Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to negotiate extending reciprocal social security arrangements to overseas countries so as to facilitate an annual increase in the state pension for British citizens who retire to those countries.

    Lord Freud

    The Government has a clear position, which has remained consistent for around 70 years: UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so – for example in countries where a reciprocal agreement is in place that allows for uprating. There are no plans to change this or to assess the impact of British citizens’ choosing to retire abroad.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) structure and (b) membership of the cross-departmental air quality unit is.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Joint Air Quality Unit has been established to lead delivery of the national air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide, published in December last year.

    The unit is headed by a senior civil servant. The team consists of civil servants from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Transport (DfT), and is primarily based within Defra.

    It reports to two Senior Responsible Officers: the Director for the Energy, Technology, and Innovation directorate in DfT, and the Director of the Environmental Quality directorate in Defra. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the Cabinet representative for air quality policy. Decisions relating to delivery of the national air plan for nitrogen dioxide are agreed jointly by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Environment and Rural Life Opportunities at Defra, and the Minister of State at the Department for Transport.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) Grade I listed buildings, (b) Grade II* listed buildings, (c) Grade II listed buildings and (d) scheduled monuments his Department owns; under which top level budget those buildings and monuments fall; and what plans he has for their disposal.

    Mark Lancaster

    Details of all Grade I listed buildings, Grade II* listed buildings, Grade II listed buildings and scheduled monuments the Department owns, including those which are located on sites that are currently in disposal are shown in the attached tables.

    Details of the top level budget for these Monuments and Buildings could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Melanie Onn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Melanie Onn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual cost is of the veterans badge.

    Mark Lancaster

    The annual cost of Armed Forces Veterans’ Badges from November 2014 to October 2015 was £44,655.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people no longer receive the disability premium following their transfer from receipt of disability living allowance to personal independence payments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Disability premium is an extra amount automatically added to Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for those who qualify.

    Information on the payment of this premium for those who were also receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and have now transferred to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they are having with the government of France about refugees and migrants near Calais and Dunkirk; whether those discussions include the provision of better information for camp dwellers and better coordination of volunteers and relief supplies; and when they will report to Parliament about those discussions.

    Lord Bates

    The Government is in regular discussion with French counterparts at ministerial and official level on all aspects of the migrant situation in Northern France.

    In line with the UK-France Joint Declaration signed in August 2015, both countries carry out joint communications visits to the camps in Calais and Dunkirk to inform migrants about their rights and responsibilities.

    The coordination of volunteers, charities and NGOs in France is the responsibility of the French authorities. However, the UK has issued advice for UK residents who want to help or donate to support migrants in Calais. The advice, offered directly on the FCO travel advice website (https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/france) is to give to registered and experienced humanitarian charities who are best placed to distribute donations in an organised manner.

    Ministers regularly update Parliament on all aspects of the situation in Northern France.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the demolition of the Calais camp known as the jungle on the number of migrants entering into the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK and French Governments have been working closely for many months to address the situation in Northern France, and are committed to resolving it together.

    The Joint Declaration, signed by the Home Secretary and the French Interior Ministry in August 2015, committed both countries to a package of work to improve physical security at the ports, to coordinate the law enforcement response, to tackle the criminal gangs involved in people smug-gling and to reduce the number of migrants in Calais.

  • Lord Stevenson of Balmacara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Stevenson of Balmacara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevenson of Balmacara on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the not-for-profit company that sets and co-ordinates the 11 plus exam in Buckinghamshire is subject to the public sector equality duty.

    Lord Nash

    The Department for Education holds no responsibility for the 11 plus exams. These are commercial products which local authorities and independent schools implement at their discretion.

    The 11 plus exam, or newly-named ‘Transfer Test’, in Buckinghamshire is developed by the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) at the University of Durham, which is an independent educational supplier. Private and voluntary organisations are subject to the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010 when they carry out public functions. The duty may therefore apply to CEM’s public functions only, but the Department cannot advise on this.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many UK seafarer (a) officers and (b) ratings employed in the offshore supply vessel sector have been made redundant in each month since June 2015.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We do not hold this information.

  • Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what research and development her Department is funding into the potential role of agroforestry in improving soil health and condition and prevention of erosion.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The Department for International Development supports a number of research programmes that assess the use of agroforestry to promote soil health and prevent as well as reduce erosion. This includes, for example, work with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the global Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security research programme (CCAFS).

    My Department also supports a wide range of development programmes with agro-ecological components, from agroforestry, soil and water conservation, land use management to climate resilience and conservation agriculture. These include, for example, The Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP), and Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters (BRACED). The full range of our programmes can be found on our Development Tracker website.