Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times he has visited Scotland in an official capacity since the 2015 General Election; and what meetings were held on each such visit.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Transport in Scotland is in large part a devolved matter. However, the Secretary of State has met members of the Scottish Parliament in London and other Department for Transport ministers have visited Scotland on the following dates:

    Robert Goodwill 5 November 2015 and 21 March 2016

    Claire Perry 8 January 2016

    Andrew Jones 7 September 2016

    The visits included meetings on a variety of transport-related issues.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what value for money assessment the Government has made of the Public Duty Cost Allowance.

    Ben Gummer

    The Public Duties Cost Allowance is to assist former Prime Ministers with the costs of continuing to fulfil duties associated with their previous position in public life. A copy of the policy and guidance on the allowance is in the Library of the House. The costs are a reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary office costs and secretarial costs arising from their special position in public life. The allowance is not paid to support private or parliamentary duties. Civil servants are not entitled to claim this allowance.

    Current recipients of the allowance are published in the Cabinet Office Annual Reports and Accounts. Previous recipients have included Lady Thatcher; the current recipients who are former Prime Ministers are Sir John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. I also refer the Hon. Member to my answers to him of 9 September 2016 to (UIN 44045, 44048, 44049, 44053, 44054, 44055, 44056).

    The Public Duties Cost Allowance rate is currently set at a limit of £115,000 per annum. When originally introduced, the Government stated that it would be the equivalent in amount to the Parliamentary Office Costs Allowance. I would note that that allowance is now known as the Parliamentary Staffing Allowance, determined by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority and that is currently set at the rate of £148,500 per annum.”

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether consideration is being given to prohibiting the use of tasers in detained settings for people with mental health conditions.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The deployment of police officers to mental health settings and the tactics used are an operational matter for the police.

    Any use of force by police officers must be appropriate, proportionate, necessary and conducted as safely as is possible. If police officers need to use force, it is right that they are expected to account for their actions.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the safety and speed of evacuation from Virgin (a) Pendolino and (b) Voyager trains in the event of an emergency.

    Claire Perry

    The procedures for evacuation in an emergency are a matter for train operating companies. As the relevant safety duty holders they are best placed to identify any risks or hazards arising from the services they offer with oversight from the Office of Rail and Road as the independent railway safety regulator.

    The UK already has one of the safest railways in Europe and the conditions which might necessitate a train evacuation are extremely rare. However, we must not be complacent and are working with the industry to further improve safety performance.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 92 of the consultation document entitled, Tackling Exploitation in the Labour Market, what the existing offences under employment law within the Director of Labour Market Enforcement’s remit are to which the proposed new offence of aggravated labour law breach would apply.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government is seeking views in the consultation “Tackling Exploitation in the Labour Market” on proposals to strengthen powers to deal with those who deliberately and persistently commit breaches of labour legislation. We will set out our proposed approach to the new offence in the response to the consultation early next year.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people aged between 15 and 18 took their own lives in each of the last three years.

    Alistair Burt

    The information is not available in the format requested. The table below shows the number of deaths by suicide in people aged 15-29 in the United Kingdom between 2011 and 2013. 2013 is the latest year in which statistics are available.

    Age-specific deaths by suicide (15-29 years): males and females, United Kingdom, 2011 to 2013

    Year

    Deaths (Males)

    Deaths (Females)

    Deaths (Total)

    2011

    844

    259

    1,103

    2012

    862

    214

    1,076

    2013

    797

    180

    977

    Notes:

    1. In the United Kingdom, suicide is defined as deaths given an underlying cause of intentional self-harm or injury/poisoning of undetermined intent.

    2. Figures include deaths of non-residents.

    3. Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

    Source: Office for National Statistics, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, National Records of Scotland

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the government of Egypt on the convictions of Islam al-Beheiry and Fatima Naaot in that country for contempt of religion.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of the cases of Islam al-Beheiry and Fatima Naaot and are following both cases closely. We have raised the importance of freedom of religious belief and freedom of expression with the Egyptian authorities on a number of occasions and will continue to do so.

    We deplore all discrimination against religious minorities and constraints on their freedom to practise their faith. The Government of Egypt has clearly stated its commitment to protecting the rights of minorities and of the need for religious tolerance; it is important that these rights are respected.

    In November 2015, My Rt Hon and noble Friend, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Baroness Anelay and I met Non-Governmental Organisations to consider what more could be done to help Christians and other persecuted minorities in the Middle East. I also met with the Secretary for Relations with States within the Holy See’s Secretariat of State to discuss this. In December the UK, in partnership with the Egyptian Grand Imam, launched a new scholarship for Al-Azhar graduates to pursue doctoral studies at British universities. The scholarship aims to promote mutual understanding among a new generation of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England and NICE on the Cancer Drugs Fund consultation; and whether he discussed with those bodies whether proposals on the future of that fund would (a) increase and (b) restrict access to cancer medicines.

    George Freeman

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has been kept informed as this work has been progressed.

    NHS England has advised that it envisages, under the new arrangements for the Cancer Drugs Fund, that a greater number of cancer drugs will be funded from baseline commissioning. This will be as a consequence of more appropriate pricing arrangements proposed by pharmaceutical manufacturers and better evidence being available through the Fund as to longer term patient outcomes.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to maximise engagement of children and young people in the arts.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Culture White Paper published last month makes clear that this Government is committed to ensuring that the arts should be an essential part of every child’s education both in and out of school. This includes working with the Department for Education on a range of music and cultural education programmes since 2012, supporting the Arts Council’s Cultural Education Challenge to create a network of cultural education partnerships and a new Cultural Citizens programme which will be piloted in three areas to support the engagement of disadvantaged young people with arts and culture in their local community.

  • 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 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to place the offences committed by offenders who participate in out-of-court restorative justice on the Police National Computer and make them available to courts dealing with any future offending.

    Mike Penning

    It is vital that victims see swift and certain justice delivered to their offender. It is also vital that victims of crime get the help they need to cope with, and recover from, crime.

    That is why we have protected the victims’ budget and given Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) greater flexibility to decide which services are needed in their local area.

    Restorative Justice can be a part of a wide range of services offered to victims of crime, and we are providing advice and guidance to help PCCs deliver it.

    Restorative justice is not a disposal in its own right and there are no plans to record participation in restorative justice on the Police National Computer unless this is already recorded as part of a conditional caution or other formal disposal.