Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals work at administrator grade staff level in the General Secretariat of the European Council; and what proportion of the total number of General Secretariat employees they represent.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The General Secretariat of the Council does not publish statistics on numbers of permanent staff by nationality. As of April 2015, our records show there were 53 British citizens working at administrator grade level in the General Secretariat of the Council, representing 1.5% of approximately 3500 total staff employed by the General Secretariat in 2015.

  • Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to ensure the continued development of GP networks.

    Alistair Burt

    The Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund has enabled groups of general practitioner (GP) practices, often collaborating with others such as community pharmacies or ambulance services, to provide new and expanded services together. Operating under a single contract within a local area and sharing work and resources has enabled the 2,500 practices in the programme to significantly develop their networks.

    Most of the GP Access Fund schemes have, through the programme, strengthened their arrangements for collaboration, developed a more prominent identity with patients, and grown their leadership and management capabilities. This has been facilitated by the support programme put in place by NHS England, helping the networks to make faster progress on issues such as information technology, governance and care redesign. It has also built a legacy of more cohesive and capable teams for the future.

    NHS England has supported the creation of the Royal College of General Practitioners’ network of federations, which is growing rapidly as a high quality resource for practices wishing to deepen their collaboration and improve services for patients. Funding for this to continue into 2016/17 has been confirmed.

    The New Care Models Programme is also supporting networks of GP practices to come together with community, mental health and hospital services to provide more joined-up care for patients.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to his oral contribution of 18 April 2016, Official Report, column 712, on the national minimum wage, what correspondence his Department has received from employers asking not to be named and shamed for breach of the legislation in each year since that approach was implemented.

    Nick Boles

    Since the naming scheme began we have received 107 representations from employers asking not to be named: 1 in 2013, 35 in 2014 and 71 in 2015.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in her Department in 2015-16.

    George Eustice

    Core Defra publishes Workforce Management Information on a monthly basis. This sets out the number of staff who are a) on payroll and b) off payroll and the published data covers financial years 2010-11 to 2015-16. It can be found at the following link: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/workforce-management-information-defra.

    No civil servants within Core Defra are paid through limited companies.

    The figure for spend on non-payroll staff in 2015-16 will be published in the 2015-16 Annual Report and Accounts.

    “

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Question 27306, if his Department will undertake analysis to understand the potential benefits for bus passengers of the municipal bus company model.

    Andrew Jones

    There are only 8 existing municipal bus companies operating services in England and the Department does not currently have any plans to undertake analysis on the potential benefits of the municipal bus company model.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department for International Development will provide funding to the International Planned Parenthood Federation in 2017.

    Lord Bates

    The International Planned Parenthood Federation, together with other civil society organisations, has long played an important role in promoting the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of the world’s poorest girls and women. The Government is committed to this agenda, for example through the delivery of our commitment to work for access to family planning for everyone who wants it.

    The Government intends to publish the reviews of our development assistance, including the Civil Society Partnership Review (CSPR), shortly. The ways we will deliver our commitments globally and at country level, including with civil society partners, will be set out and further developed following publication of the reviews.


  • Lord Grocott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Grocott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Grocott on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they define (1) a fatal, and (2) a non-fatal, motion, or amendment to a motion, relating to a statutory instrument.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The Companion to the Standing Orders distinguishes between amendments to approval motions whose effect is to withhold the agreement of the House to an affirmative instrument, and amendments or motions that do not prevent approval of the instrument (Companion to the Standing Orders, Para. 10.14). The terms “fatal” and “non-fatal” do not appear.

    The amendments in the name of Baroness Meacher and Baroness Hollis of Heigham passed by the House on 26 October withheld the House’s agreement to the Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and Determination of Rates) Regulations 2015.

  • Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures she has implemented in response to the recommendations of the review panel overseeing the VCS Transitions Grant Programme which made its report in February 2011.

    Edward Timpson

    The Independent Review Panel of the grant transition programme was commissioned in 2011. The aim of the Independent Review Panel was to inform advice put to the Secretary of State. We do not publish advice given to Ministers.

    The advice of the Independent ReviewPanel informed the allocation process of awarding grants to the Voluntary and Community Sector in 2011-13. A ‘lessons learned’ exercise has been part of each subsequent grants allocation round. Guidance regarding the allocation of grants is reviewed routinely to ensure that it is robust and fit for purpose.

  • 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 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will review the decision by the Environment Agency to turn off five satellite pumping stations in 2017 operating in the Alt Crossens catchment.

    Rory Stewart

    By serving a two-year notice period on the five pumping stations in Alt Crossens, the Environment Agency intends to provide time for all local parties to agree on an alternative solution for managing the pumps. I hope all the local parties will continue to work with the Environment Agency to agree a way forward.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to preserve lapwing habitats.

    Rory Stewart

    The lapwing is listed under Section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 as a species of principal importance in England and is consequently a priority for conservation action. Large aggregations of lapwings, along with other breeding and wintering birds, occur on protected sites containing lowland wet grassland, including over 28,000 hectares of Sites of Special Scientific Interest where lapwings are specifically recognised and benefit from targeted management of their habitats.

    Lapwings are a widespread species, and the majority occur outside protected sites in a range of habitats including grassland and open moorland. Under our agri-environment schemes, such as Environmental Stewardship, a range of funded management options has been developed to provide suitable nesting and foraging conditions for lapwings, within and outside protected sites across their diverse habitats, including an option for creating bare-ground nesting plots on arable land. There are currently approximately 7,800 hectares of such plots in place under Environmental Stewardship. The new Countryside Stewardship scheme, launched in July 2015, will continue this important work by providing a Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package, which contains options to improve habitats and provide food for farmland birds such as lapwings. Countryside Stewardship also, for the first time, includes options for capital items supporting the construction of anti-predator fencing, which are likely to increase the survival of lapwing chicks.