Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • 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 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are making representations to the government of Saudi Arabia for full payment of arrears of wages to employees of the Saudi Binladin Group.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government has not made representations to the Government of Saudi Arabia for full payment of arrears of wages to employees of the Saudi Bin Laden Group. We are not aware of any British nationals that have been affected.

  • Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 14 June (HL Deb, col 1099), what action they are taking in response to the practice by some companies of supplying low-tax foreign markets with more tobacco than they are capable of consuming, thereby facilitating their products being brought back to the UK and depriving HM Revenue and Customs of revenue.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The UK introduced stringent rules in 2006 requiring all UK Tobacco Manufacturers (TMs) to control their supply chains. These rules required them to take steps to avoid supplying cigarettes and/or HRT (hand rolling tobacco) to persons who are likely to smuggle them into the UK or resupply them to other persons who are likely to do the same.

    Tobacco manufacturers can face penalties of up to £5m for failing to comply with the rules. HMRC action, in monitoring TM’s compliance, is reflected in a reduction in supplies of UK brand cigarettes to high risk markets of 20% since 2010. At the same time, supplies to those markets of UK brand Hand Rolling Tobacco (HRT) has reduced by 36%.

    Despite this success HMRC is not complacent. They continue to closely monitor the illicit market in the UK, which today is made up of a mix of unregulated brands, non UK brands, and counterfeit as well as genuine UK brands, to ensure the legislation is working. HMRC also robustly challenge TM’s supply chain policies and procedures to ensure their continued compliance with the rules.

    HMRC cannot comment on the progress of individual investigations but it is a matter of public record that one manufacturer has been subject to a supply chain penalty. This penalty is currently under to appeal.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to secure the co-operation of voluntary organisations that are ready to assist in welcoming child refugees.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    UK Government officials have confirmed that the Citizens UK list has been passed to the French authorities, who are primarily responsible for migrants on French territory.

    We continue to work with the French authorities and others to speed up exist-ing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary. We will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.

    We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe; over 70 of these are from France.

    It is important that the due processes under the Dublin Regulation are followed. This position was recently confirmed in a Court of Appeal judgement (“ZAT and others”). Families are only contacted once a transfer request has been made and a family link has been established. When we accept a request to transfer an unaccompanied minor we liaise with Local Authorities and the child’s family.

    A new scheme to allow community groups to directly sponsor a refugee family was launched by the Home Secretary and Archbishop of Canterbury on 19 July. The Full Community Sponsorship scheme enables community groups including charities, faith groups, churches and businesses, to take on the role of supporting resettled refugees in the UK. A ‘Help Refugees in the UK’ web-page has also been developed on GOV.UK to make it easier for the public to support refugees in the UK and allow local authorities to focus support on the goods and services that refugees need.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what (a) material and (b) humanitarian assistance the Government is providing to assist civilians fleeing the city of Mosul; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK has been one of the earliest and largest donors to the UN’s Mosul Flash Appeal, focused on preparing for the humanitarian consequences of Mosul military operations. This includes £40 million announced by my right Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for International Development, at the UN General Assembly in September. With this, our partners will provide assistance, including shelter and support kits for 66,000 people, comprising vital equipment for any displaced family, such as blankets, plastic sheets, buckets and other containers for water, cooking items and soap. It will also provide emergency healthcare for 42,000 people, through four mobile medical teams, upgraded emergency medical surgeries, three ambulances and two health facilities with equipment, medication and light rehabilitation.

    This brings the UK’s total humanitarian commitment to £90 million in 2016, and £169.5 million since summer 2014.

  • Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 12313, on energy, what the proportion by age group is of those customers referred to in that Question.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC do not collect data on the age of energy customers.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children in (a) England, (b) the North East and (c) Sunderland required 24-hour care due to life-limiting or life-threatening conditions in 2014-15.

    Jane Ellison

    Information is not held centrally on how many children in England required 24-hour care due to life-limiting or life-threatening conditions in 2014-15. The local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) do not collect information for the North East and Sunderland.

    CCGs (and in the case of specialised services, NHS England), will commission a range of care to support children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions, including paediatric care, and community-based nursing. A child with a life-limiting condition may be eligible for a package of continuing care, where their needs are such that they require clinical care in addition to that routinely commissioned. This might include one-to-one support. NHS England also allocates an annual grant of £11 million to children’s hospices to support their provision of palliative and respite care.

    Children and young people with complex needs may also be eligible for local authority-commissioned social care to support living, short-breaks, and special educational support, where they have a special educational need.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to encourage manufacturers to introduce sustainable manufacturing processes.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government’s top priority is to continue creating a highly competitive business environment that makes the UK an attractive location for new manufacturing investment in sustainable processes. We are protecting spending on innovation and the cutting-edge smart manufacturing technologies that will encourage digital, virtual, resource-efficient factories in the future. The High Value Manufacturing Catapult has skills, expertise and equipment available to help partner companies improve the efficiency and sustainability of their processes. As part of Autumn Statement 2015, my Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that funding to the nine existing Catapults would increase in real terms over the Spending Review period ensuring the UK remains a world leader in high-value manufacturing.

    In addition, we are taking into account UK business opportunities during negotiations on the EU Circular Economy proposals which include aims to improve business sustainability, resource and energy efficiency.

    At the Summer Budget 2015, the Chancellor announced a review of the business energy efficiency tax landscape and Government launched a consultation in September. The consultation set out proposals for delivering a simpler and more stable environment for business that will reduce administrative costs and improve incentives to invest in energy efficiency. This will help increase the productivity of UK businesses, save carbon emissions and ensure secure energy supplies. The Government is currently considering all consultation responses and is likely to publish its formal response at Budget 2016.

    I would be delighted to receive further representations from the Manufacturing Commission on their recent Industrial Evolution report.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effects of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the practice of nationality-based pay differentials in the (a) UK, (b) European and (c) international shipping industry.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Issues relating to the practice of nationality based differential pay and UNCLOS are being considered by the Post Implementation Review of the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 which is due to complete by the autumn of 2016.

    Under UNCLOS, coastal States do not interfere in the ‘internal economy’ of foreign flagged ships on innocent passage in their territorial waters. However, seafarers have a range of potential employment protection where they work, or ordinarily work, in the United Kingdom. In a recent case the Court held that this applies to seafarers working from a base situated in Great Britain, even if they are employed on a non-UK flagged ship, and that ship spends most of its time outside Great Britain.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have made representations to his Department about the proposed change of social sector housing benefit to the level of local housing allowance.

    Justin Tomlinson

    So far representations have been made by 93 individuals and 16 housing providers about the proposed change of social sector housing benefit to the level of local housing allowance.

    DWP Ministers and officials will continue to have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

  • Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is (1) the average hourly rate, and (2) the range of charges, for official veterinary surgeons employed in abattoirs.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    In 2014/15 the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) full cost normal time hourly charge rate for an Official Veterinarian (OV) in Great Britain was £37.30. Discounts are applied to FSA charges and as a consequence the average hourly rate of charge for an OV was £16.81.

    The range of normal time hourly rates charged for FSA OVs in Great Britain in 2014/15 was £0.00 to £37.30.