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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Oral Contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions of 7 December 2015, Official Report, column 693, (a) which food banks he visited and (b) on which dates those visits took place in the last 12 months.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department does not hold the information requested. Ministers have conducted visits to food banks in various capacities, including in their roles as Members of Parliament.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is being done to overcome the low level of exports contributing to the UK’s trade deficit.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    I refer the noble Lord to the written statement I made on trade on Tuesday 19th January

    The statement outlines a new, whole-of-government approach to expanding the number of exporters and the value they generate for the British economy. This will be delivered through a transformed UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), focused on priority markets and sectors. We will develop better digital platforms, work more closely with partners (including in the private sector) and make sure that our services match the needs of companies.

    UKTI will co-ordinate and review the UK’s export performance on behalf of the Cross-Government Exports Implementation Taskforce, led by the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children and young people detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 were held in police cells in (a) England, (b) London, (c) each London borough and (d) each London health trust in each year since 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department does not collect this information.

  • Lord Rooker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Rooker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rooker on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 25 February (HL5950 and HL6117), when their consultations, if any, on amending the rules of property ownership will commence.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    A discussion paper on proposals to require foreign companies to provide beneficial ownership information when purchasing or owning property or bidding for public contracts was published on Friday 4 March.

    The document has been published here: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/property-ownership-and-public-contracting-by-foreign-companies-improving-transparency and copies of the discussion paper have been placed in the libraries of both Houses.

    “

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral contribution of 12 January 2016, Official Report, column 697, whether UK personnel provided a quick check on whether the reported airstrike in Yemen on a market place in the Hajjah Governorate had broken international humanitarian law.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The role of the UK liaison officers is to maintain an information flow with the Saudi Arabian authorities. We do not comment on the specifics. The Saudi Arabian Government announced on 29 February, that they are forming an independent committee to examine military activity in civilian areas in order to minimise possible civilian casualties; assess the Coalition’s rules of engagement; assess accidents, verification and targeting procedures and advise how they can be improved; and provide a clear, full and objective report for each investigation made including conclusions, lessons learnt and recommendations for future actions.

  • Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to gather evidence on food insecurity in the UK.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    There is no single definition of food insecurity. The factors that impact on household food security are complex. There are multiple indicators such as quality, variety and desirability of diet as well as total intake, not all of which are measured consistently. It is, therefore, very difficult and potentially misleading to attempt to develop a single classification of food insecurity.

    Defra publishes annual statistics to show the proportion of household income spent on food by (a) all households and (b) the lowest income 20% of households. Lower income families spend a greater proportion of household income on food (15.7% compared to 11.4% for the average household). This has remained stable over recent years: 16.5% in 2013, 16.6% in 2012, 16.6% in 2011, 15.8% in 2010 and 16.1% in 2009. The most recent statistics are in the Food Statistics Pocketbook 2015 on the GOV.UK website.

    Year on year food prices have continued to fall with an annual rate of inflation of -2.7 per cent in the year to March 2016. General inflation is 0.3 per cent, unchanged from January.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Attorney General, what information he holds on whether the Serious Fraud Office plans to investigate the UK office of the law firm Mossack Fonesca.

    Jeremy Wright

    On 10 April, the Prime Minister set up a multi-agency taskforce to obtain and analyse the leaked “Panama Papers” and take action where possible. The taskforce comprises HMRC, the National Crime Agency, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Financial Conduct Authority who are working collaboratively to investigate any evidence of wrong-doing identified within the “Panama Papers”. The taskforce will report on its progress later this year.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many staff are employed by Border Force; whether that number has decreased in the past year; and what assessment they have made of whether Border Force has sufficient immigration officers to operate effectively.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    This Government has always made the integrity of the UK border a priority and we will never compromise on keeping the people of this country safe from terrorism, criminality and illegal immigration.

    We have pursued an ambitious programme of reform at the border to keep this country safe. Border Force has transformed its working practises, command and control and leadership. And we have invested in new technology, like e-Gates at airports and heartbeat monitors at freight ports, to improve security and prevent illegal entry to the UK to improve security, benefit passengers and deliver efficiencies.

    These reforms are working. Border security has been enhanced. Border Force continues to perform 100 per cent checks on scheduled passengers arriving in the UK.

    Deployments are made across a wide range of activities based on levels of demand and intelligence and will take into consideration the requirement for deployment of a flexible seasonal workforce, which is prone to fluctuations depending on seasonal pressures.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in the national minimum wage on the incomes of low income households; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016 marked an important step towards building an economy that works for everyone. At £7.20, it represented a 50p increase on the National Minimum Wage, and a pay rise for over a million low paid workers across the UK, many of whom will be in low income households.

    The estimated impacts of the National Living Wage are set out in the impact assessment and Annex B of the Office of Budget Responsibility’s July Economic and Fiscal Outlook (available at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2016/9780111141625/impacts/2016/3 and http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/July-2015-EFO-234224.pdf respectively).

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate he has made of the take-up of the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme by children from low-income families.

    Jane Ellison

    This information is not available. Take-up for the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme is assessed as a percentage of eligible schools registered to receive fruit and vegetable boxes from the scheme. The prime contractor for the Scheme, NHS Supply Chain, estimates that 99% of eligible schools are registered with the scheme.