belgium	27.3
Bulgaria	5.3
Croatia	0.7
Cyprus	40.5
Czech Republic	4.8
Denmark	18.6
Estonia	0.5
Finland	6.9
France	185.3
Germany	103.4
Greece	17.7
Hungary	7.0
Ireland	254.8
Italy	65.0
Latvia	1.1
Lithuania	3.3
Luxembourg	6.6
Malta	12.0
Netherlands	49.5
Poland	34.5
Portugal	17.8
Romania	3.1
Slovakia	4.9
Slovenia	0.6
Spain	308.8
Sweden	25.0

Office for National Statistics data show that, between January and December 2014, there were approximately 2.9 million European Union member state nationals resident in the UK.

* Population resident in the United Kingdom, excluding some residents in communal establishments, by nationality; ONS statistics August 2015 (2014 data)

Total (thousands)
TOTAL EU IN UK	2,940
Austria	18
Belgium	17
Bulgaria	59
Croatia	4
Cyprus	17
Czech Republic	37
Denmark	26
Estonia	14
Finland	14
France	160
Germany	131
Greece	54
Hungary	85
Italy	170
Latvia	108
Lithuania	155
Luxembourg	0
Malta	8
Netherlands	82
Poland	853
Portugal	175
Republic of Ireland	331
Romania	175
Slovakia	79
Slovenia	5
Spain	131
Sweden	32

There are many different ways of defining and calculating migration data so different sources will not necessarily be comparable.

No information is available on the numbers of UK and EU citizens in receipt of a UK State Pension broken down by nationality. This is because the UK State Pension is a contributory based pension, where nationality or citizenship do not form part of the eligibility criteria.

There is no data available on the number of European Union member state nationals resident in the UK who are of pensionable age.

01/01/2023

Paul Farrelly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Farrelly on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans for (a) Staffordshire and (b) other constituent parts of the UK.

David Mowat

Sustainability and Transformation Plan proposals are currently at a draft stage, but it is expected that all local leaders will be talking to the public and stakeholders regularly as it is vital that people are able to shape the future of their local services. No changes to the services people currently receive will be made without local engagement and, where required, consultation. There are longstanding assurance processes in place to make sure this happens. All footprints will submit an updated plan in October, with further formal public engagement and consultation taking place from this point, as appropriate. Many footprints are already publishing patient-facing summaries as part of their engagement programme.

01/01/2023
Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offices Working Links has in Wales for the administration of probation services; and what the locations are of those offices.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The administration of probation services across the Wales Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) is changing. There will be three operational hubs located in Swansea, Cardiff and Colwyn Bay. Frontline delivery office locations will exist across Wales and the Wales CRC are establishing community hubs to provide and deliver collaborative partnership working.

All CRC providers set out an agreed operating model within their bid during the Transforming Rehabilitation competition. We are robustly managing the contracts to make sure the providers deliver services which reduce reoffending, protect the public and provide value for money to the taxpayer.

01/01/2023