Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his North Korean counterpart on the recent nuclear weapons tests conducted in that country; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I summoned the North Korean (DPRK) Ambassador on 7 January. During the meeting, I underlined the UK’s firm condemnation of the nuclear test which was a serious violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. I also made clear to the Ambassador that his country risked increased isolation and further action by the international community should it continue to threaten international security. I told the Ambassador that the North Korean regime should focus on feeding its people rather than regional instability.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the statement on page 1 of Network Rail’s report, Replanning the Investment Programme, published on 25 November 2015, that there will be a reduction in renewals activity in Control Period 5, what renewal works Network Rail intends to defer into Control Period 6; and what the planned expenditure was on those works in Control Period 5.

    Claire Perry

    The Office of Rail and Road’s Final Determination for Control Period 5[1] assumed that Network Rail would spend £12.1bn on renewals between 2014-2019. Network Rail is reviewing its plans for the coming financial year and will publish an updated Delivery Plan in March containing detailed forward plans for the delivery of operations, maintenance and renewals up to 2019.

    [1] http://orr.gov.uk/publications/reports/final-determination

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in receipt of a war disablement pension are also in receipt of the (a) age-related tax allowance, (b) allowance for lowered standard of occupation and (c) unemployability supplement.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on how many people in receipt of a War Pension are also in receipt of the age-related tax allowance, as this is administered by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. However, as at 31 March 2015 (the latest date information is available) there were 41,470* disablement pensioners born before 6 April 1938 who may meet the eligibility criteria to receive age-related tax allowance.

    As at 31 March 2015 (the latest date information is available) there were 116,050 disablement pensioners in receipt of an ongoing pension under the War Pension Scheme. Of these, 10,195 were in receipt of an allowance for lowered standard of occupation, and 6,250 were in receipt of unemployability supplement. All payments made under the War Pension Scheme are tax free.

    These figures can be found on the Gov.uk website at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/war-pension-recipients-index

    * In line with Defence Statistics’ Rounding Policy for War Pension Scheme data, all figures of five or more have been rounded to the nearest five.

  • Jeffrey M. Donaldson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jeffrey M. Donaldson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeffrey M. Donaldson on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funding he plans to allocate to the Royal Irish Aftercare Service in the next financial year.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The Ulster Defence Regiment and The Royal Irish Regiment (Home Service) Aftercare Service provides a vital service to support all veterans and dependants of those Regiments as well as sick and wounded personnel who leave the Armed Forces and wish to settle in Northern Ireland. Around £900,000 has been allocated to deliver this service in financial year 2016-17. Looking ahead as part of our commitment to deliver the most effective and efficient services to our veterans the Ministry of Defence is considering integrating the Aftercare Service into the MOD’s broader veterans welfare organisation, Veterans UK.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on average patient waiting times of the use of closed waiting lists at GP surgeries.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has not assessed waiting times for appointments, as each practice decides how to operate in order to meet the contractual requirement to meet the reasonable needs of their patients. The needs of patients can vary considerably from one practice to another.

    NHS England does not routinely collect data on either general practitioner (GP) appointment or GP registration waiting times. NHS England is currently establishing a new collection process to gather information on closed patient lists routinely. Therefore, it is not able currently to assess the impact of a practice closing their list on appointment waiting times.

    Practices may only close their lists to new patients with the approval of NHS England.

    NHS England works with GP practices to ensure patient lists remain open wherever possible. It is possible that the reasons for closing a practice list impact on the flow of appointments to existing patients e.g. with the sudden loss of a GP, but such effects will often be temporary.

    Any patient struggling to find a practice accepting new patients can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre for support.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of uninsured vehicles in the UK; and how many vehicles were seized for unpaid insurance in each year since 2009-10.

    Andrew Jones

    Since 2011 the Government has had in place an insurance and compliance strategy, namely the Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) scheme operated by DVLA and the Motor Insurers Bureau, which aims to reduce the level of uninsured driving.

    It is estimated that CIE has already helped reduce levels of uninsured driving from 1.4 million in 2010 to 1 million vehicles now.

    The police have powers under Section 165A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to seize a vehicle that is being used on a public road without motor insurance. How police enforce the law is an operational matter for their discretion.

    The table below shows the number of vehicles seized by the police for driving without insurance.

    Year

    2009

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    vehicles seized

    180,000

    150,000

    140,000

    137,000

    135,000

    116,000

    121,000

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people working for her Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Matt Hancock

    All employees are by law required to be paid the National Living Wage. No directly employed or agency staff are employed on zero hour contacts.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications his Department has received for the Widening Access Tax Rebate Scheme for trainee psychologists in each year since the rebate scheme has been in operation.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs does not hold information on the specific course undertaken so is unable to provide figures for the number of applications for trainee psychologists.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether standard patient health assessments by GPs include assessing eye health.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government recognises that regular sight tests are an important measure in preventing avoidable sight loss.

    Free National Health Service sight tests are available to many, including children, people aged 60 and over, people on benefits and those people at particular risk of developing eye disease.

    We do not determine what should be included in health checks or consultation between general practitioners (GPs) and their patients. This is for GPs to decide, taking into account the individual needs of patients.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the size of the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron has been in each year since 2010.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Each year since 2010 the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron (RNGS) has consisted of two SCIMITAR Class Patrol Boats, HMS SCIMITAR and HMS SABRE and three Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs). It is also frequently bolstered by Royal Navy vessels transiting the region.

    Since 2010 there have been 22 stationed personnel which were increased by five temporary augmentees following a pattern of increased Spanish incursions in 2012. After a review in 2014 the number of personnel was permanently uplifted to 26.

    The following table represents the financial expenditure incurred by British Forces Gibraltar in support of the RNGS in each year since 2010.

    Figures are in millions.

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    1.3

    1.4

    1.4

    1.3

    1.5

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