Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will assess the extent to which grants made by her Department to third parties are used for activities designed to influence her Department, other departments or Parliament.

    George Eustice

    Grants are made to third parties so that those organisations can deliver Defra’s objectives. They are not made to such organisations for use to influence Defra, other Departments or Parliament.

  • Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any plans to reduce the number of local electoral offices in Northern Ireland.

    Lord Dunlop

    The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is currently considering a range of options for reforming his Office. This includes capitalising on new technology by introducing on-line registration.

    The Chief Electoral Officer will have regard to the continued effective delivery of elections in Northern Ireland and ensuring that his Office remains on a sustainable financial footing. The Northern Ireland Office fully supports him in this approach. I understand that work on some options is at an early stage.

    The Representation of the People Act 1983 makes provision for the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland to delegate returning officer functions to the clerk of a district council.

    Detailed questions on headcount and budget are operational matters for the Chief Electoral Officer who is independent of Government. The Chief Electoral Officer publishes all such information in his annual report which is presented to Parliament and copies are made available in the Library of the House.

    The headline budgets allocated to the Chief Electoral Office are:

    Financial Year

    Operational Funding

    Capital Funding

    2013/14

    £5.452m *

    £100k

    2014/15

    £2.336m

    £56.2k

    2015/16

    £2.296m

    £25k

    * includes £3m for the 2013 canvass

    The Northern Ireland Office has not agreed any budgets with the Chief Electoral Officer for future years pending receipt of the Department’s detailed Spending Review 2015 settlement letter from HM Treasury.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to promote awareness across NHS trusts in England of preventative measures to reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation-related strokes.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England’s (PHE) programme on ‘Stroke and vascular dementia prevention for people with atrial fibrillation’ works with key stakeholders to increase prioritisation for the prevention of atrial fibrillation related strokes.

    PHE’s National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network contributed to the development of atrial fibrillation intelligence packs to help commissioners to identify where improvements can be made to reduce the risk of stroke by improving the detection and treatment of atrial fibrillation.

    The NHS Health Checks best practice guidance recommends that a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading and those individuals who are found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred to a general practitioner for further investigation.

    Recent research shows that, due to the NHS Health Check and appropriate clinical treatment, 2,500 people will have avoided a major cardiovascular event such as heart attack or stroke over the last five years.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she has made an assessment of the potential effect on carbon dioxide emissions of the life extension of nuclear reactors compared with the use of (a) coal and (b) gas-powered electricity plants producing the same amount of electricity over the same period.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Our existing modelling estimates that in total, 187 TWh of electricity would be generated from the four nuclear plants whose lives have been extended in the period 2019 to 2030; this would lead to 0 MtCO2 emissions. By comparison, approximately 71 MtCO2 would be emitted from 187 TWh of electricity generated from gas CCGT; or 165 MtCO2 if generated from unabated coal. Like nuclear, it is estimated that around 0 MtCO2 would be emitted from the equivalent generation from onshore wind, offshore wind or solar power.

    We have not performed exact modelling analysis on the impact that life extension decisions would have on carbon dioxide emissions because the reduction in emissions will depend on which generation technologies contribute to overall generation and the share of each. The mix in addition to nuclear could include a combination of coal, gas or low-carbon technologies.

  • Stewart Jackson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stewart Jackson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what legal costs have been incurred by NHS England in respect of the use of the NHS logo by the Vote Leave group; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    NHS England has not incurred any legal costs regarding this matter.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 3.35 of Educational excellence everywhere, Cm 9230, if she will issue guidance on levels of remuneration for non-executive academy trust directors.

    Edward Timpson

    Academy trusts are independent charities and must comply with charity law. This means that trust directors can only receive payment for carrying out trustee duties with Charity Commission authorisation.

    The Charity Commission will only authorise payment to academy trustees where it has been clearly shown to be in the charity’s interests. They will consider issues such as the reasons for payment, whether conflicts of interests are managed appropriately, whether the Principal Regulator (for academies this is the Secretary of State for Education) is agreeable and whether payment of any trustees is in the longer-term interests of the charity. These arrangements are set out in the Department’s Governance Handbook, available on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-handbook. It is up to trusts to decide on the level of any such remuneration.

    Academy trusts operate under a robust accountability system which holds them to account for the results they achieve and their use of resources. This includes a requirement to publish audited accounts each year allowing the wider public chance to hold academy trusts to account to help make sure that spend is securing better outcomes for pupils.

    “

  • 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 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on developing a scheme to publish pass rates of instructors as set out in his Department’s Motoring Services Strategy; and how much funding he has allocated to that project.

    Andrew Jones

    The proposal to publish pass rates of Approved Driving Instructors forms part of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s broader plans to improve overall standards and transparency.

    The Agency has been exploring with the ADI National Association Strategic Partnership (NASP) the development of a voluntary ‘earned recognition’ scheme which would acknowledge and recognise the extent to which Approved Driving Instructors are compliant with regulations and/or adopting high professional standards.

    The Agency will want to discuss the voluntary publication of pass rates with NASP as part of their ongoing discussions. Once the scope of the proposals has been determined appropriate funding will be allocated to the overall programme of reforms.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-07-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the Exchequer has been of reductions to corporation tax since 2010.

    Mr David Gauke

    Overall cuts delivered to corporation tax will be worth almost £15bn a year to business by the end of this Parliament. This has enabled businesses to increase investment, take on new staff, increase wages, or reduce prices.

    Official costings of any policy announcements can be found in Budget or Autumn Statement documents. The cost of the cut to 17% for instance can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2016-documents/budget-2016#policy-decisions

  • Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie on 2016-09-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe following her five-year prison sentence in Iran; and what priority they assign to reuniting Nazanin and her daughter with her husband in the UK.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government continues to raise its strong concerns about Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s five year sentence. Iran does not recognise dual nationality for Iranian nationals and therefore has not provided any information to us about Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case or the charges against her. On 11 September our Acting Ambassador to Tehran raised our concerns with the Iranian Government and pressed for urgent confirmation of the charges. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), raised our strong concerns for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe with Iranian President Rouhani on 9 August. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), similarly raised her case with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif on 4 August, and followed up in writing on 29 August. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) met Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family on 8 September to reassure them that we will continue to raise her case with the Iranian authorities at the highest levels at every available opportunity.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Iranian and (b) Russian counterparts to discuss the threat posed by ISIS; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK does not always agree with the views expressed by Russia and Iran, but we are open to discussion on how best to deal with ISIL and bring peace and security to the region.

    At the G20, the Prime Minister and President Putin agreed that the international community needed to find a way to work together to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria and focus on the shared aim of destroying ISIL.

    Iran’s role in fostering instability in the Middle East continues to be a source of concern. The newly opened Embassy in Tehran is an opportunity to discuss a range of regional issues with Iranian counterparts, including shared threats such as ISIL. The UK has discussed ISIL with Iranian President Rouhani, as well as Ministers and officials.

    Both Russia and Iran have attended the talks in Vienna aimed at finding a political solution to the situation in Syria. The UK will continue to play a leading role in the International Syria Support Group.