Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many outstanding (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payment assessments for Scottish claimants there were in each of the last four quarters for which information is available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The number of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) initial work capability assessments still in progress in Scotland as at the dates below were:

    Quarter

    Total

    31 December 2014

    30,700

    31 March 2015

    28,800

    30 June 2015

    28,200

    30 September 2015

    27,500

    Source: Data is derived from administrative data held by the DWP and assessment data provided by the healthcare provider.

    Personal Independence Payment (PIP) clearance levels are within expectations. The number of cases in progress in Scotland as at the dates below were:

    30 April 2015 6,100

    31 July 2015 6,800

    31 October 2015 8,900

    31 January 2016 13,000

    Source: Data taken from the PIP computer system management information

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research her Department has conducted or commissioned on the use of gas as a potential method for culling badgers; how many badgers were used in that research; what the results of that research were; and what the total cost was of that research.

    George Eustice

    Bovine TB is the greatest animal health threat to the UK. Based on current expenditure it will cost the taxpayer £1 billion over the next decade if we do not take rigorous action now.

    Management of rural badger populations in areas with high incidence of bovine TB in cattle is part of the Government’s 25-year strategy to eradicate bovine TB in England.

    A research study commissioned by Defra is assessing alternative control methods, including the use of gas in a sett environment. No badgers or active setts have been used in this research. It is Defra’s intention to publish a final report once the research has concluded. Project costs to March 2016 are £310,252.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will raise with the Chinese authorities reports that North Korean agents entered Chiangbai and murdered the Korean-Chinese pastor Han Choong Yeol.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), to the Hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell), on 9 May 2016 (PQ 36385), copied below for ease of reference:

    ‘I have no plans to raise this case with the Chinese Government. We have a regular dialogue with the Chinese about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which covers the effective implementation of UN sanctions to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons, and encouraging China to confront human rights violations by the North Korean regime, most notably the important principle of non-refoulement. I raised both points with Chinese Vice Minister Chen Fengxiang in December’.

  • Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what consideration she has given to extending the support of biomass after 2027 to treat it equally with other low-carbon technologies.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We see the use of conversions of coal to biomass as a transitional technology. It has played a useful role in decarbonising the grid while other, lower carbon forms of energy generation, such as offshore wind continue to develop and lower their costs. Government support for biomass conversions are restricted to 2027 under the Renewables Obligation and Contract for Difference, however all other biomass technologies are eligible for the full 15 year life of the contract. We have no current plans to change those dates.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to recruit more diabetes specialist nurses.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    NHS Digital provides information on the number of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed in the National Health Service in England but it does not separately identify diabetes specialist nurses.

    It is for local NHS organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills such as diabetes nursing and to deploy specialist nurses.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much the London Olympic council tax precept (a) has raised in each year of its existence and (b) is predicted to raise in the remaining years of its existence.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what extra funding will be made available to deliver seven day services in the NHS; and when such funding will be made available.

    Ben Gummer

    The Spending Review provided the National Health Service in England £10 billion per annum additional funding in real terms by 2020-21 compared to 2014-15, with £3.8 billion real terms growth in 2016-17. This fully funds the NHS’s own Five Year Forward View and will enable it to deliver services seven days a week by 2020. Local NHS organisations will need to plan how they can most effectively and efficiently deliver seven day services within the overall funding available to them. Further details will be set out in the coming weeks as the mandate to NHS England is published, followed by funding allocations to clinical commissioning groups, the publication of planning guidance for the NHS and consultation on tariff prices for providers of NHS services.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons his Department has decided not to include Saudi Arabia in its Strategy for the Abolition of the Death Penalty.

    Mr David Lidington

    The criteria used in 2010 to draw up the list of priority countries within the “HMG Strategy for the Abolition of the Death Penalty 2010-2015” are set out in that document. The previous Government decided that limited resources should focus on countries ready to engage in a dialogue about capital punishment likely to lead to reform. Many of the countries prioritised in 2010 have implemented reforms in the intervening five years. Saundi Arabia is included in the 2015 Annual Human Rights Report as a country of concern, primarily because of its use of the death penalty. We do not intend to publish a new strategy specific to the death penalty; but we will be publishing a strategy for the FCO’s Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund on 18 January, which will show how work to abolish the death penalty is important under all three of the strategy’s new themes. The FCO’s death penalty-related work will also be covered in future instalments of the FCO’s Annual Human Rights Report.

  • Karen Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Karen Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the change in the number of BME households who have (a) applied and (b) been accepted for homeless status was in each region and constituent nation of the UK between 2010 and 2015.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The available information on homelessness decisions taken and acceptances for each region in England for each financial year from 2004/05 to 2014/15 is given in the attached table.

    Information for other parts of the UK are a matter for the devolved Administrations.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy that waste disposal licences are not issued by the Environment Agency to individuals with criminal convictions or to companies controlled by individuals with criminal convictions.

    Rory Stewart

    The Environment Agency can already refuse an application for an environmental permit if it considers the applicant or another relevant person is not competent or unwilling to comply with the conditions of a permit. Where disclosed as part of an application, relevant convictions may be considered by the regulator as part of its assessment of an operator’s competence to hold an environmental permit.