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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • 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 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department plans to respond to the letter sent to it by the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments in November 2015.

    Ben Gummer

    As part of my introduction to the Cabinet Office, I plan to meet the Chairmen of the Cabinet Office sponsored NDPBs to discuss the workings of their respective Bodies and this will include the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments following which I will reply to the Chairman’s letter.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to carry out a review of the system of granting visas to Palestinians coming to the UK on exchange schemes; and if so, when.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    There are no plans to change the visa system for Palestinians living in East Jerusalem or Ramallah.

    As set out in the Immigration Rules, applications for a visit visa or EEA family permit can be made in any visa application centre, British diplomatic mission or consular post overseas where entry clearance applications are accepted. Applications for other types of entry clearance should be made in the applicant’s country of residence. Where there is no post in the country of residence, applications should be made to the designated application post.

    There are three Visa Application Centres in the Occupied Palestinian Territories designated by the Secretary of State to accept visas applications. These are the Visa Application Centre at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem, the British Information and Services Office in Gaza City, and the British Council office in Ramallah. Applicants choose the location for their appointment to submit their application at the end of the online application process.

  • Lord Teverson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Teverson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Teverson on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that the current visa regime has had on international student numbers in the UK.

    Lord Bates

    The student migration system we inherited was too weak, and open to widespread abuse, damaging the UK’s reputation as a provider of world-class education.

    We have clamped down on immigration abuse from poor quality institutions selling immigration rather than education, and since 2010 we have struck off more than 900 bogus colleges. Visa applications for the further education sector, where abuse has been most prevalent over recent years, are down 74 per cent compared with 2010.

    At the same time, we have maintained a highly competitive offer for international students who would like to study at our world-class institutions. This is borne out by the figures: visa applications from international students to study at British universities are up by 17 per cent since 2010, whilst visa applications to our world-leading Russell Group institutions are up by 33 per cent since 2010.

    We will continue to reform the student visa system to tackle abuse and deliver an effective immigration system that works in the national interest.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of how many and what proportion of homeless people (a) are ex-service personnel, (b) have mental health problems and (c) identify as LGBT.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the value of the agricultural and horticultural industries to West Lancashire; and how many people were employed directly and through the supply chain in that industry in that area.

    George Eustice

    In 2014 the value of agricultural and horticultural output for the north-west of England was £1.96 billion and gross value added (contribution to economy) was £0.82 billion. In 2013, there were 12,198 commercial agricultural holdings in the north west region. The total farmed area on these holdings was approximately 909,000 hectares and the agricultural labour force was made up of almost 32,000 people, 0.94% of the workforce in the region.

    Within West Lancashire in 2013 there were 406 commercial agricultural holdings. The total farmed area on these holdings was approximately 23,000 hectares and the agricultural labour force was made up of almost 2,300 people.

    Although farmers in West Lancashire are still uncovering the full extent of the damage caused by the recent flooding, we understand some arable producers have been badly affected. Under the Farm Recovery Fund these farmers will be able to receive funding towards the cost of restoring their agricultural land to the state it was in before it was flooded. Applications for this funding should be submitted by 1 April 2016.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the rollout of universal credit on the level of rent arrears to registered social landlords.

    Priti Patel

    This information is not collected centrally.

    Statistics are published annually on the total value of local authority social housing rent arrears, broken down by Local Authority area. They were most recently published on the Government’s website for 2014-15:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-housing-data#2014-to-2015

    “

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is his policy to accept and implement the (a) 25 recommendations made to NHS England and (b) 21 recommendations made to his Department by the Mental Health Taskforce in its report published in February 2016.

    Alistair Burt

    We welcome the publication of the independent Mental Health Taskforce report and accept its recommendations for the National Health Service and the Department. We will work with other Government Departments, NHS England and other health arm’s length bodies to work to embed the recommendations into our work programmes.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received on the future funding of research into mesothelioma.

    George Freeman

    The Government agrees that more mesothelioma research is needed and has taken measures to stimulate an increase in the level of research activity.

    Patients, carers, clinicians and funders have worked in partnership to identify what the priorities in research are. Following a survey and a workshop, the top 10 mesothelioma research priorities were announced in December 2014. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) published a final report from the Priority Setting Partnership in July 2015. In advance of the identification of research questions by this partnership, the NIHR highlighted to the research community that it wanted to encourage research applications in mesothelioma.

    The NIHR subsequently invited researchers to apply for mesothelioma research funding, in particular to address the research questions identified through the partnership. Eight NIHR programmes participated in this themed call. Fifteen individual applications were received, of which two have been approved for funding.

    In addition, the NIHR Research Design Service continues to be able to help prospective applicants develop competitive research proposals. This service is well-established and has

    10 regional bases across England. It supports researchers to develop and design high-quality proposals for submission to NIHR itself and also to other national, peer-reviewed funding competitions for applied health or social care research.

    The National Cancer Research Institute is facilitating ongoing dialogue between relevant research funders on the topic of mesothelioma, to discuss what the barriers to research are and what is needed to stimulate research in the field.

    The Chancellor’s Budget Report committed £5 million of LIBOR fines over the next four years for the National Mesothelioma Centre.

    The Department has received recent representations relating to funding of mesothelioma research from the Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK and from several hon. Members on behalf of constituents.

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

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to review the position of people serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection who are significantly over tariff and assessed as low or medium risk.

    Andrew Selous

    I refer the Rt. Hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave for PQ 38441, answered on 6 June 2016.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will review the powers of local authority pensions schemes to indirectly invest in companies linked with the manufacture of cluster munitions.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Investment decisions in the local government pension scheme are the responsibility of the 90 designated administering authorities in England and Wales and must be taken on the basis of expert advice and in compliance with the Scheme’s regulatory framework. Since 2000, pension fund authorities have been required to publish a statement of investment principles, including their policy on the extent to which social, environmental or ethical considerations are to be taken into account in the selection, retention and realisation of investments. The regulations also require that each statement is published locally.

    We have no immediate plans to change these existing obligations, but will keep them under review.