Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in (a) Chad, (b) Cameroon, (c) Niger and (d) Nigeria on the humanitarian situation in the Lake Chad basin.

    James Wharton

    We are deeply concerned about the scale of the humanitarian crisis across the Lake Chad Basin. This will require a sustained, multi-year response to support communities devastated by the conflict. The UK is scaling up our support.

    In addition to the £90 million of humanitarian assistance we are already delivering in the region, the UK has now pledged a further £80 million of humanitarian funding. £50 million will go towards meeting the needs of the worst affected communities in Nigeria with food assistance and access to essential household items and services, and £30 million to support those who have been affected by the spread of Boko Haram into Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

    HMG is using a range of opportunities to push our partners and governments across the region on scaling up and improving the quality of the response. This includes calling for a Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation which took place in July 2016; a joint demarche to the UN with the French and USA on the need to improve humanitarian capacity and performance in mid-August; chairing a Lake Chad Basin meeting in the margins of UN General assembly in September 2016, and ongoing high level bilateral meetings with UN officials.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of (a) Uber vehicles, (b) black cabs and (c) private hire vehicles are wheelchair accessible.

    Andrew Jones

    The results of the Department’s taxi survey in 2015 showed that 58% of all taxis (Hackney Carriages) in England are wheelchair accessible. All 22,500 London taxis are wheelchair accessible as required by Transport for London’s ‘Conditions for Fitness’ taxi licensing policy. 175 authorities (61%) require wheelchair accessible vehicles in all or part of their taxi fleet.

    We do not keep comprehensive statistics on the number of wheelchair accessible private hire vehicles, including those operated by Uber or any other private hire operators. However we do welcome initiatives by such operators to improve the service they provide to those who need additional assistance.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to support self-employed people who are confused over their tax status or struggle to understand the tax system.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) provides business with detailed guidance and an online Employment Status Indicator to check whether they are employed or self-employed for tax, National Insurance or VAT purposes. This is available on the gov.uk website.

    HMRC is working with stakeholders to improve the online tool. Customers needing further support can call the Helpline on 03001232326.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the financial contribution of the solar power industry to the UK economy in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015.

    Damian Hinds

    Information on the financial contribution of the solar power industry to the UK economy is not available. Solar electricity generation has been incentivised by the support under the Renewables Obligation, Contract for Difference and the Small Scale Feed in Tariff schemes. Information on private sectorinvestment from 2010-2014 is obtainable from the March 2015 DECC publication, “Delivering UK Energy Investment“ which is available here https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419024/DECC_LowCarbonEnergyReport.pdf

    The Office for National Statistics are due to publish a sector report on solar in February 2016 as part of their Low Carbon and Renewable Economy Survey for 2014 which is likely to provide further relevant information.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the effectiveness of the arrangements for information sharing between police and councils under Common Law Police Disclosure.

    Karen Bradley

    Common Law Police Disclosure (CLPD) is police led. The National Police Chiefs’ Council issue guidance for CLPD to all Chief Officers to ensure compliance.

    Operational use of the scheme follows the principles of the statutory guidance relating to the disclosure of local police information on criminal record certificates.

    The Home Office does not make any separate assessment of the scheme.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 18375, on prisoners’ release, what the further offences were that those offenders were charged with.

    Andrew Selous

    This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.

  • 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 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of primary care inspections by the Care Quality Commission on improving clinical outcomes for patients.

    Ben Gummer

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. It is responsible for assessing whether providers are meeting the fundamental standards below which care should not fall.

    The CQC has provided the following information.

    As of 31 March 2016, 3,281 general practitioner (GP) practices had received at least one overall published rating from the CQC. Of these, 4% are rated outstanding, 83% are rated good, 10% are rated requires improvement and 3% are rated inadequate. In addition to each overall rating, each practice also receives ratings for each of the CQC’s five key questions, is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led set out above. This set of ratings for each practice, along with the overall rating provide a strong basis for improving clinical outcomes by highlighting where care is already good and where improvement is required.

    106 GP practices have been re-inspected following an overall rating of requires improvement or inadequate. Of these locations, 81 have had an improvement in their overall rating following re-inspection.

    There have been 153 GP practices / Out of Hours services placed into special measures. Subsequently, 43 have exited special measures and the majority of locations placed in special measures that have been re-inspected, have improved. At present 84% have improved, with over half of those improving moving up two categories to an overall good rating. Where the CQC has found unacceptably poor care, patients have been protected with a total of 16 de-registrations to date.

  • Karin Smyth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Karin Smyth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications for registration to the Nursing and Midwifery Council were rejected from candidates trained (a) in England, (b) in the European Economic Area (EEA) and (c) outside the EEA in each year since 2009-10.

    Ben Gummer

    The information requested in relation to the number of applications for registration to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is not held centrally.

    The NMC is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom and is responsible for nurse and midwife registration. It has informed the Department that it does not collect data on how many applications for registration are rejected or withdrawn before they were assessed.

  • Lord Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sheikh on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the government of Sudan’s attitude and approach towards the conflict in South Sudan, and whether it will contribute to peace and stability in South Sudan.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government of Sudan played a constructive role in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development peace process in South Sudan and the recent meeting of regional Foreign Ministers on 11 July in Nairobi. We are working closely with all regional countries to end the violence in South Sudan.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will undertake research on whether alternative pricing structures of the access charges set by Eurotunnel could incentivise greater passenger and freight traffic between the UK and mainland Europe.

    Paul Maynard

    Since the 15th June 2016 responsibility for Economic regulation of the Channel Tunnel rests with the independent regulators, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in the UK and Autorité de regulation des activities ferroviaires et routières (ARAFER) in France.