Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department gives to ensure that the implications of missing national insurance contributions are made clear to those concerned at the time they are missed.

    Mr David Gauke

    There is a range of guidance available to help a person understand the implications of not paying national insurance. A person’s record can be made up of national insurance contributions and credits from a variety of sources. When these are posted to the individual’s contributions record after the end of the tax year the individual may have insufficient contributions on their account for that year to qualify for certain benefits. These gaps in a person’s national insurance contributions record may be filled by the payment of voluntary Class 3 contributions.
    HM Revenue and Customs has published guidance on GOV.UK that explains when the payment of voluntary Class 3 contributions may be beneficial, eligibility, rates and how and when to pay. This is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions

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  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will direct the College of Policing to disclose the content of each of the training courses it has provided to Saudi police officers.

    Mike Penning

    The College of Policing in common with other organisations, does not routinely publish details of commercial agreements and has no plans to do so. The Home Secretary has no plans to direct the College of Policing to disclose this information.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust paid in relation to the 33 patients admitted to Cygnet, Harrogate in 2014.

    Ben Gummer

    This information is not collected centrally.

    We have written to Derek Brown, Chair of the Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust informing him of the hon. Member’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to distribute a proportion of the frozen assets of the Muammar Gaddafi administration in the UK to the families of people killed (a) by Libyan-supplied semtex and weapons and (b) on flight LW1103.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    There is no legal basis upon which the UK could re-direct frozen Libyan assets or the interest accrued to individuals for the purposes of compensation. Regarding assets which belonged to Qadhafi or other regime figures, the UN Security Council has stipulated that when these are unfrozen, they will be made available to, and for the benefit of the Libyan people. For the duration of time that these assets are frozen, they and any interest they accrue will be governed in accordance with the specific sanctions in place over the individuals or entities to which the assets belong. In this case, the asset freezing measures are set out under EU Regulation 204/2011 which prohibits the release of frozen funds and the interest accrued belonging to listed individuals or entities except in very specific circumstances, which do not apply here.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of cattle have been tested for bovine TB in each of the last three years.

    George Eustice

    Bovine TB is a devolved matter. The figures presented below are for England only.

    Year

    Number of cattle tested during year (millions)

    Cattle population at June 1 (millions)

    2012

    3.4

    5.4

    2013

    3.7

    5.4

    2014

    4.0

    5.3

    Figures for the number of cattle tested for bovine TB represent all cattle tested during a calendar year. Cattle population estimates are as at a single point in time (1 June 2015). It is not, therefore, possible to determine the proportion of the cattle population which was tested in each of these years. All herds in the designated High Risk and Edge Areas of England are subject to annual surveillance testing for bovine TB, except for herds in the part of Cheshire falling within the Edge Area, which is currently subject to six-monthly testing. In the designated Low Risk Area all herds are subject to four yearly surveillance testing for bovine TB, except for certain higher risk herds which are subject to annual testing. Herds in all risk areas may also be subject to additional TB testing as a result of TB breakdowns.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what basis his Department took the decision to remove from the NHS Constitution the phrase ‘psychological therapies’ from the drugs and treatments that have been recommended by NICE; and what discussions his Department has had with NICE on steps to address the lack of parity in the way interventions for mental and physical health are addressed.

    Alistair Burt

    There has never been a specific reference to psychological therapies in the NHS Constitution.

    For the most recent update, we did consult on whether to include a right to psychological therapies, as part of the wider right to drugs and treatments that have been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). However, the right to drugs and treatments reflects the legal funding requirement that applies to interventions recommended by NICE technology appraisal guidance. NICE has not been asked to undertake a technical appraisal of psychological therapies, so we decided that the most sensible outcome was to not include the phrase “psychological therapies” in the Constitution as it would otherwise risk confusion.

    There have been no specific discussions with NICE on parity of mental and physical health interventions. The majority of new drugs and significant license extensions, including for mental health conditions, are referred to NICE for the development of technology appraisal guidance. Ifin the future psychological therapies are recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance and consequently mandated for use in the NHS, we will consider consulting once again on including a right to psychological therapies within the Constitution.

  • Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in the UK are currently in possession of Security Industry Authority licences; and how many such licences were obtained since January 2010.

    Mike Penning

    There are currently 326,144 individuals who hold Security Industry Authority licences. Since 2010, 765,022 licences have been issued.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the 20 highest amounts paid for external legal advice by his Department were in 2014; and to whom such payments were made.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    It would incur disproportionate cost to obtain this information.

  • Zac Goldsmith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Zac Goldsmith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will experience an increase in the effect of noise as a result of the current plan to modernise London’s airspace; what assessment his Department has made of the geographical extent of that increase; and what effect the proposed Heathrow expansion would have on those estimates.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government has not undertaken any such an assessments.

    Proposals for airspace change in the UK are subject to the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Airspace Change Process. A key part of this process is the requirement for airspace change sponsors to consider the potential noise impacts of their proposal and to consult those who may be affected. The CAA takes full account of the potential noise impact when making its decision.

  • Huw Merriman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Huw Merriman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Merriman on 2015-10-12.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many times the Law Officers have referred a criminal sentence to the Court of Appeal for review because it was felt to be unduly lenient during the last twelve months.

    Jeremy Wright

    In the year to 31st December 2014, the Law Officers personally considered 469 cases and referred 128 offenders to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. 86% of those offenders had their sentences increased, which included some of the most serious violent and sexual offences, including murder, rape and sexual assault. The full statistics for 2015 will be published early next year.