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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the nuclear agreement with Iran, they plan to make representations to the government of Israel to accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and agree to the same level of inspection now accepted by Iran.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is the cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and the essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament and for peaceful uses of nuclear energy. All state parties should be pushing for universality of the treaty. In that regard, the Government continues to call on all states that are not parties to the NPT, including Israel, to accede to it, and we also continue to call on Israel to agree a full scope Comprehensive Safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has received a copy of Sheffield City Region’s study into connectivity for a city centre High Speed 2 station at Victoria in which Network Rail was involved.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Analysis of the Sheffield City Region station options was published in the ‘Engineering options report; West Midlands to Leeds’ dated March 2012. This included analysis of several station sites around the city centre.

    The current estimated difference in cost between locating a High Speed station at Victoria and Meadowhall is £680m. Previous work on the cost of options at Victoria and other city centre sites are not comparable to the current estimate given above. With regards to the Meadowhall station, following the 2013 public consultation, no significant changes have been made to the original station design therefore there have not been any changes in cost.

    When recommending a station location HS2 Ltd. uses a number of criteria, including;

    1. engineering and construction feasibility;
    2. sustainability;
    3. demand considerations, including journey times;
    4. cost; and
    5. wider impacts

    Potential options were sifted by HS2 Ltd. according to these criteria. To support and challenge this approach, external stakeholders and advisors from the Department’s Project Representative Team were involved in reviewing the process and outcomes where appropriate. Further information about the appraisal process can be found in the 2012 ‘Options for phase two of the high speed rail network’ report and 2013 ‘Appraisal of Sustainability’ report. Both of these documents are available on the government website.

    Analysis undertaken by HS2 shows that the introduction of the Sheffield Meadowhall HS2 station could support up to 5,400 jobs and up to 300 residential units, while a HS2 station at Victoria could support an estimated 9,000 jobs and 900 housing units.

    Finally, I can confirm that Department for Transport officials have received a copy of Sheffield City Region’s study into connectivity for a city centre High Speed 2 station at Victoria which Network Rail was involved in.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects of the introduction of driver-only operation on rail services on (a) passenger safety, (b) passenger assurance, (c) women passengers, (d) disabled passengers, (e) revenue protection and (f) passenger assistance.

    Claire Perry

    The safety of passengers and rail users is paramount on the railway and the Department for Transport would never do anything to put passengers at risk.

    This system has already been in safe use on almost a third of rail services in Great Britain for up to 30 years and can help to improve the service to passengers. Giving responsibility to the driver to operate the doors can improve operational performance and can enable other staff on board the train to provide a better face-to-face service for passengers. Staffing levels are generally a matter for railway operators, as we believe that they are best placed to determine how to meet the needs of all passengers. However, it is important that those who need assistance to travel can rely on railway staff to provide this. Each operator is required to participate in the Passenger Assist system which allows disabled passengers to book staff assistance when they require it.

  • Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government who will be the lead UK representative at the International Civil Aviation Organisation Assembly in Montreal between 27 September and 7 October.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The UK has not yet nominated its delegation for the 39th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization, but will do so in the coming months. In the past the UK’s Chief Delegate has been the Director General of Civil Aviation.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average salary of (a) a district judge and (b) a magistrate was in the latest year for which figures are available.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The level of pay for the judiciary is based on the recommendation of the independent Senior Salaries Review Body. Magistrates are volunteers and do not receive a salary.

    The judicial salaries and fee schedules can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/judicial-salaries-and-fees-2016-to-2017

    “

  • Ian Mearns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ian Mearns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with Transport for London on improving access to the London underground for disabled people; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Transport in London is a matter for the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL). Ministers and officials from the Department for Transport have regular meetings with TfL to discuss various issues, including accessibility.

    This year (2016/17) the Department for Transport’s grant for TfL amounts to around £1.4 billion. The grant will help TfL to enhance its network, including making improvements for disabled passengers.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2270 (2016) on North Korea.

    Alok Sharma

    Since the unanimous adoption of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2270 in March 2016, which the UK strongly supported, the Government has been focused on ensuring that the Resolution is implemented fully and effectively by all UN Member States. We continue to have discussions with partners in the region to ensure that UNSCR 2270 and all previous sanctions measures are enforced in order to limit the ability of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to fund its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The UK operates one of the toughest export control and counter-proliferation systems in the world and looks to share British expertise on sanctions wherever possible. Following the DPRK’s fifth nuclear test on 9 September, the UK is working with the UN Security Council and key partners to ensure there is a robust multilateral response to this violation of successive UN resolutions.

  • Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of a recent report by UKactive that lack of exercise is estimated to cause 37,000 deaths annually and cost the UK economy £20 billion a year, what steps they are taking to reduce levels of inactivity.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government welcomes ukactive’s report. It makes an important contribution to the debate on physical activity and builds on the framework for action set out by Public Health England last year in “Everybody Active Every Day”.

    The Government recognises the health, economic and social benefits to individuals, communities and the nation of increasing physical activity levels. Since 2011, the Government has invested over £450 million in the PE and Sport Primary Premium in order to improve PE and sport. A further £46.5 million has been invested in School Games in order to provide all children, regardless of their ability, with a chance to participate in competitive sport. In addition £13 million has been invested in Change4life sports clubs which targets the least active children and helps them get more active.

    We are also committed to raising awareness among the public and health professionals of the benefits of physical activity. We have worked with experts to translate the Chief Medical Officers’ (CMOs) guidelines on physical activity into easy messages in the form of an infographic which health professionals can now use with their patients when they discuss physical activity. The UK’s CMOs have now asked the experts to carry out a similar piece of work on physical activity for children and young people. In addition, Public Health England’s Change4Life campaign continues to support families to make healthy choices, including being active.

    Further action to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour will be taken via the Government’s new strategy for sport to be published shortly.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to protect the welfare of vulnerable older people in developing countries.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Age features as part of our efforts to leave no one behind and in country level analyses as a key factor in understanding poverty.

    Older people have been specifically included in the Sustainable Development Goals on ending hunger, creating sustainable cities and communities and the means of implementation. As well as this, the requirement to provide disaggregated data to evidence progress against the Sustainable Development Goals will ensure that governments and development agencies can identify those at risk of being left behind and design programmes to lift them out of poverty. The UK was a key player in achieving these goals.

    Many DFID programmes reach and include older people, for example on health systems strengthening, eye care, or specific programmes for the poorest including supporting slum dwellers in Tanzania, or supporting widows resulting from the genocide in Rwanda. DFID has also supported Governments to establish social pensions for older people to ensure that they do not live in poverty.

    Finally, DFID also continues to fund a number of age-specific development programmes which are delivered by Civil Society Organisations in some of the world’s poorest communities to ensure that older people are not left behind.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether parity of esteem, as outlined in the Belfast Agreement 1998, is applicable in the outworking of the law, and if so, how.

    Lord Dunlop

    I have nothing further to add to my earlier responses on parity of esteem.