Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-01-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to increase public awareness of National Savings and Investments.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The core purpose of NS&I remains to raise cost-effective finance for the Government, using an operating framework that balances the interests of savers, taxpayers and the wider financial sector.

    An indication of NS&I’s cost effectiveness in raising finance for the Government, as measured by the Value Indicator, is published annually. The Value Indicator is calculated by comparing the total cost of delivering Net Financing and servicing existing customers deposits with how much it would cost the Government to raise funds through the wholesale market via equivalent maturity gilts. Last year £330m was saved.

    As an arms-length body, NS&I is responsible for its own brand strategy. In line with government Spend Controls, Cabinet Office approval is required for advertising, marketing and communications spend of £100,000 or above.

    NS&I relocated its operations within Glasgow from the Cowglen site to the Capella building in the centre of Glasgow in May 2015. The closure of Cowglen facilitated the move to more modern and cost effective accommodation and released the surplus site for redevelopment for housing, together with a capital receipt for the Exchequer. NS&I’s mail processing and scanning operations previously located at Cowglen, moved to Orbital House in East Kilbride in October 2015. NS&I remains committed to its operations in Scotland.

  • Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wendy Morton on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s spending was on Overseas Development Aid in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) the first 10 months of 2015-16; and what the recipient countries of that aid were.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Official Development Assistance spending was:

    in financial year (FT) 2013-14 – £321 million;
    in FT 2014-15 – £344 million;
    and in the first 10 months of FY 2015-16 – £260 million

    We have provided ODA funds to all countries on the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list except for Central African Republic, Djibouti, Sao Tome and Principe, Micronesia, Tokelau, Gabon, Niue, Palau, Wallis and Futuna. The DAC list can be found here: http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats/documentupload/DAC%20List%20of%20ODA%20Recipients%202014%20final.pdf.

    “

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

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society on use of results from the European Accredited Laboratory Assay related to Lyme disease to inform the provision of treatment on the NHS for that disease.

    Jane Ellison

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has had no discussions with the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when those parts of the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 which have not come into force are expected to come into force; and what the reason is for the time taken to bring all provisions of that Act into force.

    Karen Bradley

    We expect to commence the Psychoactive Substances Act in its entirety in the spring. In line with the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, we are in the final stages of putting in place a programme of testing to demonstrate the psychoactivity of a substance prior to commencement of the Act. The timing of commencement has always been subject to consideration of all the activity necessary across the UK for the provisions to come into force

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel from each branch of the armed forces took part in cold weather training in each of the last six years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK Armed Forces conduct a wide range of training to operate in cold weather environments. Information on the full range of activities is not held centrally in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2016-06-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which EU (a) legislative and (b) other proposals his Department is leading negotiations on for the Government in the Council of the EU.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Treasury is responsible for measures relating to the Economic and Financial Affairs Council. This includes economic policy, taxation issues, financial markets and capital movements, the EU budget, economic relations with countries outside the EU, and coordination of EU positions for international meetings such as the G20, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank.

    The Department provides Explanatory Memoranda to Parliament on any proposals defined by the terms of reference of the parliamentary EU scrutiny committees, which can be found online.

  • Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that all children complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education by 2020.

    James Wharton

    The UK Government is committed to ensuring all children are able to complete a full cycle of quality education. Between 2011 and 2015 DFID supported over 11 million children into primary and lower secondary school (7.5 million children in countries considered fragile), and training 380,000 teachers through our multilateral partners. In 2015, the UK again committed to support a further 11 million children in the poorest countries to gain a decent education by 2020.

    DFID is also supporting up to one million of the world’s poorest girls through DFID’s Girls Education Challenge (GEC). In July, DFID co-hosted the first, hugely successful Girls’ Education Forum in London and announced a further £100 million through the GEC to continue this support and help an additional 175,000 of the poorest, most marginalised adolescent girls in the world to get a decent education.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent estimate he has made of the number of graduates who are (a) unemployed and (b) not in high-skilled jobs.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department publishes labour market statistics for English domiciled graduates and postgraduates relative to non-graduates as part of the Graduate Labour Market Statistics series. The latest figures refer to the quarter from April to June 2015 and are available at the link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/graduate-labour-market-statistics-april-to-june-2015

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2015 to Question 15657, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the level of support provided to the arts in the West Midlands in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government recognises the intrinsic, social and economic value of the arts and supports fair distribution of funding across the whole country. Following the announcement of the spending review on 25 November 2015, Arts Council England will continue to support community arts organisations throughout the country including the West Midlands.

    The West Midlands has seen a number of high quality arts programmes delivered in the region over the last five years. These include The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry which has received over £2.5 million of Government funding since 2012 enabling them to create eight new Youth Theatre groups – among them the Asian Youth Theatre and the Black Youth Theatre, which aim to give a voice to local communities; The Courtyard in Hereford which, thanks to almost £1 million of Government funding since 2012, became the first arts venue to join the Dementia Action Alliance, and is now a recognised leader in the development of dementia-friendly arts venues; and The New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, one of Arts Council England’s National portfolio organisations, which has been attracting national attention by challenging and changing people’s attitudes towards racism, domestic violence, forced marriage, poverty and crime.

  • Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans the Government has to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the Battle of the Somme in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    The Northern Ireland Office has a co-ordinating role as part of the Government’s overall efforts to commemorate the centenaries of World War One events. Our aim is to ensure that these events, including for the Battle of the Somme, are commemorated in Northern Ireland in a manner which promotes reconciliation and enhances prospects for a peaceful, shared future.

    Officials from my Department sit on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Programme Board for First World War Centenary Commemorations. They also have regular contact with officials in the Northern Ireland Executive and sit on the Northern Ireland First World War Centenary Committee chaired by Jeffrey Donaldson MP.

    I receive regular updates on this work and both the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and I will be in attendance at a number of events being planned to mark the Battle of the Somme centenary. These events will take place in Northern Ireland and France.