Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • 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 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her Written Ministerial Statement of 17 December 2015, Bovine TB, HC 45409, when her Department plans to introduce statutory post-movement TB testing for cattle entering the low-risk area.

    George Eustice

    The legislation that will introduce statutory post-movement TB testing for cattle entering the low-risk area is expected to come into force on the next common commencement date, 6 April 2016.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the remit and nature is of the contracts Atos holds with the Home Office.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office holds three contracts with Atos.

    The first is “IND Procurement of Infrastructure Development and Support” (IPIDS), which provides application management supporting and hosting for major immigration IT systems. This contract expired on 31st January 2016, and a six-month transition period was invoked to provide support for a smaller subset of applications not covered by the replacement programme.

    The whole life cost of IPIDS was circa £220 million (exclusive of any additional project charges) until 31st January 2016. The maximum cost of the six-month transition period will be £642,000 (excluding VAT).

    The Department’s second contract with Atos is “Contain,” which is a direct replacement for IPIDS. The programme provides continuity for seven major Immigration IT systems, whilst work continues on the Immigration Platform Technology (IPT) platform. The Contain contract allows legacy immigration applications to be phased out whilst service continuity is preserved, and enables new applications delivered by the IPT programme to be brought in without disruption. The contract will run for a maximum of two years, and the total contract value is £18.1 million (excl VAT), which includes run and decommission costs.

    The third contract with Atos Worldline is a small G-Cloud Call-Off Agreement to enable passport application payments to be made online; the total contract value is £183,000.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-04-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of low long-term real interest rates on house prices.

    Harriett Baldwin

    According to the latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics, UK house price growth moderated to 7.6% in the year to February 2016, down from a peak of 12.1% in September 2014. A number of factors are likely to have supported demand for housing in recent years, including low interest rates.

    The Government has established the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England, designed to monitor risks to the UK financial system and take action to address those where appropriate. The FPC has been given the authority and a powerful set of tools to tackle the risks posed to financial stability from the housing market.

  • Neil Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Neil Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Carmichael on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has (a) received and (b) made to the Egyptian government on investigations in Egypt into non-governmental organisations and their funding which form part of Case No. 173 (2011).

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have received representations from both Parliamentarians and non-governmental organisations in relation to this case.

    We are deeply concerned by growing restrictions on civil society in Egypt, including asset freezes and travel bans against human rights defenders and NGOs. I have frequently raised this with the Egyptian Ambassador and issued a statement on 22 March. Officials regularly raise our concerns with representatives of the Egyptian Government in both Cairo and London, most recently in May.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Government will make it its policy that should a third runway be agreed at Heathrow Airport, that runway will not be permitted to operate if the airport breaches air quality limits.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Airports Commission shortlisted three airport expansion schemes, two at Heathrow and one at Gatwick. We are carefully considering the evidence in relation to all three schemes. The Government accepted the Commission’s shortlist in December 2015, and has since been undertaking a programme of further work, including on air quality, to support a decision on a preferred scheme. The Government’s decision on a preferred scheme will take into account the Government’s overall plan to improve air quality and its commitments to comply with legal obligations.

  • Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will work with universities in the UK and EU to ensure that exchange programmes similar to the Erasmus programme will continue after the UK leaves the EU.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The referendum result has no immediate effect on students abroad under the Erasmus scheme or applying for 2016/17. Payments will be made in the usual way. Access to the programme after we leave the EU is a matter for the forthcoming negotiations. Consideration of other options will depend on the outcome of these negotiations.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on recoverable costs in medical negligence cases.

    Ben Gummer

    The fixed recoverable cost regime is seeking to streamline claims for clinical negligence, focusing on what is required for a fair and proportionate resolution and encouraging a process that is more resource efficient and that incentivises the right behaviours by all parties. It extends the benefits of fixed cost regimes already realised in other areas of personal injury, as recommended by Lord Justice Jackson,and is not about the number of claims being brought.

  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Dunlop on 9 December (HL4222, HL4272 and HL4321), which peers and MPs who are based in Northern Ireland were invited by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers, to her briefing on the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Bill on 23 November; at what time and where the briefing took place; and why no peer or MP from Northern Ireland appears to have received the invitation circulated electronically.

    Lord Dunlop

    An invitation to the briefing on the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Bill was circulated electronically to all Peers via the Usual Channels. The briefing was held on Monday 23 November at 12 noon in Committee Room 4A at the House of Lords.

  • Ian Liddell-Grainger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Ian Liddell-Grainger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Liddell-Grainger on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what research her Department has conducted or commissioned on the link between poor sanitation and associated hygiene practices and maternal and newborn health and survival.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    DFID is providing £16 million over 8 years for SHARE (Sanitation and Hygiene Applied Research for Equity), a research consortium led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. SHARE has funded five key studies which have significantly advanced our understanding of this critical issue and put water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) firmly on the global maternal & newborn health (MNH) agenda. Research includes a systematic review establishing the impact of WASH on maternal mortality and a cohort study in Odisha, India that has provided the first rigorous evidence that poor sanitation during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, low birthweight, spontaneous abortion and still birth

    DFID is also providing £7.2 million of funding to support the Sanitation, Hygiene Infant Nutrition Efficacy (SHINE) trial currently underway in Zimbabwe. The trial aims to prove and describe the causal relationship between sanitation and child stunting.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Daesh fighters in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The political crisis in Yemen remains extremely concerning, particularly the risk that terrorist organisations such as Daesh-Yemen continue to exploit the deteriorating situation to consolidate their support base and capabilities in Yemen. Throughout 2015, we saw an expansion of Daesh-Yemen, albeit starting from a small base. We continue to work with regional and international partners to tackle the threat posed by terrorist organisations including Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Daesh-Yemen. For operational reasons we cannot comment in detail on this activity.