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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that UK defence capability can effectively respond to a threat from Russia.

    Penny Mordaunt

    As outlined in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review our commitment to collective defence and security through NATO remains as strong as ever. Our 2% defence spending pledge will ensure that we stay NATO’s strongest military power in Europe.

    In 2017 the UK will lead the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, formed in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and we will make a significant contribution to the force every year of this Parliament. As well as providing Typhoons to NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, we have provided ships and Army units to NATO exercises to reassure our Allies against the threat from Russia, and we will continue to do so. We are joining the German-US Trans-Atlantic Capability Enhancement and Training initiative in the Baltic states and Poland, sharing our military expertise.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 25 May 2016 to Question 37198, how many of the leaflets entitled Why the Government believes that voting to remain in the European Union is the best decision for the UK have been returned to her Department; and what the postage cost to the Government has been of such returns.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    I refer the hon Member to the Prime Minister’s response of 25 May 2016. This information is not collated centrally by the Department.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many visits there were to community pharmacies for minor ailments in (a) England and (b) each former strategic health authority area in each year since 2006.

    David Mowat

    The information requested is not collected centrally. However, information is available on the number of community pharmacies which are commissioned to provide a minor ailments service as an enhanced service under National Health Service pharmaceutical services at:

    www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB19026

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the membership is of the Cabinet committee for exiting the EU.

    Ben Gummer

    The full list of Cabinet Committees, including terms of reference and membership, will be published soon.

  • Barbara Keeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barbara Keeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barbara Keeley on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings of the report, Prevent, Reduce, Delay: Are councils meeting their new duties to support unpaid carers, published by the Carers Trust in October 2015, on the level of compliance by councils with their duty under the Care Act 2014 to prevent carers developing a need for support.

    Alistair Burt

    The Care Act 2014 and guidance are clear about the provision of preventative services. Under the Care Act, local authorities have a responsibility to support carers in a number of ways. This includes duties on local authorities to provide information and advice and universal preventative services for carers.

    The Carers Trust report Prevent, Reduce, Delay: Are councils meeting their new duties to support unpaid carers is a helpful contribution to the evidence around the new prevention duty and how councils are working to fulfil it as regards carers.

    However, it is difficult to draw conclusions about practice from the report, given the uncertainty it notes about how councils have interpreted the Freedom of Information request on which the report is based, and the variable quality of responses.

    We continue to pursue other measures to monitor and support implementation of the Care Act.

    To support implementation of the reform programme, we have established a joint Programme Management Office between the Department, Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Adults Social Services. This unprecedented partnership is driving collaborative working with the sector, influencing the local implementation of these changes to support a consistent and coherent approach. This approach was recognised by the National Audit Office as best practice and should be adopted by other programmes.

    The programme includes a series of stocktakes of local authority readiness and the latest, from June 2015, demonstrates an overall positive picture on implementation:

    – Councils’ confidence in their ability to deliver the Care Act Reforms in 2015/16 remains high, with 99% very or fairly confident.

    – 89% of councils say that they are ‘on track’ with their implementation. The remaining 11% report themselves as only slightly behind.

    The Department is also leading on the development of a new National Carers’ Strategy that will examine what more we can do to support existing carers and the new carers.

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

    Lord Warner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they plan to issue on the integration of health and social care services, in the light of their commitment to do so by 2020 at paragraph 2.49 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015; whether that guidance will cover integrated budgets for those services locally and nationally; and whether new legislation will be required to ensure that integration.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    It is clear from progress already made up and down the country towards the integration of health and social care that there is no single ‘correct’ way to achieve the Government’s ambition of full integration by 2020. On this basis, the Government will encourage areas to design and implement those solutions that are most appropriate for their own context, and will avoid setting out an overly prescriptive policy framework, including with respect to the integration of budgets.

    However, in order to ensure that adequate progress is made in the given timeframe, and that the benefits of integration are realised both for members of the public and for health and social care organisations, it will be important to set out the Government’s minimum expectations for integration. Areas will be expected to pay regard to these minimum expectations when setting out their plans for integration by 2020, and it will be by demonstrating that they have moved beyond this baseline that they will be entitled to graduate from the existing Better Care Fund programme management, which will continue to be mandatory in 2016-17.

    The existing legislative framework already provides a great degree of flexibility for local areas wishing to pursue different approaches to the integration of health and social care. The Government will work closely with local areas in the years to 2020 to understand the limits of this legislative framework and to understand how any limits can be overcome.

    It is the intention that guidance will be published in 2016 reflecting the position set out above, and it is likely that this guidance will include material on the integration of budgets.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last discussed violence and insecurity in Burundi with (a) the Burundi Ambassador, (b) the Burundi government, (c) the UN and (d) the African Union.

    James Duddridge

    I spoke with the Burundian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Deo Sindayihebura, about violence and insecurity in Burundi on Thursday, 10th December. In the week commencing 14 December, I was in the region. On 17 December I discussed violence and insecurity in Burundi with the Burundian Foreign Minister Alain Nyamitwe, and Major General Prime Niyongabo, Army Chief Of Staff.

    My visit to the region was focused on Burundi throughout. I had separate meetings with the Ugandan President Museveni and the Ugandan Foreign Minister Kutesa. Additionally, I spoke by phone with Defence Minister Kiyonga, the Ugandan nominated mediator, on 15 December. I met the Rwandan Foreign Minister Mushikiwabo on 16 December. These meetings were with key members of the African Union, who are looking to help find solutions to the situation. On 7 November, I spoke with Ibrahima Fall, AU Special Envoy to the Great Lakes, and Smail Chergui, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security.

    I met with UN Humanitarian agencies including UNHCR, IOM, WFP, UNICEF whilst in Burundi. I also recently wrote to the UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Conflict Prevention, Jamal Benomar, to make clear our concerns about Burundi and offer the UK Government’s support to him.

  • Geoffrey Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Geoffrey Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Robinson on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many small businesses have received financial assistance from (a) peer to peer lenders and (b) other sources in the last 12 months.

    Anna Soubry

    Recent figures from the peer-to-peer finance association show that their members had 225,000 loans outstanding in the third quarter of 2015 and that over half of these by value were to businesses. That is a 108,000 increase on the previous year. Other sources such as crowdfunding are growing equally fast, and lending to smaller businesses from the banks has been recovering strongly. 80% of loan and overdraft applications to SMEs were successful in the 18 months to Q3 2015 , up from 68% in Q4 2013 (SME Finance Monitor)

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Communities and Local Government on the applicability of that Department’s anti-sock puppet clause pilot scheme to other departments.

    Matthew Hancock

    Cabinet Office officials undertook several discussions with DCLG on this matter. The discussions were varied, extensive and frequent, and covered both development and implementation.

  • Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans that the toll level for Vehicle Category 1 and Vehicle Category 2 will be equal when the Severn Bridges return to public ownership.

    Andrew Jones

    The Chancellor announced at Budget 2015 that the Government will abolish Category 2 tolls (small goods vehicles and small buses) and include those vehicles in Category 1, to reduce costs for businesses once Severn River Crossings are in public ownership.