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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking on behalf of enslaved Yazidi women who have been sold on to other Islamic countries; what assessment they have made of the countries to which such women have been transported; and what plans they have to help recover those women from those countries, in particular Turkey.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In the last few years, the UK has led the world on tackling sexual violence in conflict, working with international partners such as the UN, EU and Red Cross. In the Middle East, we are supporting vulnerable women and girls through our role in the international humanitarian relief effort. The more than £1.1 billion we are providing in response to these crises is the UK’s largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.

    Turkey makes a critical contribution to the international campaign against Daesh as a key member of the Global Coalition, including by co-chairing the Coalition’s Foreign Terrorist Fighters working group. It continues to take steps to tackle smuggling into and out of Daesh-controlled territory across its border with Syria.

    Ultimately, the only way to protect civilians, including Yazidi women, from Daesh is by defeating this terrible organisation, which in turn requires, amongst other things, ending the conflict in Syria. The UK has been at the forefront of these efforts. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), set out the Government’s comprehensive strategy for dealing with Daesh and the conflict in Syria in his response to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 26 November 2015.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will introduce a requirement that Local Government Pension Scheme funds be invested in infrastructure projects.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Administering authorities in the local government pension scheme in England and Wales have been asked to explain the proportion of their funds currently allocated to infrastructure projects and what proportion they intend to invest in infrastructure in the future. The benefits of scale achieved under the new pooling arrangements will enable authorities to be more ambitious and invest in infrastructure in a way that will help drive local growth.

    Administering authorities have also been asked to submit their detailed proposals for pooling their assets, including their plans to invest in infrastructure, by 19 July. The proposals will then be assessed to establish whether they comply with the Department’s criteria for the pooling of scheme assets, including infrastructure.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on gambling addiction of limiting the stake on fixed odds betting terminals; and if he will make a statement.

    David Evennett

    The Government published the Evaluation of Gaming Machine (Circumstances of Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 on 21 January. The Evaluation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-gaming-machine-circumstances-of-useamendment-regulations-2015

    The evaluation indicates that a large proportion of players of FOBTs may now be making a more conscious choice to control their playing behaviour and their stake level. We will now consider the findings of the evaluation before deciding if there is a need for further action.

    “

  • Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the likelihood of private hire operators straddling licensing authorities in order to avoid more thorough licensing requirements under the Deregulation Act 2015.

    Andrew Jones

    Before these measures were introduced, the Department undertook an informal targeted consultation, which focused on key stakeholders such as national licencing associations, respected solicitors in the taxi and private hire industry and a union. The Department also conducted an impact assessment for this policy.

  • Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans her Department has for ensuring an orderly shutdown of coal-fired power plants as the Government moves towards taking all coal-fired power plants offline by 2025; and what consideration her Department has given to the numerous technical mechanisms that necessarily entail removing all coal-fired stations simultaneously.

    Andrea Leadsom

    My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has announced that the Department will be launching a consultation on proposals to end unabated coal generation by 2025. Options will be set out in that consultation.

  • Lord Willoughby de Broke – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Willoughby de Broke – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willoughby de Broke on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 17 June (HL446), why that answer did not include the information that on 8 June the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, announced an extension until 15 October of the payment window for the Rural Payment Agency to make payments to qualifying farmers.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Commissioner Hogan announced his intention to allow applications from Member States for CAP direct payments to be made after the closure of the payment window without incurring the penalties that would otherwise fall on paying agencies for making late payments. Defra and the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) noted this announcement.

    Once we have received information from all UK paying agencies concerning the value of payments made by 30 June, we will be in a position to consider whether the UK should submit a request for such penalties to be waived.

    The RPA remains focused on getting top up 2015 BPS payments to those that received bridging payments, out as promptly as possible.

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which authority is responsible for the safety of (a) beach users and (b) swimmers at beaches in Gwynedd.

    Mr John Hayes

    Safety at public beaches is generally the responsibility of the local authority, who carry out risk assessments to determine appropriate safety measures.

    Gwynedd Council have information guides about beach and harbour safety on their website.

  • Ian Murray – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ian Murray – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on the devolution of abortion legislation to the Scottish Parliament.

    Jane Ellison

    I have had discussions with Ministers on the Smith Commission Agreement and the Scotland Bill. The Secretary of State for Scotland has spoken to women’s groups in Scotland about devolution of abortion legislation, and Department of Health officials have had informal discussions and communication with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on this matter.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of whether the Code of Conduct for bookmakers is meeting the aims for which it was drawn up.

    Tracey Crouch

    All betting shop operators are required by the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Code of Practice to have social responsibility policies and processes in place. In addition, the industry trade body the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) has a mandatory code of conduct in place, which is reviewed regularly to evaluate its effectiveness.

    I have explained to the industry that I expect them to demonstrate that they are improving existing player protection initiatives and evaluating the effects of previous initiatives. As I said at the recent RGT harm minimisation conference, government and industry should never feel that there is an end point to social responsibility. Industry owes a duty of care to its customers.

  • Baroness Pinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Pinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what strategic oversight is provided to acute hospital trusts in determining the location of specialties in hospitals within that trust.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England has advised that it does not collect data on the average time taken in England for the ambulance service to take a patient from their home to an accident and emergency department.

    The Government is clear the reconfiguration of front line health services is a matter for the local NHS. Services should be tailored to meet the needs of the local population, and proposals for substantial service change must meet the four tests of reconfiguration which are: (i) support from GP commissioners; (ii) strengthened public and patient engagement; (iii) clarity on the clinical evidence base and (iv) support for patient choice.

    Locally driven elements of reconfiguration mean delivery will largely be managed by NHS England, who will work closely with commissioners, the Trust Development Authority and Monitor, and only approve the progression of proposals to consultation that have local support. We are aware that NHS England, in their guidance ‘Planning and delivering service changes for patients’, emphasise that NHS service change planners include an analysis of distance and travel times, the impact of these on transport users, as well as the ambulance service. A copy of this guidance is attached.