UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have taken place with the government of Bangladesh about toxic, insanitary and unsafe working conditions in Hazaribagh, Dhaka.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK Government’s work around conditions in the leather industry in Bangladesh focuses on the issue of child labour. We support efforts in this particular area through the Manusher Johnno Foundation (MJF). MJF have campaigned successfully to include “Leather Works” on the Government of Bangladesh’s list of hazardous works for children. As a consequence, employers in the leather industry are now bound by a Code of Conduct which is aligned with the domestic Labour Law and National Child Labour Elimination Policy.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average length of time between an application being made for a Venture Capital Trust Scheme and the scheme taking effect was in each of the last six years.

    Mr David Gauke

    The average time between a company applying to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for approval as a Venture Capital Trust (VCT) and receiving approval in the last six tax years was as follows:

    Tax year

    Number of VCTs approved

    Average time taken to approve applications (days)

    2010-11

    16

    7

    2011-12

    6

    9

    2012-13 to 2015-16

    6

    16

    Notes

    1. The information for the years 2012-13 to 2015-16 has been grouped owing to the low numbers of VCTs seeking approval in each of those years. Disclosure of average times in each of those years could identify specific companies.

    2. The number of VCTs approved each year is provided in order to give context for the averages reported.

    3. The average time includes non-working days such as weekends and public holidays. Fractions of days are rounded up to the nearest day.

    4. The amount of time taken to approve a company as a VCT depends upon the specific facts of each case. Two cases in the period from 2012-13 to 2015-16 had significantly longer approval times, raising the average for this period. If those cases were excluded, the average time would have been 10 days.

    5. A company cannot raise funds from VCT investors until it has been listed on a regulated stock market. HMRC does not hold information about the date of listing although that information is publicly available.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what targets she has set the police relating to dealing with hate crime incidents.

    Sarah Newton

    The Government condemns all hate crimes and is committed to tackling these crimes in partnership with the communities affected.

    We have in place some of the strongest legislation to tackle hate crime in the world – this includes specific offences for racially and religiously aggravated activity and offences of the stirring up of hatred on the grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation.

    We also have stronger sentences for hate crime. We continue to carefully consider the recommendations from the Law Commission review into hate crime legislation. The Government has committed to taking action to improve our response to hate crime.

    This includes joint training between the police and Crown Prosecution staff to improve the way the police identify and investigate hate crime; building on the improvements to police recording of hate crime by working with the police to break down religious-based hate crime by religion; and working with victims and advocacy groups to improve victims confidence to come forward and report such crimes.

    The police are also improving their operational practices and recording. Last year, the College of Policing published Operational Guidance for officers responding to hate crime which comprehensively covers how to address all forms of hate crime.

    Hate crime statistics show number of crimes recorded by the police by force area. The decision as to how hate crime is resourced in individual forces is an operational matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner for that area. The latest police funding settlement represents a fair deal for the police and reinforces this Government’s commitment to protect the public. No Police and Crime Commissioner who maximised precept income is facing a reduction in cash funding this year.

    Police and Crime Commissioners are also responsible for commissioning local support services for victims of crime. The Ministry of Justice provides the Commissioner with a grant to enable services which best meet the needs of local victims of crime to be funded.

    The Home Office published a new hate crime action plan on 26 July 2016, which sets out Government action over the next four years to tackle hate crime. It includes:

    ● new steps to boost reporting of hate crime and support victims;

    ● new CPS guidance to prosecutors on racially aggravated crime;

    ● a new £2.4 million fund for protective security measures at potentially vulnerable places of worship;

    ● and additional funding to community organisations tackling hate crime.

    Nobody in this country should live in fear because of who they are and anyone who experiences hate crime should report it to the police, either in person at a police station, online through the True Vision website, or by phoning 101.

  • Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school leavers in Derby North constituency who went to university in the last five years for which figures are available were (a) entitled and (b) not entitled to free school meals.

    Joseph Johnson

    Information is given on the number and percentage of students completing Key Stage 5 study (A level and other Level 3 qualifications) in mainstream state-funded schools and colleges, before progressing to study at a UK higher education institution for at least two terms the following year, in each of the last five years for which information is available. Free school meal eligibility is as recorded when students were in Year 11.

    The table below show figures for the Derby North constituency for the years 2010/11 to 2014/15. Numbers of pupils are shown rounded to the nearest ten in line with how published information was shown in these years. Percentages are calculated using unrounded figures.

    In each of the last five years ten students in the Derby North constituency (rounded to the nearest ten), who had been eligible for free school meals in Year 11 and completed Key Stage 5 study, progressed to higher education. This compares to between 190 and 220 students who had not been eligible for free school meals completing Key Stage 5 study in the latest year. Due to the small numbers involved, the proportion of students represented by these numbers has varied year on year.

