UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans are in receipt of war disablement pension; and what steps his Department takes to notify recipients of changes in the level of that pension.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    As at 31 March 2015, there were 116,049 disablement pensioners in receipt of a War Pension administered by Veterans UK. Whenever there is a change in an individual’s rate of war pension, Veterans UK will write to inform them. For 2016, Veterans UK elected not to issue an annual uprating letter to individuals as there was no change to payment levels. Instead, an alternative communication plan was put in place utilising automated messages on the Veterans UK helpline, letters to Third sector organisations for publication, and articles in Veterans World magazine, the Armed Forces pension newsletter, social media and on the gov.uk website.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2016 to Question 37474, how many full-time equivalent officials of his Department are responsible for any debt collection activity that the CMS system is undertaking to ensure that former Child Support Agency child maintenance arrears are received.

    Priti Patel

    Where CSA arrears are moved across to the CMS system we will actively pursue collection where the CSA clients fall within three specific scenarios. These include firstly where a re-application has been made to CMS relating to the same case; secondly where the CSA arrears were being paid in the last 3 months prior to being moved over to the CMS system; and finally where a client actively requests we collect them.

    Given this approach to the collection of these CSA arrears, they are collected through our business-as-usual processes within our Case Maintenance, Arrears and Enforcement Teams within CMS, where at June 2016 there were 3,256 full time equivalent staff.

  • Lord Hague of Richmond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Hague of Richmond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hague of Richmond on 2016-09-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government  what steps they have taken to secure a total ban on ivory sales, and what discussions they have had with other countries about implementing such a ban.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government has conducted informal discussions with representatives of the arts and antique sector on the scale of legal trade in ivory currently taking place. An accurate assessment is challenging as records for antiques may not necessarily record an item as containing ivory where this is only a small component of a larger item. Extrapolation from available data indicates that sales of items containing ivory may be worth in the order of several tens of millions of pounds per annum.

    TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring organisation, has recently published its report: “A Rapid Survey of the UK ivory market”. Although not an exact comparison with a survey conducted in 2004, TRAFFIC’s survey found the number of market stalls offering ivory for sale had declined by approximately two-thirds and the number of items offered for sale had halved. No new or raw ivory was seen in any of the physical market outlets or online platforms; only one ivory item seen for sale was reportedly from after the legal cut-off (1947) for antique ivory being sold without Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) documentation within the EU. Ivory is a key UK wildlife crime priority with an enforcement action plan in place to tackle risk. For example, UK Border Force through Operation Quiver has in particular successfully targeted ivory sent through postal systems.

    We are actively exploring options with interested parties and other Government Departments about how to implement the UK Government’s manifesto commitment to press for a total ban on ivory sales. The UK has successfully lobbied for the EU-wide adoption of the existing UK ban on trade in raw ivory tusks, which was agreed through European Council Conclusions on an EU Action Plan on Wildlife Trafficking adopted in June. Trade in such tusks presents the greatest risk of poached ivory entering the legal market. In addition, these conclusions urged EU Member States to consider further measures to put a halt to commercial trade in ivory from elephants.

    A substantial number of proposals on elephant and ivory related issues will be discussed at the Conference of Parties to CITES to be held in South Africa between 24 September and 5 October 2016. This will include discussions on the existing global ban on the trade in ivory, which the UK is committed to maintaining, and the role of domestic ivory markets in illegal trade. The UK is, and will continue to, play a full role in these discussions.

    In relation to the confirmation by the USA Government to limit commercial trade in African elephant ivory to items more than 100 years old, with some exemptions, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs, Rory Stewart, discussed this issue with the USA Government during a trip earlier this year. In addition officials in Defra are in regular contact with their US counterparts and have discussed the US measures on a number of occasions.

    Finally on the Elephant Protection Initiative, this has grown from 5 to 14 members since the London Conference in February 2014. A Ministerial-level meeting of members to agree governance arrangements took place in Addis Ababa in September 2015. Range states have been supported to develop their National Elephant Action Plans and through these a number of priority conservation projects have been funded.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 2.2 of the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013 Expenditure Report, 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016, published by his Department in October 2016, if he will detail the reasons, other than the delay in completing the acquisition of large-scale commercial properties, for the £192.7 million underspend referred to in that report.

