Tag: Parliamentary Question

Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Answer of 10 October 2016 to Question 46333, how much has been spent on the functions of the Department for International Trade; and what estimate he has made of how much will be spent on those functions by the end of the current fiscal year.

Mark Garnier

Following her appointment on 13 July 2016 the Prime Minister established the Department for International Trade (DIT). Until such time as a transfer of functions order establishes my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade as a corporation sole, DIT remains a unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for accounting purposes. The transfer of functions order (No 2016/ 992) laid on 19 October 2016 will come into effect on 9 November 2016.

DIT is a new Department and is in the process of establishing a separate and distinct budget for its operating costs. This will be shared with Parliament through the Autumn Statement and Supplementary Estimates.

January 1, 2023

Lord Teverson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Teverson on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which were the 10 countries in which the highest number of interviews for potential international students in the UK took place, and what were the subsequent refusal rates for each country in (1) 2013, (2) 2014, and (3) 2015.

Lord Bates

The top 10 countries, in descending order, in which Tier 4 Student applications were undertaken and the subsequent refusal rates can be found in table to below:

2015 (Jan-Jun)

Nationality	Refusal rate
CHINA	3%
NIGERIA	14%
SAUDI ARABIA	4%
INDIA	16%
TANZANIA	17%
PAKISTAN	41%
TUNISIA	31%
TURKEY	6%
BRAZIL	8%
VIETNAM	15%

2014

Nationality	Refusal rate
CHINA	2%
INDIA	14%
NIGERIA	16%
SAUDI ARABIA	7%
PAKISTAN	31%
THAILAND	3%
BRAZIL	3%
RUSSIA	7%
TURKEY	5%
BANGLADESH	26%

2013

Nationality	Refusal rate
CHINA	2%
INDIA	18%
NIGERIA	19%
PAKISTAN	40%
SAUDI ARABIA	7%
THAILAND	2%
RUSSIA	8%
TURKEY	8%
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES	1%
BANGLADESH	22%

January 1, 2023

Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2015 to Question 11444, when the regeneration strategy for Jaywick will be fully implemented; and if his Department will (a) provide additional resources to improve the (i) standard of housing and (ii) quality of life and (b) liberalise planning rules for house building in Jaywick and Brooklands.

Brandon Lewis

The Jaywick Coastal Community Team are preparing their Economic Plan, to be completed by the end of January 2016. The Plan will outline the key economic issues facing Jaywick, setting out both the short term and longer term priorities for the Coastal Community Team.

The Chancellor confirmed at Autumn Statement last week that the Coastal Communities Fund will be extended from 2017-18 to 2020-21 with at least £90 million of new funding. Details of the next bidding round will be announced in the New Year. The focus of the Fund will remain on support for sustainable jobs and growth.

Tendring Council received £1.8 million in New Homes Bonus in 2015-16 and a total of £5.2 million since the scheme started in 2011-12. All new homes are constructed in accordance with Building Regulations, ensuring they meet minimum standards in respect of health, safety and sustainability.

January 1, 2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent estimate her Department has made of the square mileage of the UK which has (a) permanent wind farms installed, (b) has been granted planning permission for wind farm installation and (c) is being considered for wind farm installation; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

The renewable electricity planning database (REPD – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-energy-planning-database-monthly-extract) extracts data on planning from authorities across the country but it does not collate information on the square mileage of projects

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January 1, 2023
Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changing eligibility criteria for personal independence payment on people with long-term medical conditions; what estimate he has made of how many people will be affected by those changes; what type of work he expects people with long-term medical conditions to undertake; and what steps he has taken to (a) ensure that employers employ people with such conditions and (b) tackle any discriminatory practices against people with such conditions.

Justin Tomlinson

DWP has conducted a consultation to seek views on how support can best be provided, through Personal Independence Payment (PIP), to help meet the costs of disability faced by people who are currently awarded points due to aids and appliances. No decision has yet been made as to whether any change should be made to the current system and the department does not have any preference between the five options presented in the consultation. We have also invited additional suggestions for change.

If the Department decides that change is required, a full equality analysis will be conducted and considered prior to a final decision being made, in line with the Department’s obligations under the Equality Act 2010. This will include an estimate of the number who would be affected.

PIP is payable both in and out of work. The Government is committed to giving all disabled people the opportunity to fulfil their potential and achieve their ambitions. Work is an important part of this, which is why the Government has committed to halving the disability employment gap, requiring us to transform policy, practice and public attitudes. The government’s award winning Disability Confident was launched by the Prime Minister in 2013 and works to improve employer awareness and confidence in employing, retaining and unlocking disabled people’s talents.

