Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to discuss the political situation in the Maldives with the UN Secretary General.

    Alok Sharma

    The Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) has not discussed the Maldives with the UN Secretary General. Ministers and senior officials have met the Secretary-General’s Envoy for the Maldives, Mr Tamrat Samuel. Mr Samuel’s role is to encourage inclusive political dialogue in the Maldives, and we continue to call for all parties to engage constructively in that process. The British High Commissioner also met the UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs when he visited Colombo earlier this month.

  • Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of people who will have age-related macular degeneration by 2050.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has made no estimate of the number of people likely to have age-related macular degeneration in 2050.

  • Lord Shipley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Shipley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Shipley on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the net change in the number of homes in the UK for social rent between May 2015 and May 2020.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    My Department does not publish forecasts of net additions.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that London is accessible by rail to people who cannot afford peak-time prices and are on lower incomes, when they are travelling to London for meetings during working hours.

    Claire Perry

    We recognise the pressure and concerns about the cost of some rail fares and the impact that this can have on people’s budgets which is why we have capped the rail fares we regulate at inflation (Retail Price Index) for three years running, and will continue to do so for the life of this Parliament. This means those commuter fares we regulate are only rising by 1% in 2016 making it the lowest fare increase since 2010. Keeping ticket prices low will benefit over a quarter of a million annual season ticket holders, providing an average saving of £425 over the next five years.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to encourage businesses to advertise flexible working arrangements by default in job advertisements.

    Nick Boles

    Flexible working is now a key aspect of today’s employment landscape with a growing number of employees taking advantage of flexible working – either through an informal arrangement with their employer or through the statutory Right to Request Flexible Working. This was extended to all employees with 26 weeks qualifying service in June 2014 and at the same time it was made easier for employers to consider requests for flexible working.

    At the time this change was introduced, employers were encouraged to use the strapline “Happy to Talk Flexible Working” when advertising jobs. The Right to Request was promoted in various ways, including a conference for employers which explained the benefits of flexible working and provided practical tips and as part of the GREAT campaign.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason no formal consultation was issued on the introduction of an anti-advocacy clause into grant agreements.

    Matthew Hancock

    At present there are insufficient checks and balances to make sure that taxpayers funds are not being diverted away from their intended purpose and wasted on political campaigning and political lobbying. This clause has been successfully piloted by the Department for Communities and Local Government for the last year, without any adverse effect on grant recipients’ ability to campaign using their own funds.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with her foreign counterparts on efforts to tackle dengue fever.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Word Health Organisation to discuss a range of health issues including on the management of disease outbreaks. Dengue was discussed during last year’s World Health Assembly (WHA), which brings together the member states to discuss important issues. Senior officials from DFID and the Department of Health participate at the WHA.

    DFID’s health focus is to improve the provision of basic health services for the poorest by supporting health systems strengthening, health worker capacity and access to essential medicines and equipment. Increasing coverage, access and quality will strengthen health services to address all health problems including communicable diseases.

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2016 to Question 35453, if he will place in the Library a copy of the surveys referred to in that Answer.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    All survey information will be published in due course and it would not be appropriate to publish partial information at this time as this could be misleading to the public.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to assist London Midland in tackling fare evasion on the West Coast Mainline.

    Claire Perry

    The Department funded a ticketless travel survey in Summer 2015 that highlighted to London Midland where there is lost revenue across their network. London Midland are obliged to maximise revenue in the franchise and it is in their interests to reduce ticketless travel. The public consultation that closed in February 2016 for the new West Midlands franchise asked for views on how ticketless travel can be improved for the next franchise that is due to commence in October 2017.

  • Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on patient care of junior doctors taking five days of strike action per month until the end of 2016.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    We were encouraged by the British Medical Association’s (BMA) announcement that it is suspending the rolling programme of five continuous days of industrial action from October to December, which it had previously announced and which would have removed urgent and emergency care from some of our most vulnerable patients.

    We have urged the BMA to remove all threat of further industrial action so we can work constructively with junior doctors to address their wider concerns and better recognise their vital importance to the National Health Service.

    Prior to the BMA’s announcement, NHS England, working with NHS organisations, had assessed the impact of the industrial action on cancelled operations and outpatient services and had developed plans to mitigate the impact of the industrial action.

    Had the BMA continued with their proposed industrial action, based on the levels of disruption during the previous two day all out strike, an initial estimate was that around 25,000 operations and 250,000 outpatient appointments would be cancelled during each five day strike period.