Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Moonie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Moonie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions over each of the last five years Network Rail has been fined for breaches of health and safety legislation; and what safeguards are in place to ensure that fines are not passed on to the taxpayer or passengers.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Network Rail has been fined fifteen times over the last five years for breaches of health and safety legislation, however the incidents that these fines correspond with took place over the last thirteen years (2003-2016). All fines must be paid out of existing budgets and no additional funding will be made available by government and no extra can be raised from track access charges.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to assist the Syrian people in putting in place stable political and diplomatic foundations on which to rebuild that country once the conflict there has ended.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We hope that the 30 October Vienna meeting is the start of an international process, alongside talks between the Syrian parties, which will lead to transition away from Assad in line with the Geneva communiqué of 2012. The UK Government is closely engaged in this process and is working with Syrian opposition and civil society groups to ensure they are adequately represented in the process, and to help them prepare for a political transition in Syria.

  • Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to paragraph 1.17 of the UK National Strategy for Maritime Security, published in May 2014, how many meetings there have been of the ministerial working group on maritime security.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    As Chairman, I write to the members of the Ministerial Working Group on maritime security biannually with operational and policy updates, the most recent of these was on 19 November. The Ministerial Working Group intends to meet in 2016 to discuss the implications of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the maximum permitted spending by each campaign will be during the final weeks of campaigning on the referendum on EU membership; and what steps the Electoral Commission plans to take to ensure that spending by each campaign is subject to the same limit.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) sets out the spending limits that apply during the regulated referendum period at UK-wide referendums. The duration of the referendum period for the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union will be set out in secondary legislation.

    PPERA does not set total spending limits for each of the referendum outcomes; rather it applies spending limits to individual campaigners that take part in the debate.

    The Commission is already monitoring the campaigning activities of potential referendum campaigners so that it can identify any emerging issues and offer advice and guidance to those that intend to campaign at the referendum. Once the rules come into force, the Commission’s campaign monitoring will inform the use, if necessary and appropriate, of its enforcement and sanctioning powers where the rules are not followed.

    For the EU Referendum, Parliament increased the limits set out in PPERA to take account of inflation. The limits for political parties that register to campaign in support of a particular outcome are allocated according to the party’s share of the vote at the last UK Parliamentary general election. Campaigners that do not register with the Commission are limited to spending £10,000. The new limits are set out in the table below:

    EU Referendum Bill spending limits for a referendum held before 31 December 2017

    2015 UK general election vote share

    Limits for designated lead campaigners

    £7,000,000

    –

    Limits for political parties with:

    >30% share of the vote

    £7,000,000

    Conservative (36.8%)

    >20-30% share of the vote

    £5,500,000

    Labour (29%[1])

    >10-20% share of the vote

    £4,000,000

    UKIP (12.6%)

    >5-10% share of the vote

    £3,000,000

    Liberal Democrat (7.9%)

    £700,000

    SNP (4.7%) Green (3.8%) DUP (0.6%) Plaid Cymru (0.6%) Sinn Fein (0.6%) SDLP (0.3%) UUP (0.4%) Plus all other parties that stood at least one candidate at 2015 UKPGE

    Limits for other registered campaigners

    £700,000

    –

    [1] Labour Party share of the vote is adjusted because votes cast for joint candidates are divided by the number of parties the candidate is standing for i.e. Labour / Co-op candidates (PPERA Sch14, para 1(4))

  • Lord Lansley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Lansley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lansley on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to make permanent the restriction on HGVs overtaking between Junctions 9 and 10 of the M11, following the trial.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    There are currently no restrictions on HGVs overtaking between Junctions 9 and 10 of the M11 and there are no plans to introduce restrictions. A permanent overtaking restriction on the uphill sections of the M11 between Junctions 8 and 9 is planned to be implemented in late 2016/17 subject to the completion of statutory processes and the availability of funding.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many new apprenticeships were created in East London in 2015.

    Nick Boles

    Information on the number of Apprenticeship starts by region, Local Authority and Parliamentary constituency is published as a supplementary table (first link) to a Statistical First release (second link). Latest published data includes Apprenticeship starts reported to date for August to October 2015. Data up to and including January 2016 will be published at the same link following publication of the next Statistical First Release on 23rd March 2016.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493777/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xls

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

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  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many European Court of Justice decisions on taxation his Department has (a) won and (b) lost in the last six years.

    Mr David Gauke

    In the last six years HM Treasury argued one case on taxation as the lead Department before the European Court of Justice. The judgment went against the UK, but the protective purpose was nevertheless served.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the effect will be on the pension entitlement of the Deputy Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police of her promotion to acting Chief Constable.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not hold information about the personal pension entitlement of any individual police officer.

    Arrangements for the pensionable pay of chief officers on temporary promotion to a higher rank are set out in determinations made under the Police Regulations 2003. These state that after 28 days spent performing the duties of a chief constable, a deputy chief constable will be paid either a temporary salary (pensionable) at a rate equivalent to 90% of the higher rank’s basic pay or an honorarium (a non-pensionable payment) of an amount to be determined by the local policing body.

    Pensionable pay is taken into account in calculating pension contributions and pension benefits, whereas any non-pensionable payments are not.

  • Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-07-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to give guidance to the operator of Southern Rail services on ensuring passenger safety when short formation services are in use.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Each operator is responsible for the safety of their staff, passengers and services. The Office of Rail and Road’s duty is to ensure that those responsible for keeping Britain’s railways safe for passengers and providing a safe place for staff to work do so.

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

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered upgrading the M20 or the A2/M2 as an alternative to the establishment of a permanent lorry area near Junction 11 of the M20.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Highways England carried out an assessment of alternative options for a solution to Operation Stack and this considered increasing the overall capacity and resilience of Kent’s motorway network. The alternatives were included in a public consultation held between December 2015 and January 2016.

    Overall, a lorry area was the best performing option and this was stated in the report on the consultation which can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/management-of-freight-vehicles-through-kent and is attached for ease of reference.

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