    Andrew Jones

    The £192.7m of the Land & Property (L&P) underspend shown in the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013 Expenditure Report for 1 April 2015 – 31 March 2016 was formed from two elements – strategic property acquisitions and compensation schemes, including providing discretionary assistance to home owners and small businesses.

    The majority of the total L&P underspend was caused by delays in completing non-compensation scheme acquisitions. These are generally acquisitions of commercial properties and it is hard to accurately estimate completion dates due to complexity of the deals.

    The other part of the L&P underspend was related to acquisitions resulting from the compensation schemes. The suite of schemes are demand led which means HS2 Ltd has very limited control over the timing of property purchases. Successful applicants to the schemes are allowed between one and three years after acceptance to decide on when they want their homes purchased.

  • Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they had with the Head of the Civil Service prior to setting up the review of House of Lords powers being undertaken by Lord Strathclyde.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Stowell of Beeston):

    Lord Strathclyde is being supported in his review by a panel of external experts and a small secretariat of civil servants in the Cabinet Office. The secretariat does not include political advisers. The expert panel comprises Sir Stephen Laws, former First Parliamentary Counsel; Jacqy Sharpe, a former Clerk in the House of Commons and Clerk to the Joint Committee on Conventions; and Sir Michael Pownall, former Clerk of the Parliaments.

    Several reviews have examined the powers of the House of Lords, including the Royal Commission on the reform of the House of Lords (2000) and the Joint Committee on Conventions referenced above (2006).

    The review led by Lord Strathclyde is due to consider how to protect the ability of elected Governments to secure their business in Parliament in the light of the operation of certain conventions. The review will consider in particular how to secure the decisive role of the elected House of Commons in relation to its primacy on financial matters; and secondary legislation.

    Ministers regularly discuss a wide range of issues with the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service.

    Lord Strathclyde will determine the way in which the review is undertaken and the content of his recommendations, including any definitions required. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the cost of the exercise at this stage, but neither Lord Strathclyde nor his panel of experts will be paid a fee. Lord Strathclyde is expected to seek views from a wide range of Parliamentarians, parties and groups in undertaking his review, and has issued a letter to all Parliamentarians inviting their input. He is also seeking views from the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the House. Lord Strathclyde will report to the Prime Minister, and the Government will decide how to proceed upon receipt of his recommendations.

  • Emma Lewell-Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Emma Lewell-Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the financial value of the renewable energy sector supply chain.

    Andrea Leadsom

    A report on ‘The size and performance of the UK low carbon economy’ published by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills contains estimates of turnover, gross value added (GVA), and the number of jobs supported by the low carbon sectors across the UK.1

    There are 269,800 people employed across all low carbon sectors in the UK, including generation of electricity, energy efficiency, vehicles, low carbon heat, and production of fuels.

    There were 68,100 people employed collectively in the renewable energy sector supply chains in 2013. The supply chain firms are estimated to have had a turnover of £24.5bn in 2013, adding £9.9bn of value to the UK economy.

    [1] BIS (March 2015), The Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/low-carbon-economy-size-and-performance

    “

  • 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 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recent Aviation Environment Federation report, Aircraft Noise and Public Health: The Evidence is Loud and Clear, published in January 2016.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government acknowledges that there has been new evidence in recent years that exposure to aircraft noise can adversely affect people’s health. It closely monitors research in this field and relevant robust evidence is incorporated into the policy appraisal process.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of (a) agency workers and (b) directly employed staff in the civil service at each grade in each year since 2010.

    Matthew Hancock

    All this information is publically available on GOV.UK.

    “

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of UK membership of the EU on each policy area and function of local authorities.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    None.

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provisions his Department has in place to ensure that sufferers of multiple sclerosis do not experience a decrease in benefit payments as a result of experiencing a temporary period of remission in their condition.

    Priti Patel

    The assessments for Employment and Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payment have been designed to take full account of fluctuating conditions, including multiple sclerosis. Neither assessment is a snapshot; they give people with fluctuating conditions the opportunity to explain how their condition varies over time.

    All assessments are carried out by qualified health professionals who have broad training in disability analysis and are required to fully explore and report any fluctuations in a claimant’s condition(s).