Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • 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 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the adequacy of support available to personnel leaving each of the services and (b) the effectiveness of that support by (i) service, (ii) length of service and (iii) reason for leaving the armed forces.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Government provides a comprehensive programme of support for ex-Service personnel. This includes an excellent resettlement package for Service personnel returning to civilian life, high quality pension and compensation schemes and measures to meet veterans’ health and welfare needs.

    The Department continually measures the effectiveness of the support to Service leavers and personnel leaving the Armed Forces are entitled to resettlement provision consisting of time, funding and training, depending on length of service. Resettlement Provision is delivered through the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) as performance of the CTP is continually assessed by Head Office by management of the CTP contract and the Key Performance Indicators. As part of the performance management process, Service leavers are asked what their reason was for leaving the Services.

  • Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Mills on 2016-05-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost was to HM Revenue and Customs related to insolvency procedures in each of the last five years.

    Mr David Gauke

    The amount spent by HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) debt management offices in Worthing, Edinburgh and Newcastle on staff costs and insolvency expenses (e.g. court fees and payments to insolvency practitioners) was £32,594,200 in 2012/13, £26,337,346 in 2013/14, £30,295,668 in 2014/15 and £28,171,282 in 2015/16. Full data is not available for 2011/12. Across HMRC there are other staff working on specialist areas of insolvency but in the time available we cannot provide details of numbers or cost.

  • Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to protect members of the armed forces from bullying, sexual abuse and other crimes.

    Mark Lancaster

    Our Armed Forces are held in the highest esteem for their discipline, conduct and representation of our country. Any form of bullying or sexual abuse is utterly contrary to their culture, values and ethos. The Ministry of Defence strives to reduce crime and behaviour that impacts on victims and operational capability.

    Senior Officers and all personnel continue to reinforce the zero tolerance approach and actively counter any form of behaviour which damages the reputation of our Armed Forces.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to publish an updated cost-benefit analysis of the smart meter rollout programme.

    Jesse Norman

    The Government intends to publish an updated cost-benefit analysis for the rollout of smart meters in due course.

  • Lord Touhig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Touhig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase staff retention in the Defence Medical Services.

    Earl Howe

    The Defence Medical Services (DMS) takes very seriously the issue of retention and ensures the views expressed by personnel in exit interviews, conducted when they leave the Service, inform policy in this area.

    There are no Financial Retention Incentives for personnel within the DMS as a whole. However, the Royal Navy has introduced Financial Retention Incentives for Submariner Medical Assistants based on their Return of Service. In addition, Medical and Dental Officers, Nurses (Officers and Other Ranks) and Veterinary Officers have bespoke pay spines which are seen as retention positive. Specialist Nurses are also able to claim Recruitment and Retention Pay.

    There are a number of non-remunerative incentives for DMS personnel and these include access to funded Continuing Professional Development courses; career opportunities outside the main clinical roles and responsibilities; inter trade transfers (predominantly from Combat Medical Technicians and Medical Assistants into an Allied Health Professional trade or Nursing) and the availability of post graduate training.

  • Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on incorporating discussion of organ donation and transplantation into the school curriculum.

    Jane Ellison

    The National Curriculum sets the minimum requirements for what schools should teach and schools can build on that knowledge to cover topics such as organ donation and transplantation based on the needs of their pupils. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) have recently launched updated resources for teachers and others to promote discussion around organ donation in learning environments. These resources will be promoted to teachers in England early in the New Year. The lessons packs are available online at

    https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/about-donation/educational-resources/

    In addition Anthony Nolan, an organisation part-funded by the Department of Health, delivers an education programme in partnership with NHSBT, through which volunteers deliver talks in schools and colleges to students aged 16 -18.

    Departmental officials and NHSBT will continue to explore additional opportunities to promote organ donation and transplantation to school age children.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to carry out (a) a full health impact assessment for each of the airport expansion proposals under review and (b) an assessment of the effect on different sections of society of each such proposal.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    An appraisal of the impacts on people, including health impacts and the impact on different sections of society, for each of the short-listed schemes will be carried out as part of the work on preparing the building blocks for an Airports National Policy Statement. The Airports Commission has already made its own assessment of these impacts and we are considering these carefully.

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many days’ work were lost to industrial action taken by employees of the Government and its agencies in each year since 2010.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of (a) the number of people resident in refugee camps in Northern France, (b) the proportion of such people who are unaccompanied children and (c) how many extra reception places for asylum applicants have been created by the French authorities.

    James Brokenshire

    The management of the migrant camps in Calais, including healthcare provision is the responsibility of the French Government.

    The French Government has recently stated that there are approximately 3,700 migrants living in the Calais camp and 1,050 in Dunkirk. The UK Government does not routinely assess the numbers of migrants in northern France or hold a breakdown of the ages of migrants.

    The UK has funded a project aimed at identifying and protecting vulnerable people in the Calais migrant camp. The project is being delivered by the French NGO Terre D’Asile.

    In addition, France has opened 102 reflection centres away from Calais and Dunkirk to help migrants with their asylum options and the UK is contributing towards the funding of this programme.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 1.89 of Budget 2016, how much of the £20 million a year of new funding for a Northern Powerhouse school strategy she expects will be directly received by schools in Lancashire.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The allocation of this funding will depend on the identified need and will be reassessed each year, based on the evidence. We intend to build on the Department’s strategy for Achieving Excellence Areas, as identified in our recent White Paper.

    Decisions on allocation of funding for the 16-17 financial year will be made by the autumn of this year and will be informed by the emerging findings of the review by Sir Nick Weller.

    We will be publishing the terms of reference for Sir Nick Weller’s report in due course.