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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect on businesses in London of withdrawing from the EU.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Reforms will benefit business and investment and many businesses in London agree.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what responsibilities are proposed for the (a) elected mayor, (b) North East Combined Authority and (c) North East local enterprise partnership in overseeing the adult skills budget for the North East.

    Greg Hands

    On 23 October the Government signed a historic devolution deal with the North East Combined Authority. As part of the deal, and subject to the passage of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill through parliament, a new directly-elected Mayor for the North East will be created. The Mayor will chair the existing North East Combined Authority. Powers and responsibilities will be devolved from central government to the Mayor and Combined Authority.

    Full details of the deal are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/north-east-devolution-deal

    A detailed implementation plan will be agreed over the coming months between central government and the North East Combined Authority.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the introduction of proposed reductions in tax credits is not being phased in.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government wants to move from a low wage, high tax, high welfare economy to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society. By 2017-18, 8 out of 10 working households will be better off as a result of the personal allowance, living wage and welfare changes in the Summer Budget.

    The Tax Credit changes are being phased in in two stages. The taper, threshold and income disregard will change from April 2016. The changes to the Child Element and Family Element in Child Tax Credit will come into effect from April 2017.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many applications have been submitted for the voucher broadband scheme; how many such applications came from Northern Ireland; how many of these have been approved; and if he will make available new programmes of broadband funding.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Scheme has been a great success with SMEs right across the UK benefitting from broadband speeds on average 10 times faster than existing connections. My department collects routine data from participating cities, who are responsible for administering broadband connection vouchers in accordance with scheme terms and conditions showing vouchers issued rather than applications made.

    As of 30 September 2015 there were over 40,000 vouchers issued in over 50 cities across the UK, of which around 2,000 were issued in Northern Ireland. All decisions regarding new funding are subject to the Spending Review.

  • Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to meet the demand for school places in Crawley.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities are responsible for planning and securing sufficient school places in their area, and supporting them in doing so is one of this Government’s top priorities. We allocate basic need funding to local authorities to help create new school places where they are needed. West Sussex has been allocated £57 million of basic need funding for the period 2015-18. West Sussex also received £113 million between 2011 and 2015, helping to create 8,565 new school places between 2010 and 2014. In addition to this, the Gatwick School, an all-through free school that opened in September 2014, is due to provide 1,020 additional places once at full capacity.

    Information on basic need allocations can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/basic-need-allocations-2015-to-2018

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  • Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her policy is on the introduction of net metering for (a) domestic and (b) commercial electricity generating installations.

    Andrea Leadsom

    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.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has received from his Israeli counterpart on the recent violence in that region; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    As I said in my statement of 13 October, the UK Government remains extremely concerned by the violence that we have seen across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories so far this month. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) also made a statement on 9 October condemning the violence.

    Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to the Israeli government, urging them to de-escalate the tensions.

    On 16 October, the Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser spoke to Israel’s National Security Adviser and reiterated the need for both sides to do everything in their power to calm the situation. On 19 October, the Director of the Middle East and North Africa Directorate in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office spoke to the Israeli Chargé D’Affaires to London, including about the recent violence.

    Our Embassy in Tel Aviv receives regular updates from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 19 October, our Ambassador to Tel Aviv raised our concerns on the recent violence with the Israeli Cabinet Secretary. Most recently, our Defence Attaché to Tel Aviv received a briefing from the Israeli Defence Forces on 21 October on the number of attacks they have so recorded in this latest outbreak of violence.

  • Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is offering to families of British people killed or injured during the 2015 Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    No British nationals were killed or injured in the Hajj crush in Mina on 24 September 2015. However, three British nationals died in a separate incident prior to the Hajj when a crane collapsed in the Grand Mosque in Mecca on 11 September. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office provided consular assistance to all British nationals affected.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sarah Wollaston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how he plans for the Public Health Outcomes Framework to continue to give a comprehensive picture of children’s school readiness, when the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile becomes non-compulsory in September 2016; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The consultation on updating the Public Health Outcomes Framework was published on 3 September and closed on 2 October. We are considering the responses and intend to publish our proposals early next year.

  • Rushanara Ali – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rushanara Ali – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on patients’ safety of removing working hours safeguards from junior doctors’ contract.

    Ben Gummer

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made clear his strong commitment to ensuring safe working in the National Health Service to support his ambition for the NHS to become the safest health care system in the world.

    This includes guaranteeing that a new contract for junior doctors will not impose longer hours and that contractual safeguards will be strengthened – so that some junior doctors work less. For example:

    – No junior doctor will be contractually required to work more than an average of 48 hours a week;

    – The provisions of the Working Time Regulations will continue to apply, and even those who choose to opt-out (legally allowing them to work longer) will be limited to an average of 56 hours a week;

    – Maximum of 72 hours in any week (lower than the current 91 possible under legislation;

    – No shift rostered to exceed 13 hours;

    – No more than five long shifts consecutively (long=more than 10 hours);

    – No more than four night shifts consecutively (where at least three hours fall between 11pm and 6am; and

    – No more than seven consecutive on-call periods.

    To further support safety, a system of agreed work scheduling and reviews will be introduced which will give junior doctorsa contractual right to report exceptions where his or her day-to-day work varies from the work schedule. This includes concerns about hours spent in work (including rest breaks), or the agreed working pattern (including time made available for educational opportunities).

    The contract will require the employer to assess any issues as they arise, and make timely adjustments through a ‘work schedule review’. In exceptional approved circumstances, doctors would be compensated for hours worked outside their work schedule.