Tag: Parliamentary Question

Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlie Elphicke on 2014-06-12.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to introduce a clause into private finance initiative contracts to limit the ability of contractors to move offshore.

Danny Alexander

The Government is committed to effective anti-avoidance rules to ensure that profits arising on UK activities are not artificially diverted to low tax jurisdictions. At the same time, it needs to ensure that the tax system is competitive for all companies and has set out its plans to make the UK an attractive place to do business while retaining proportionate anti-avoidance protection.

UK resident PFI contractors regardless of their shareholders’ registered jurisdiction will be charged UK corporation tax on profits earned within the UK. To limit the freedoms properly available to investors would be anti-competitive and contrary to European Union law. These points are not unique to the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) but apply equally to non-PFI companies and investors.

November 1, 2022
Sir Peter Bottomley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Peter Bottomley on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to appoint a new chariman to the Leasehold Advisory Service.

Kris Hopkins

Consideration will be given to the position of Chairman of the Leasehold Advisory Service later this year, when the current term of office is due to end.

This will be carried out in line with the Code of Practice for Ministerial appointments to Public Bodies published by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

November 1, 2022
Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tracey Crouch on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on treating gambling addiction.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Health Surveys for England and Scotland showed a rate of problem gambling of around 0.5% of the adult population, around 200,000 people. The Responsible Gambling Trust expects to distribute £6,292,000 on treatment, education and research in 2014/15 and is funded by the gambling industry and further donations; a full list of funders can be found on their website ( www.responsiblegamblingtrust.org.uk ). The Government does not collate details of any expenditure by local authorities or the NHS on problem gambling. DCMS Ministers have regular discussions with their Department of Health colleagues on a range of matters.

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November 1, 2022
Rushanara Ali – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to promote the reputation and status of youth work.

Matthew Hancock

Responsibility for youth policy, including youth work, transferred to Cabinet Office on 3 July 2013. Cabinet Office co-ordinates cross-government work on youth policy and is also responsible for policy on international youth issues, youth voice and democracy, and the role of local authorities as well as working with the youth sector.

The Department for Education continues its commitment to all young people through its responsibilities for education and children’s services in England; and works closely with the rest of government on key issues such as reducing risky behaviour and increasing participation in education, employment and training.

November 1, 2022
Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department will issue a formal response to the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014.

Mr Mark Francois

The Ministry of Defence will respond to the NAO’s report in line with Government practice for such reports.

November 1, 2022
Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how soon the cage trapping and shooting of badgers was implemented alongside the freeshooting of badgers after the commencement of the pilot badger cull in Gloucestershire in 2013; and what authorisation from the Department was required.

George Eustice

Cage trapping was used from the outset in each of the pilot areas. Under the licence issued to each area, cage trapping and shooting and controlled shooting are both permitted control methods. No further authorisation from the Department was required.

The Guidance issued to Natural England on issuing licenses to kill or take badgers for the purpose of preventing the spread of bovine TB under section 10(2)(a) of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, and the Government’s policy document on Bovine TB and badger control in England, both state ‘in order to ensure humaneness, only two culling methods will be permitted (which can be used in combination, or as single control methods): i. cage-trapping followed by shooting; and ii. controlled shooting.’ Both of these documents were published on 14^th December 2011.

November 1, 2022

Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the anticipated out-turn cost of AFC Harrogate is for financial year 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

Financial data is held from financial year 2007-08 onwards. The Ministry of Defence’s budgetary structure is organised into a number of different Top Level Budget areas. This means that the cost of activities at a single location can often be split between a number of different budgets which are not managed centrally. For example infrastructure costs (including utilities) are managed by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation through contracts which do not split out the costs for individual units operating on a particular site. Similarly, equipment costs are managed across whole fleets of items by Defence Equipment and Support, and not by individual location. For this reason the full running costs of the Infantry Training Centre and the Army Foundation College cannot be provided in the format requested. However the costs attributable to the Army can be provided from financial year 2007-08 onwards.

Unit	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
	£million	£million	£million	£million	£million	£million	£million
Army Foundation College	54.658	62.078	58.435	60.829	62.199	63.486	62.232
Infantry Training Centre	83.172	90.790	104.702	81.471	103.196	105.274	93.046

The Army’s anticipated outturn for the Army Foundation College Harrogate in 2014-15 is £66.204 million, and for Infantry Training Centre Catterick is £90.793 million.

November 1, 2022

Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in North Korea on freedom of religion.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. friend the member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) has never met his Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) counterpart.

However, the UK takes every opportunity to raise with the DPRK authorities our concerns about their appalling human rights record, not least with regard to freedom of religion or belief. The British Embassy in Pyongyang last raised our concerns with the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March 2013. A senior official in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office raised this issue with the North Korean Embassy in February 2014.

We have also raised concerns specifically about recent reports that 33 people have been sentenced to death for alleged contact with Kim Jung-wook (aka Kim Jong-uk), a South Korean arrested by the DPRK authorities last year on suspicion of trying to establish underground churches. We have requested official confirmation of what has happened to the individuals concerned and called on the DPRK to respect the provision in its constitution guaranteeing “freedom of belief in religion”. We also played a leading role in securing a strong resolution at the UN Human Rights Council, calling for accountability for the range of human rights violations documented in the DPRK.

The annual FCO Human rights report, published on 10 April 2014 includes the DPRK as a country of concern. The full report can be found at http://www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk

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November 1, 2022
Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2014-06-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to monitor the scale and causes of food poverty in the United Kingdom; and what steps they plan to take.

Lord De Mauley

The root causes of household food insecurity are varied and complex. The Government is committed to playing its part in tackling both short and long term challenges. While it is not the Government’s role to set food prices, we work to promote open and competitive markets that help offer the best prices to consumers.

Through Healthy Start the Government provides a nutritional safety net that encourages healthy eating to around half a million pregnant women and children under 4 years old in low income and disadvantaged families throughout the UK. The Government provides free school meals to disadvantaged children, and the Deputy Prime Minister has announced healthy free school meals for all school children in reception, year 1 and year 2 from September 2014. We are reforming the welfare system to make it fairer, more affordable and better able to tackle poverty, unemployment and welfare dependency. We are also providing increased access to jobs through the Government’s efforts to promote growth in the economy.

November 1, 2022
Andrew Bingham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bingham on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria his Department use to define illness as mental as opposed to physical.

Norman Lamb

The International Classification of Diseases is the standard diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes. This includes the analysis of the general health situation of population groups. It is used to monitor the incidence and prevalence of diseases and other health problems.

The Tenth Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems includes in Chapter V a detailed classification of more than 300 mental and behavioural disorders. Its publication follows extensive field-testing by more than 100 clinical and research centres in 40 countries.

Aggregate primary care trust (PCT) expenditure on mental health was £11.28 billion in 2012-13, which is 11.9% of the £94.78 billion total spend by PCTs. The estimate of expenditure on mental health does not include the majority of expenditure on primary care appointments which is recorded as a separate programme category.

It is not possible to provide an estimate of expenditure on physical health. A number of programme categories will have elements of expenditure which could be classified as non-physical, for example, learning disabilities, neurological and social care.

The Department has made no estimate of the cost to the economy of untreated mental illness.

November 1, 2022