Employment programmes like Work Choice continue to help thousands of disabled people find, start and remain in work. Since 2010, Work Choice has achieved over 39,490 job outcomes for disabled people. The Equality Act 2010 also provides statutory protection against discrimination and applies to every stage of the recruitment process. Access to Work offers additional support beyond an employer’s statutory duty to provide reasonable adjustments and last year the scheme supported 36,800 disabled people in work.

January 1, 2023
Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 28083, when he expects the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Programme to (a) cover the whole country and (b) extend into other clinical areas including meeting the needs of children aged 0 to 5; and what other clinical areas he expects that programme to expand into.

Alistair Burt

The Children and Young People’s Improving Access (CYP IAPT) Programme is delivered by NHS England and Health Education England. The service transformation programme is aiming to cover community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Partnerships of commissioners and providers across the whole of England by the end of 2018.

The CYP IAPT programme is expanding geographically and in scope. As part of this expansion NHS England has worked with Health Education England and set up a 0-5’s expert reference group (ERG). The ERG is in the final stages of development of a competency based educational programme for early years practitioners from a range of disciplines. Three other new curricula are also at the final stages of development.

― Combination Therapy – psychological and pharmacological interventions;

― Evidence Based Counselling; and

― Evidence Based Psychological Therapies for CYP with mental health problems and autism spectrum disorder and/or a learning disability.

All four curricula will be ready for delivery in higher education institutions within the financial year 2016/17.

January 1, 2023
Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will issue guidance to NHS trusts on ensuring future reductions in frontline staff numbers are not made for the purpose of reducing trusts’ deficits.

Ben Gummer

The National Health Service has taken a number of steps to reduce trusts’ deficits. We have introduced tough new financial controls to cut down on waste in the NHS – including clamping down on rip-off staffing agencies and expensive management consultants, and introducing central procurement rules.

We are also introducing a £2.1 billion Sustainability and Transformation Fund in 2016/17 to support providers to move to a financially sustainable footing. This will give the NHS the space to transform services so they are world class for decades to come.

The purpose of these actions is to put NHS finances on a sustainable footing to ensure high quality care, now and in the future.

Trusts should focus on the numbers and skillmix needed to deliver quality care, patient safety and efficiency, taking into account local factors such as acuity and casemix.

Two communications to NHS trusts (a letter on safe staffing and efficiency dated 13 October 2015 from NHS Improvement, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), NHS England, Jane Cummings, Chief Nursing Officer and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; and a letter dated 15 January 2016 from Chief Executive-designate of NHS Improvement, Jim Mackey, and the CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards) asked trusts to consider quality and finances on an equal footing in their planning decisions; stated that it is not the case that NHS trusts could only achieve their financial targets at the expense of quality, or that improving quality is more important than staying in financial surplus; and emphasised that responsibility for staffing rests (as it has always done) with trust boards.

January 1, 2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the provisions relating to houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) under the Housing Act 2004 on the (a) incidence of landlords renting to families rather than sharers and (b) availability of affordable housing for young professional sharers; and if he will bring forward proposals to make HMOs more accessible to young professional sharers.

Brandon Lewis

The Department does not collect this information. We see houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) as one of the most accessible tenures, especially for young professionals.

We are working to increase supply by accelerating the development of a new market for private renters, including the £1 billion Build to Rent Fund, which funds development of new purpose-built privately rented homes, alongside a £10 billion debt guarantee programme.

January 1, 2023
Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide additional funding for transfer cases related to the Dublin Regulation where further evidence of family links is needed for asylum to be granted.

James Brokenshire

The Dublin Regulation is the mechanism for determining which EU Member State is responsible for examining an asylum claim, not whether an individual qualifies for asylum. Any request to the UK from another Member State to unite family members under the Dublin Regulation is carefully considered: where someone seeking asylum elsewhere in the EU can demonstrate they have close family members legally in the UK, we will take responsibility for that claim. We make decisions based on all evidence available to us and where it is coherent, verifiable and sufficiently detailed to establish family links.

January 1, 2023
Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the refits of HMS Dauntless and HMS Lancaster will commence.

Earl Howe

On current plans, the refit for HMS LANCASTER will commence in mid 2017 and the refit for HMS DAUNTLESS is scheduled for the end of 2017.

January 1, 2023