Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much in Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 compensation payments Network Rail paid to train operating companies in each year from 2009-10 to 2015-16; and what Schedule 4 payments Network Rail received from train operating companies in that period.

    Claire Perry

    This information is published on Network Rail’s website – http://www.networkrail.co.uk/transparency/datasets/ – covering the years 2011-12 to 2014-15. 2015-16 is not yet available and the Department does not hold this information for the years 2009-10 or 2010-11.

    The Schedule 8 values are net of compensation payments due from train and freight operating companies. The net payment agreed with individual operators is arrived at through a process of attribution of delays where many factors are taken into consideration and compensation amounts are incurred both ways.

    Network Rail does not receive compensation payments under schedule 4.

    “

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how to achieve legally binding targets for air pollution should the third runway at Heathrow proceed.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Airports Commission published a large amount of analysis on air quality, which included an assessment of potential impacts on limit values, in its Final Report, which is available in the libraries of the House.

    In addition, as announced in December, we are testing the Airports Commission’s work on air quality against the Government’s new air quality plan, as recommended by the Environmental Audit Committee.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2016 to Question 31103, what the average local authority expenditure for each looked after child was in each year from 2011 to 2015.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authority funding for the provision of children’s services, including fostering services, is provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government. However, local authorities are required to submit annual budget and outturn statements about their actual spending to the Secretary of State for Education.

    The total local authority expenditure on looked after children, based upon the section 251 outturn statements, is set out below for each financial year between 2011 – 2015.

    Total local authority expenditure per looked after child per week is also set out. This is given by total expenditure in each financial year divided by the total number of looked after children at the 31 March of each year. This is then divided by the number of weeks in a year to give a weekly figure.

    2011-12 (£000s)

    2012-13 (£000s)

    2013-14 (£000s)

    2014-15 (£000s)

    Looked After Children Spending

    £3,383,664

    £3,495,626

    £3,661,327

    £3,768,523

    ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    Spending per Looked after Child per week

    £880

    £985

    £1,020

    £1,040

    Source: Section 251 outturn statements and SSDA903

    Note: Unit costs rounded to the neared £5.

  • Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax avoidance cases have been submitted by HM Revenue and Customs to the General Anti-Abuse Rule Advisory Panel in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015 and (d) 2016 to date.

    Mr David Gauke

    The General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) was introduced in July 2013, and only applies to abusive tax arrangements entered into from this date.

    This means that it will first apply to income tax returns for the tax year ending 5 April 2014, which must have been filed with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by 31 January 2015.

    For cases to be tackled by the GAAR, HMRC must first enquire into tax returns once they are received, and gather all relevant facts. It is therefore still early in the process of litigation action for cases to be tackled by the GAAR.

    The GAAR Advisory Panel is an external body separate to HMRC. Their independent role means that they do not report the number of meetings held to HMRC.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of alcohol consumption on levels of obesity; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The last Government’s “Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A call to action on obesity in England”, October 2011 states that alcoholic drinks can be high in calories and contribute to the energy imbalance that can lead to being overweight and obesity.

    We welcome the fact that some businesses are choosing to label calories voluntarily on their alcoholic beverages.

  • 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 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the outcome has been of his Department’s efforts to secure a lawyer for Andargachew Tsege; and what other steps his Department plans to take to ensure the release of Mr Tsege.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​On 1 June 2016, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam assured the then Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), that Mr Tsege would be allowed access to independent legal advice to allow him to discuss options under the Ethiopian legal system. Since then, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) has raised Mr Tsege’s case with his Ethiopian counterpart, Foreign Minister Tedros, on 3 occasions, most recently during the UN General Assembly in New York. Each time he has insisted that the Ethiopians follow through with their commitment to allow legal access. The British Government will continue to raise this issue until Mr Tsege is given access to independent legal advice. We do not interfere in the legal systems of other countries by challenging convictions, any more than we would accept interference in our judicial system. We will continue to keep our approach to this case under review.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many licences the Government has secured for off-patent drugs in each of the last five years.

    George Freeman

    The Government does not normally apply for medicines licenses, which is rightly an obligation of the company who has developed the drug. The Secretary of State is the United Kingdom licensing authority for medicines and cannot become a routine applicant to himself nor can he become a routine participant in pharmaceutical markets which holders of licenses are obliged to do. The Government has not secured any licenses for off-patent drugs in the past five years.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria his Department used to select sites for HM Revenue and Customs regional offices.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the planned locations of its future Regional Centres based on a number of key principles that will enable it to deliver more for less. In addition to cost, HMRC has taken account of the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, and the need to retain the staff and skills it requires to continue its transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

    HMRC estimates that Liverpool will be home to between 2,800 and 3,100 full time equivalent employees. Consolidation into the Regional Centre is expected to begin in 2019-20. HMRC plans to open the Regional Centre in Cardiff in 2019-20. It is likely that the office at Plas Gororau in Wrexham will close in 2020-21. HMRC will be holding one-to-one discussions with each of its people to discuss the next steps.

  • Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions her Department has had with the operators of the Brae Alpha platform following the gas leak on 26 December 2015 that resulted in the shutdown of that platform.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The incident on 26 December 2015 was a safety-related incident at an offshore oil and gas installation, the regulation of which falls within the Health and Safety Executive’s statutory remit under the Offshore Safety Directive.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether there have been any unintentional violations of international humanitarian law carried out by Saudi coalition forces in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by actors to the conflict and take these very seriously. It is important that all sides conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into all incidents where it is alleged that IHL has been breached. As the Saudis themselves announced on Sunday, they have mechanisms in place to investigate alleged incidents and to learn lessons if things go wrong. The Ministry of Defence also monitors incidents of alleged IHL violations using available information, which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. At this stage, looking at all the information available to us, we have not assessed that there has been a breach of IHL by the coalition, but continue to monitor the situation closely, seeking further information where appropriate.