Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Graham Allen – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Graham Allen – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Nottingham North; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.

    As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.

    The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.

    It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

  • Tim Farron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tim Farron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding her Department has provided to (a) install fencing around the perimeter of the railhead at Coquelles, France, (b) install CCTV at the railhead at Coquelles and (c) strengthen security within the Channel Tunnel since 20 August 2015.

    James Brokenshire

    HM Government has invested over £20 million to reinforce border security through infrastructure improvements at the juxtaposed ports. This has included £7 million for fencing at Coquelles and we are further supporting Eurotunnel with key physical security costs related to the migrant pressures there. This includes funding 100 Eurotunnel security guards and essential security infrastructure work.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many training places he plans to commission in England for new entrants to become (a) nurses and (b) midwives in each year between 2016 and 2020.

    Ben Gummer

    Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for ensuring that the workforce has the right numbers, skills, values and behaviours to meet the needs of patients.

    HEE produces an annual Workforce Plan for England, with the 2016/17 plan scheduled to go to the HEE Board in December 2015 and published shortly after. This will include details of the nursing and midwifery commissions for 2016/17.

    As a result, there is no forecast available beyond the 2015/16 commissions data published in the 2015/16 workforce plan in December 2014.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason high security vehicles were being used to transport components of nuclear weapons through Glasgow on 29 July 2015 after being withdrawn from service.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The High Security Vehicle was withdrawn from service on 31 July 2015 and has therefore not been used for operations since that date. The decision to withdraw the vehicle was taken by Defence Equipment and Support. I am withholding further information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals for stricter laws dealing with people who abuse animals.

    George Eustice

    There are a number of existing laws, most notably the Animal Welfare Act 2006, that already provide enforcement agencies and courts with suitable powers to investigate and deal with people who are found to have abused animals.

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will review the regulation of service charges to ensure that housing associations are not exploiting residents.

    Brandon Lewis

    Service charges are subject to legal requirements that limit these to covering the cost of providing the services. The Social Housing Regulator requires that providers give clear information to tenants about how their service charges are set. If tenants feel their service charges are too high they may make a complaint through their landlord’s formal complaints procedure.

  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing net metering; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We have not made a specific assessment of the impact which introducing net metering could have on the UK energy system. However, we are currently consulting on the future of the feed-in tariff and will consider all stakeholder views, including any representations on net metering, as part of the government response. The consultation closes on 23rd October 2015.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much (a) fair price and (b) non-fair price milk was purchased for Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London in August 2015; and what plans she has to ensure that only fair price milk is used at Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London.

    George Eustice

    £28,780 worth of fresh milk has been purchased by Eurest (Defra’s catering services provider) since 1 April 2015. This is distributed across Defra sites on a supply and demand basis. All milk purchased by Eurest is sourced from the UK. Eurest pay above the average monthly farm gate price for all our milk, which includes use at Nobel House.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has any plans to reduce the length of deployments for Royal Navy personnel; and if he will make a statement.

    Penny Mordaunt

    There is currently no plan to reduce the length of deployments for Royal Navy personnel.

  • Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will delay the implementation of the removal of the pre-accreditation scheme from the Feed-in Tariff.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The removal of pre-accreditation was implemented as of 1 October. We consider this removal is important in maximising value-for-money deployment under the scheme.

    We consider that the proposals set out in the FIT Review consultation, in particular the introduction of deployment caps, would be an appropriate means of enabling control of overall scheme costs. In this context, we consulted on the possible reintroduction of pre-accreditation for all participants or certain groups only, subject to wider affordability considerations.