    Information on pupil destinations at local authority, regional and national level is published annually at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations

    Number of students completing KS5

    Number at UK Higher Education Institution

    % at UK Higher Education Institution (calculated on unrounded figures)

    (rounded to nearest 10)

    (rounded to nearest 10)

    FSM

    Non-FSM

    FSM

    Non-FSM

    FSM

    Non-FSM

    2014/15 (2013/14 KS5 cohort)

    20

    320

    10

    210

    64%

    65%

    2013/14 (2012/13 KS5 cohort)

    20

    310

    10

    190

    43%

    61%

    2012/13 (2011/12 KS5 cohort)

    30

    310

    10

    200

    32%

    63%

    2011/12 (2010/11 KS5 cohort)

    20

    300

    10

    190

    50%

    64%

    2010/11 (2009/10 KS5 cohort)

    20

    330

    10

    220

    55%

    66%

    “

  • Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Leasehold Advisory Service about future demands on its services for free legal advice from leaseholders, landlords, professional advisers, managers and others as a result of expanding the right-to-buy scheme to Housing Association tenants.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    We are working collaboratively with the sector in implementing the Right to Buy extension; Ministers and senior officials continue to engage with partners.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential for the UK to be a world leader in (a) production of, (b) use of and (c) research into autonomous vehicle technology; and what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of practice developed in autonomous vehicle projects and research in Sweden.

    Andrew Jones

    We recognise the transformative potential that connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technologies have for mobility and our transport system, and the significant opportunities that exist for UK industry in their development and commercialisation.

    That is why we are committed to the development of CAVs, maintaining and improving the UK’s world leading position. Together with industry, academia, and cities we are running trials of CAVs in four cities in England, and have plans for a connected corridor on a key route combining urban roads and motorways. We are also funding research into intelligent mobility focusing on connected and autonomous vehicles.

    The Government has also announced:

    – A £20 million collaborative R&D competition, match-funded by industry, to explore user behaviours, and how other road users will respond to these technologies.

    – A world-leading, Code of Practice for driverless cars to help make UK best place for testing without placing additional regulatory burden on industry.

    – A new joint policy team, the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), which will act as a single point of contact for industry and co-ordinate/enhance government activity.

    There are a number of other countries, including Sweden that are trialling driverless vehicles. We will review outcomes of both the UK and international trials and take forward the valuable insights they will provide for policy development.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many new affordable homes to (a) rent and (b) buy will be built via section 106 Planning Obligations on the direct commissioning sites at (i) Old Oak Common, (ii) Northstowe, (iii) Lower Grayling Well, (iv) Connaught Barracks and (v) Daedelus Waterfront.

    Brandon Lewis

    The holding costs for the site relate to the entirety of the site and are consistent with the legal and health and safety obligations of the Homes and Communities Agency as land owner.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which vaping or e-cigarette products the NHS can prescribe to help smokers quit; and what the process was for selecting those products.

    Jane Ellison

    Only e-cigarettes that have been granted a marketing authorisation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) can be prescribed by the National Health Service.

    By law, before a medicine can be placed on the market, it must be given a marketing authorisation (product licence) by a medicines regulator. The United Kingdom regulator is the MHRA. A specially trained panel of medicines assessors reviews all the available evidence arising out of the pre-clinical research and clinical trials. Manufacturers may also be asked to supply additional information. The MHRA also inspects the factory where the medicine is to be made, to make sure that supplies will be of a uniformly and consistently high standard.

    To date one e-cigarette, e-Voke (10and 15mg electronic inhalers) has been granted a marketing authorisation by the MHRA. It is, however, not yet commercially available on the UK market to prescribe.

    It is a commercial decision whether to apply to a medicines regulator for a marketing authorisation.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Government expects to accrue to the public purse from the planned annual charge on Australian and New Zealand citizens for use of the NHS.

    James Brokenshire

    The Impact Assessment published on 4 February 2016, alongside the draft Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2016, estimates that a net additional £41 million could be raised for the NHS in present value, over 5 years, in 2016-17 prices, by applying the health charge to Australian and New Zealand nationals and reducing the annual health charge for Youth Mobility Scheme visa applicants from £200 to £150.

    The Impact Assessment can be viewed at the link below and is also available in the Vote Office (Commons): http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2016/9780111143278/impacts

    These changes are subject to affirmative resolution and will be debated in the House of Commons and House of Lords. If they are approved by Parliament, the Government plans to implement the changes from 6 April.

    The Government think it only fair that Australian and New Zealand nationals contribute to the UK’s health service in the same way as other non-EEA nationals. The changes will only apply to Australian and New Zealand nationals who plan to enter the UK for a temporary period of more than six months; visitors will not need to pay the charge and Australians and New Zealanders will continue to benefit from our reciprocal healthcare agreements.

    Further, the Government has in recognition of the close and important links between our countries, agreed during discussions with the Australian and New Zealand Governments, to reduce the health charge that applies to the Youth Mobility Scheme from £200 to £150 in line with students. This is the category used by more than half of Australian and New Zealand nationals granted visa’s to the UK.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January to Question 22232, when he plans to publish the findings of the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study.

    Claire Perry

    The Study is expected to be completed shortly, and the Government will subsequently consider the timeframe for releasing the study findings, including our response.