Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the dairy crisis on (a) jobs in the industry, (b) local economies, (c) supply chains and (d) the environment.

    George Eustice

    The dairy industry in Britain has had a very tough year. A slowdown in global markets, low farm-gate prices, and a strong pound increasing imports, have all contributed to this. The UK average farm gate milk price for March 2016 is 22.38p per litre. This represents a 10.5% decrease on March 2015 and continues the downward trend seen since November 2013.

    There were 281 fewer registered dairy producers in England and Wales in April 2016 compared with April 2015 (a 2.8% reduction). This continues the long-term trend which has resulted in dairy producer numbers falling while the average herd size and annual yields per cow have increased. In the year ending February 2016, forecasts suggest that incomes on dairy farms in England fell by 45% to an average of £45,000 per farm. Average incomes on Welsh dairy farms fell by around 40% to £42,000 in the same period. Expert commentators such as Rabobank expect the current cycle of low prices to be maintained through most of 2016.

    The Government continues to work closely with the UK farming unions, Dairy UK and Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) to assess the difficult market situation and what we can do to help the industry to recover. For example, we are currently drawing up practical options for creating new derivatives markets, co-operating closely with the AHDB’s volatility forum, farmers, processors and the finance sector.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value was of the cash commission paid to companies for clients’ completion of the Work Programme in each year from 2011 to 2016.

    Priti Patel

    Work Programme providers are not paid cash commissions and are not paid for individuals completing the programme. Providers are paid by results on the basis of a job outcome fee for supporting an individual into sustained employment and additional sustainment payments for keeping them in work longer.

  • Siobhain McDonagh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Siobhain McDonagh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Siobhain McDonagh on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on community cohesion of the presence of (a) Mufti Hanif Qureshi, (b) Muhammad Naquib ur Rehman and (c) Hassan Haseeb ur Rehman in the UK in 2016.

    Sarah Newton

    The Home Office does not routinely comment on assessments of foreign visitors to the UK.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Freud on 15 September (HL1460, HL1461 and HL1462), what assessment they have made of (1) the proportion of addresses held by the Department for Work and Pensions that are incorrect, and (2) the number of people who will not have received a letter informing them of the change in their state pension age.

    Lord Freud

    This information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Syrian children in Europe who are (a) vulnerable to trafficking and (b) unaccompanied.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    As of 2 November the number of people arriving in Europe had reached 745,229 according to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Of these 149,045 are children, including around 79,000 Syrian children. Humanitarian organisations are expecting that, given the rate of arrivals, a total of 225,000 children will need assistance between September and December 2015. All of these are considered to be vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what type of body is Transport for the North; who made the decision to set it up; what are its terms of reference; whether it has a constitution; what form its controlling body takes, how its composition was decided, and who are its members; whether any members of the controlling body other than the chairman receive remuneration, and if so, on what basis and how much; what is its annual budget, and from which funds that budget is derived; how many staff are employed to work for it; where those staff are based; and what property it occupies, and on what basis.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Transport for the North (TfN) membership is drawn from the North’s combined and local authority, and Local Enterprise Partnership leaders working in a unique partnership with the Government, Network Rail, Highways England and HS2 Ltd. It was established by the Government with Northern leaders in October 2014. The TfN governance framework is outlined in the Principles for Governing the Relationship between Transport for the North (TfN) and the Department for Transport (DfT) document, which is attached and is available on the TfN website. The Chairman of TfN is the only Partnership Board member receiving remuneration for this role. Building on the summer budget commitment to provide funding to TfN, the Government is committing a total of £50m (£10m per annum) over this parliament, enabling TfN to build its capacity and capability to recruit the staff it needs and get on with planning better rail and roads to deliver the Government’s ambitious programme to create a Northern Powerhouse.This is in addition to the £8.5m already provided by DfT and up to £4m committed by the members of TfN. Following the recent appointments of the Chief Executive and Chairman, the recruitment process for both permanent and temporary staff is now underway. TfN is based at temporary premises in Manchester until a permanent location is agreed.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on increasing the annual limit for ISA contributions.

    Harriett Baldwin

    As announced at Autumn Statement 2015, the annual ISA subscription limit for 2016-17 is being maintained at its current level of £15,240. However, the government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2016 to Question 25465, if he will publish the (a) total value and (b) number of grants made by his Department in the last 12 months as part of (i) the Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development scheme, (ii) the Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund, (iii) the Strategic Partnership Programme and (iv) Specific Policy Grants supporting Departmental policy.

    Alistair Burt

    The following information shows new grant awards made by the Department in the financial year 2015/16. Recipients of grants include voluntary organisations. The Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development scheme and the Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund grant awards shown here span a period of up to three years.

    Scheme / Programme

    New Awards Made (£)

    Number of New Awards made

    Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development

    £5,980,964

    14

    Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund

    £2,789,777

    25

    Strategic Partner Programme

    £4,020,000

    23

    Specific Policy Grants

    £133,112,643

    25
  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of senior civil servants in his Department are women.

    Mike Penning

    The percentage of senior civil servants broken down by gender is reported on an annual basis within the Department’s Diversity report. The published report for 2014/2015 can be found at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diversity-report-2014-to-2015

    “

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with staff at his Department’s office at 2 St Paul’s Place, Sheffield, since the announcement of the proposed closure of that office.

    Joseph Johnson

    The responsibility for running the Department, including personnel issues lies with the Permanent Secretary and the BIS Executive Board. The Permanent Secretary went to Sheffield in January to inform staff of the intention to close the Sheffield office and to answer questions. Since then, many of the Department’s Directors and Directors-General have visited the Sheffield office to discuss the proposals, answer questions and provide support to affected staff.