Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the quality and nutritional value of food served to the Armed Forces.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    All food procured for Ministry of Defence (MOD) personnel must comply with MOD food quality standards. These standards comply with all UK and EU production standards, Farm Assurance or equivalent. The Defence Food Quality Standards (DFQS) establishes the minimum quality criteria that the Department requires a supplier to deliver. It sets the standard of what food and ingredients should be provided as part of the contracts to provide nutritious and balanced meals to Service Personnel. The DFQS publication is available online through the gov.uk website at:

    (www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479299/20151006-DFQS-V12-U.pdf).

    The MOD requires all of its food suppliers to comply with both EU and National legislation whilst operating to industry standards and monitors the suppliers’ compliance with the DFQS through a combination of product testing and conducting inspections of their premises/production facilities.

  • John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was raised from VAT on (a) renovating empty buildings, (b) building conversions, (c) children’s car seats, (d) carry cots and (e) mobility aids for the elderly in each of the last five years.

    Mr David Gauke

    This level of detail is not requested on VAT returns and therefore data is not available on how much VAT was raised on (a) renovating empty buildings, (b) building conversions, (c) children’s car seats, (d) carry cots and (e) mobility aids for the elderly in each of the last five years.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the value of the content of the new P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft will be sourced from UK suppliers.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle) on 3 December 2015 in response to Question 17838.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent steps she has taken to ensure that (a) there is investment in UK renewable energy projects and (b) the UK meets its renewable energy targets.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We have announced our intention to hold three further Contract For Difference allocation rounds in this Parliament. At Budget 2016, we announced the budget for these allocation rounds. Applicants in the first allocation round will compete for £290m of annual support, which is being made available from 2021/22 onwards. Over the 3 rounds we are planning to allocate £730m of annual support. We will announce further details in relation to the next allocation round, as soon as possible . More details of future rounds will follow in due course.

    Our estimates show that we are on track to deliver 35% of the UK’s electricity from renewables in 2020/21, exceeding our ambition of 30%. We have announced the Renewable Heat Incentive budget will continue to March 2021 when it will reach £1.15 billion and Department for Transport will be consulting, later this year, on meeting the transport fuel sub-target of 10%.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent payday loan companies from advertising financial services from third party companies to customers during the loan application process.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, transferring regulatory responsibility from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014. This more robust regulatory system is helping to deliver the Government’s vision for a well-functioning and sustainable consumer credit market which is able to meet consumers’ needs.

    The FCA has introduced detailed rules regarding firms’ promotions and advertisements. It has consulted on possible new rules, including forbidding financial promotions appearing in or among the rankings of price comparison websites comparing high-cost short-term credit.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what measures are in place to prevent people remanded in custody from accessing social media platforms.

    Andrew Selous

    An extensive programme of work is underway to prevent prisoners having access to mobile phones. As the Prime Minister said on 8 February 2016, we are working with the mobile network operators to challenge them to do more, including developing new technological solutions, so we can block mobile phones’ signals in prisons.

    Although there are no rules to prevent prisoners on remand from passing on passwords for social media platforms, prisoners, including those on remand in custody, are not allowed access to social media platforms either directly or via a third party.

    It is a criminal offence for a person to take or transmit any image or sound from within a prison and send it outside the prison and where a link between a prisoner and content posted on social media is identified, the case will be referred to the police. A sentence of up to two years can be given if those charged are found guilty. If the police decide not to pursue a criminal investigation, a prisoner can be punished under the prison disciplinary system, for example, by having privileges removed or additional days added to their time in prison.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans consider the overall health economy of a region including the effect on (a) GPs, (b) hospitals, (c) pharmacies, (d) ambulance services and (e) all other health services.

    David Mowat

    For their Sustainability and Transformation Plan, local areas, including commissioners, providers and local authorities, have come together to decide how to improve services in the medium and long term. This is a unique exercise in collaboration, with local doctors, hospitals and councils working together to decide the way forward in consultation with local communities. This approach will ensure that all services within a local health economy are considered.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have had corrective laser eye surgery in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    Corrective laser eye surgery (surgery to correct a refractive error) is not routinely carried out on the National Health Service other than for exceptional clinical reasons. Refractive errors can be successful corrected with glasses or contact lenses. Data is not collected on the number of corrective laser eye surgery procedures carried out in the independent sector or on the number of successful or unsuccessful procedures.

    The following table, provided by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, shows a count of Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) for those diagnosed with disorders of refraction and accommodation who underwent corrective laser eye surgery between 2009-10 to 2013-14. This data includes a range of laser eye surgery procedures and is therefore not exclusive to corrective laser eye surgery.

    Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector

    Year

    FAEs

    2009-10

    318

    2010-11

    241

    2011-12

    276

    2012-13

    176

    2013-14

    195

    Source:Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the last RAF Tornado GR4 navigator completed their training.

    Earl Howe

    Tornado GR4 Weapons Systems Officers (navigators) continue to be trained until the projected completion of the final course in March 2017.

  • Stewart Jackson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stewart Jackson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve teacher recruitment in local education authority areas with poor educational attainment; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    The Government is committed to achieving educational excellence everywhere so that children in every part of the country, regardless of their background and circumstances, have access to an outstanding education.

    High-quality teachers are central to that ambition, and we have recently announced the establishment of a new National Teaching Service (NTS) that will second outstanding teachers and middle leaders into the schools that most need support, particularly in areas of the country that find it hardest to retain and recruit good teachers. Our ambition is that by 2020 there will be 1,500 NTS teachers/middle leaders in underperforming schools in areas of the country facing particular challenges in terms of teacher quality and recruitment. The NTS will begin with a pilot of 100 outstanding teachers and middle leaders in the North West from September 2016. Following the pilot the national programme will be rolled out from September 2017 where it will be extended into other regions.

    We are also increasing the number of high-achieving graduates teaching in disadvantaged schools by supporting the geographical expansion of Teach First into every region of England. This gives Teach First the scope to reach 90 per cent of eligible schools by 2016, boosting the Government’s commitment to recruit more top teachers throughout England, including in more rural, coastal and disadvantaged areas. We are continuing to increase the proportion of initial teacher training that is led by schools, and our School Direct programme is giving more head teachers the ability to select, train and employ the teachers they need in their local areas.

    The pay reforms that we have introduced since September 2013 give schools greater autonomy and more freedom to decide how much they pay teachers and how quickly pay progresses. Schools may also choose to use their pupil premium funding to attract or retain the best teachers. This increased flexibility gives schools in disadvantaged areas more scope to attract and recruit the high quality teachers that they need to deliver outstanding education in the most challenging circumstances.