UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much revenue was raised from fines levied on heavy goods vehicles for exceeding weight restrictions on weight restricted roads in the last year for which figures are available.

    Andrew Jones

    Penalties related to heavy goods vehicles exceeding weight restrictions on weight restricted roads in England outside London are applied under the criminal justice system. I have been advised by the Ministry of Justice that this specific information is not held. Collating this information would incur a disproportionate cost, because individual cases would need to be looked at. My Department does not hold figures for the civil enforcement fines for this infringement applied by local authorities in London.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has met with Mr Mark Samworth in the last six months.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

    “

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the efficient and timely transfer of prisoners to hospitals under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983; and how many prisoners have waited for more than 14 days for such a transfer in each quarter since April 2015.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Department of Health guidance was published in 2011 on best practice to achieve urgent transfers within 14 days. NHS England continues to work with prison healthcare and secure mental health providers to improve processes so that this can be achieved.

    NHS England has provided information on transfers as detailed below.

    Period

    Transfers

    Transfers >14 days

    Quarter 1 Financial Year (FY) 2015-16

    72

    232

    Quarter 2 FY 2015-16

    136

    238

    Quarter 3 FY 2015-16

    92

    213

    Quarter 4 FY 2015-16

    112

    458

    Quarter 1 FY 2016-17

    92

    209

    Note: the numbers above are reported transfers in the time period, an individual prisoner may be represented in more than one time period

    Data for this indicator has improved since data collection began in April 2015. NHS England have since improved the data collection and quality under the Health and Justice Indicators of Performance and the information above now represents data from all prisons.

    NHS England intends to publish data collected through Health and Justice Indicators of Performance since April 2016 in future, but a firm date for publication is not yet available.

  • Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of inflation on those who rely on benefits.

    Lord Freud

    Central to the Government’s long term economic plan is the creation of jobs and making work pay. We know that work is the best route out of poverty so our welfare reforms are focussed on supporting those people who can work to find and keep work rather than rely on benefits, ensuring fairness and affordability for the tax payer. We are committed to balancing incentivising work with protecting pensioners and those who cannot work, and help with the costs of additional needs. That is why benefits for the additional costs of disability, and for carers, are up-rated each year in line with prices, and the basic and new State Pensions are up-rated with our triple lock guarantee.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with manufacturers of drugs for the treatment of AIDS on preventing rises in the prices of such drugs.

    George Freeman

    There have been no such representations or discussions. The prices of branded medicines are controlled by the 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme or under the statutory scheme established under the Health Service Branded Medicines (Control of Prices and Supply of Information) (No.2) Regulations 2008 and the Health Service Medicines (Information Relating to Sales of Branded Medicines etc.) Regulations 2007.

  • 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 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of vacancies in each region and nation of the UK which were advertised on Universal Jobmatch in the most recent month for which figures are available were for part-time jobs.

    Priti Patel

    Official statistics on Universal Jobmatch (UJ) vacancies by region and type of job are not available. This reflects that UJ is an online aggregator of job adverts, and adverts can be posted on the system from more than one source.

    Real-time information on Universal Jobmatch is available at https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk/register.aspx?redirect=http%3a%2f%2fjobsearch.direct.gov.uk%2fhome.aspx.

    “

  • Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the Armed Forces Covenant has been enacted in Northern Ireland.

    Mark Lancaster

    Since the launch of the Armed Forces Covenant in 2011 the Ministry of Defence has worked closely with Northern Ireland Government Departments, Service charities and other groups to build on existing measures to support the Armed Forces Community. In 2013, the Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs reported that, less some specific areas, Covenant measures were being applied in Northern Ireland.

    I acknowledge that the Armed Forces Covenant does not enjoy the same level of awareness or appreciation in Northern Ireland as in other parts of the UK. However, I am clear that every effort is being made to implement the Covenant against the particular nuances of the Northern Irish political and legal environment. The Ministry of Defence and other parties work tirelessly to ensure good relationships help develop improved understanding of specific needs and I have been impressed by the way in which solutions to these needs are generated in a focussed and professional manner. Such provision is fully commensurate with the aims and objectives of the Covenant, whether it is branded as such or not.

    Service personnel in Northern Ireland are well-catered for under the auspices of the Covenant and are at no particular disadvantage, although more work is needed to identify the needs of those within the veterans community. This work is ongoing, well-resourced, and fully recognised as activity provided within the scope of the Armed Forces Covenant.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to reduce plastic waste; and what assessment she has made of the contribution of the circular economy to reducing that waste.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government has taken a number of steps to reduce plastic waste.

    These include the introduction of a 5p charge on single use carrier bags, which is expected to deliver a reduction of 70-80% in bag usage.

    The UK Producer Responsibility (Packaging Waste) Regulations require producers of packaging to ensure that a proportion of the packaging they handle is recovered and recycled. As recycling targets become more challenging, the incentive on businesses to minimise the packaging they use increases.

    We encourage packaging producers to use a minimum level of packaging through the implementation of the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations which require that packaging should not exceed what is needed to ensure that products are safe, hygienic and acceptable to the consumer.

    The third phase of the Courtauld Commitment aims to further optimise packaging, reduce packaging waste and improve recyclability. It aims to deliver a 3% relative reduction to the amount of packaging generated by signatories.

    Working through the Waste and Resources Action Programme we have developed and delivered a number of activities in support of both the use of recycled materials in new products, and on activities to stimulate its demand.

    For example, the Plastics Industry Recycling Action Plan has identified key actions that need to take place across the whole supply chain to ensure that recycling plastics packaging can be done sustainably. This includes design for recyclability, collections and sorting, reprocessing and development of sustainable end markets.

    Developing and securing sustainable end markets for recycled materials is key to delivering a circular economy.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many civil law suits have been brought against her Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many such suits were settled out of court before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements have cost the public purse since 2010.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    None.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 192 of the Office of Budget Responsibility’s report, Economic and fiscal outlook, published in March 2016, how the estimated savings of £0.8 billion by 2020-21 from the minimum income floor of universal credit were calculated.

    Priti Patel

    The savings were estimated using DWP’s and HMRC’s models of the tax and benefit system. Extracting the full details of the calculations carried out within the models would only be possible at disproportionate cost.