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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Chris Philp – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Chris Philp – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Philp on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the service on Southern Rail.

    Paul Maynard

    On 1 September the Secretary of State announced a Network Rail £20m fund, to help improve resilience of the Southern network. Chris Gibb will head a new project board, working with the train operator, the Department for Transport and Network Rail, to explore how to achieve a rapid improvement to services for the public. The board will oversee the fund and create closer working between Govia Thameslink Railway and Network Rail to improve performance.

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of how effectively pupil premium funding is used by schools to support disadvantaged highly-able pupils.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The department recently published ‘Supporting the Attainment of Disadvantaged Pupils: Articulating Success and Good Practice’[1]. This is independent research on the effective use of the pupil premium, carried out by National Foundation for Educational Research.

    On the basis of this report, the department published ‘Supporting the attainment of disadvantaged pupils: briefing for school leaders’[2], which reinforces the importance of supporting more able disadvantaged pupils to meet their potential.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473974/DFE-RR411_Supporting_the_attainment_of_disadvantaged_pupils.pdf.

    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473976/DFE-RS411_Supporting_the_attainment_of_disadvantaged_pupils_-_briefing_for_school_leaders.pdf

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  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 18 December (HL4510), whether the Sea Lightnings carried aboard the Queen Elizabeth class will be a fully integrated part of the carrier battle group defence capability, as well as its long-range strike force.

    Earl Howe

    The Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers will be protected by a layered defence, the composition of which will be tailored to the threat faced. This defence may include, but not be limited to, submarines and ships within the Maritime Task Group (including their embarked Lightning II aircraft, helicopters and unmanned air systems) as well as land-based aircraft, where applicable.

  • Lord Boateng – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Boateng – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the need for humanitarian assistance in Burundi and the potential role of the churches in meeting the needs of Burundian refugees and internally displaced persons.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK is gravely concerned about the ongoing political and human rights crisis in Burundi. Reported abuses by security forces against civilians are deplorable. All allegations should be investigated and those responsible held accountable. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights pointed at increasing signs of ethnic targeting which is very concerning and is being monitored. DFID is coordinating closely with the Foreign Office on the situation as well as with international partners including the African Union.

    The humanitarian situation in Burundi itself is not critical at this stage, but it remains fragile and will deteriorate as long as the political crisis continues. DFID will continue to assess whether humanitarian assistance is required within the country. At the same time, our teams in Tanzania, Rwanda, the DRC and Uganda, are working hard providing humanitarian support to Burundian refugees. The UK has committed £18.15 million for the refugee response being led by UN agencies, such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP), and international NGOs. This funding includes £14.25 million to support refugees in Tanzania, and £3.9 million to support refugees in Rwanda. We are keeping our funding levels under constant review according to need. We have deployed a humanitarian adviser to the region to support the regional refugee response and we have provided technical support, in the form of secondment of experts, to support UN agencies working in Burundi. This includes support to the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) to strengthen humanitarian coordination in Burundi.

    DFID recognises that churches and faith groups can have great legitimacy and a wide reach, and therefore can make an important contribution to both refugees and internally displaced persons.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason not all the monthly announcements of Freedom of Information releases for 2015 have been published on his Department’s website.

    Dominic Raab

    The Freedom of Information Act does not require the Ministry of Justice to publish all our responses to Freedom of Information requests. The Ministry of Justice maintains a disclosure log on GOV.UK, and we review what is published on the log on an ongoing basis: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/freedom-of-information-disclosure-log#history

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  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if the Prime Minister will take steps to secure exclusion of the NHS from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership by way of a blanket exemption within the main text of that agreement.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government has always been clear that protecting the NHS is of the utmost importance for the UK. We believe, as does the European Commission, that provisions in the current texts of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) achieve this protection.

    Over several decades the UK and EU have signed numerous trade agreements. These treaties have helped both UK and EU businesses grow and create high quality jobs. They have also ensured that it remains for the UK to decide how our public services are run.

    TTIP will be no different. Decisions on how to deliver public services for the best outcomes for UK citizens are and will be made by UK governments, not our trade partners. The Prime Minister, the European Commission and the US Government have all confirmed this. The NHS is not at risk from TTIP or any other trade and investment agreement.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on whether any failure of IT systems on UK-based airlines has allowed any individual on her Department’s no fly list to travel in the last 12 months.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government works closely with all carriers, not just British registered carriers, to connect their systems to the Government’s border systems to ensure those connections are operating properly and to ensure that any IT problems are identified and resolved. Should any circumstance arise where a carrier should have refused authority to carry an individual to the UK, that individual will be met on arrival. Border Force also conducts 100% checks at passport control on all passengers arriving in the UK by commercial air, rail or maritime services at passport controls. This includes screening against watch lists.

  • Judith Cummins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Judith Cummins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the business case on the closure of the HM Revenue and Customs offices in Bradford.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs has based its decisions on the locations of the future regional centres on a number of key principles including retention of its current staff and skills, access to a pipeline of talent and local and national transport links. In this context it will be locating its Regional Centre for Yorkshire and the Humber in Leeds.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, under what criteria NHS trusts can place mental health patients in care homes.

    David Mowat

    Mental health providers must comply with the requirements of the Mental Health Act 1983 and its Code of Practice when delivering mental health services.

    We would expect that commissioners and providers would assess the clinical and care needs of a person to determine the most appropriate setting to deliver care, whether in a hospital of other setting such as a care home. The setting should be the least restrictive setting to meet the needs of the person.

    Before it is decided that admission to hospital is necessary, consideration must be given to whether there are alternative means of providing the care and treatment which the patient requires. However, if a person requires treatment in hospital for their mental health needs then we would expect them to receive that treatment in a hospital, it is unlikely that a care home could provide equivalent treatment.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to increase passenger carrying capacity on Inter City West Coast services between cities in the West Midlands.

    Paul Maynard

    We expect potential bidders for the next Inter City West Coast (ICWC) franchise to plan their train services to meet the needs of their passengers and the wider network. To make sure the Department’s specification best reflects the needs of the passengers and stakeholders of the franchise a public consultation on the franchise was run from 10 May to 2 August this year. This sought the public’s and stakeholders’ views and priorities on a number of areas of the franchise specification. The consultation acknowledged that capacity for additional train services on the West Coast Mainline is limited and sought views on how the franchise could cater for growth.

    The responses will help inform us about what we will ask for in the tender documents from the future franchise operator and will be provided to bidders for the franchise to inform their responses. We are now reviewing and analysing the consultation responses and will publish a summary in due course.