Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Owen Thompson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Owen Thompson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Thompson on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what guidance is issued to households on dealing with a nuclear incident.

    Penny Mordaunt

    In accordance with the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001 (REPPIR) households in the area likely to be affected by a nuclear emergency, are provided with prior information to ensure they are properly informed and prepared in the unlikely event of an emergency occurring.

  • Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    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.

  • 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 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how her Department’s 25-year food and farming plan will contribute to delivering the Government’s emissions reduction plan.

    George Eustice

    The Food and Farming Plan will explore the role of technology in reducing emissions through improved feed efficiency, among other issues. It will also set out how we will work with industry to deliver emissions reductions across the rest of the food chain, including supporting the Courtauld 2025 objective of reducing food and drink emissions by 20% between 2015 and 2025.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions there have been of applicants for asylum who have arrived without documents and concealed their identity to frustrate removal in each of the last 10 years.

    James Brokenshire

    The number of individuals prosecuted for arriving without documents and concealing their identity is 50. The figures are illustrated below.

    1st April 2014 – 31 March 2015 26

    1st April 2015 – 31 March 2016 22

    This information was not held centrally prior to 2014.

    The Home Office works closely with the NCA and other law enforcement agencies, and prosecuting authorities in the UK and abroad, to ensure criminal investigations are robustly progressed in accordance with Criminal Justice standards.

  • Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions officials of his Department have had with their counterparts in (a) Wales on the Welsh Liver Disease Delivery Plan and (b) Scotland on the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework.

    David Mowat

    There have been no discussions with counterparts in Wales on the Welsh Liver Disease Delivery Plan or Scotland on the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework.

    Public Health England contributes to the Lancet Commission on Liver Disease and the Lancet Commission have also reviewed the Welsh Liver Disease Delivery Plan.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether a Minister of his Department was present at the meeting between the Prime Minister and the Chief Executive of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn on 14 October 2016.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on the www.gov.uk website at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bis-quarterly-publications-april-to-june-2012

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of Bermuda’s progress in introducing a public register of beneficial ownership since June 2013.

    James Duddridge

    We have asked the Bermudian authorities to meet the following criteria: a) UK law enforcement and tax authorities must be able to access company beneficial ownership information without restriction, subject to relevant safeguards; b) These competent authorities should be able to quickly identify all companies that a particular beneficial owner has a stake in without needing to submit multiple and repeated requests; and c) Companies or their beneficial owners must not be alerted to the fact that an investigation is underway. We are continuing our dialogue with the Bermudan authorities on this and have offered any technical support that might be required as they develop their proposals My Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond MP), Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, met with Premier Dunkley on 26 August in London.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research her Department has recently commissioned on the effects of pesticides on UK ecosystems.

    George Eustice

    Defra has funded a number of projects over recent years to develop its understanding of the effects of pesticides. This includes work to examine the fate and behaviour of pesticides in the environment, their effects on non-target organisms and measures to reduce adverse effects. A list of all Defra-commissioned Research and Development (R&D) projects is available from the Defra R&D website.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what dates since the Belfast Agreement in 1998 they have discussed with the government of the Republic of Ireland (1) human rights in the UK, and (2) human rights in the Republic of Ireland; who took part in those discussions; what were the issues discussed; and what were the various outcomes.

    Lord Dunlop

    The UK and Irish Governments meet regularly at ministerial and official level to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern. These include matters relating to human rights in Northern Ireland and Ireland as contained in the Belfast Agreement of 1998.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will ensure that decisions on planning applications for fracking are taken within the local government planning process.

    James Wharton

    The Government has in place a local government led process for the consideration of planning applications for shale gas exploration. As part of this, mineral planning authorities have a responsibility to consider such applicationsunder the Town and Country Planning regime. The Government has taken steps to ensure this locally led regime is effective, as set out in Written Ministerial Statements made on 16 September, HCWS201 and HCWS202. This includes making available £1.2 million to ensure mineral planning authorities have adequate resource to reach timely decisions.

    Community involvement in planning applications and people’s safety and the environment will remain paramount. No decision has been made to take shale gas exploration out of this local government led process and there are no plans currently to consult on such a change.