Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have gathered any evidence of Iranian fighters in Iraq.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is on the ground in both advisory and combat roles in Iraq and that Iran is providing significant funding, training and equipment to elements of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces.

    Along with our international partners, the UK has consistently made clear that there is a role for all of Iraq’s neighbours in helping defeat Daesh. We have no difficulty with contributions from around the region to the goal of ridding Iraq of the Daesh threat, provided that those contributions are authorised by the Iraqi government. We will continue to work closely with our international partners to encourage all of Iraq’s neighbours to play a transparent and constructive role in its affairs.

  • Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-09-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of their plan to reduce England’s rate of childhood obesity, in the light of the absence of the regulation of advertising and price promotions in that plan.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The policies in the plan are informed by the latest research and evidence, including from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition report Carbohydrates and Health, Public Health England’s evidence package Sugar reduction: the evidence for action, other government departments, debates in this House and various reports from key stakeholders including the Health Select Committee.

    We are confident that the measures we have announced will make a real difference and estimate could reduce childhood obesity rates by about a fifth (330,000) over the next ten years. Though we are clear in our goals and firm in the action we will take, the launch of this plan represents the start of a conversation, rather than the final word.

    A copy of Carbohydrates and Health and Sugar reduction: the evidence for action are attached.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what processes are in place to enable complaints about the Pubs Code Adjudicator to be submitted.

    Margot James

    The office of the Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA) will publish its complaints policy shortly. It will explain how the PCA will deal with any complaints about the behaviour or conduct of the Adjudicator or any member of the PCA team and how the PCA will ensure that every complaint is dealt with fairly and impartially.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the current provision of skills required by the digital economy; and what steps he is taking to ensure that training delivered under the apprenticeship levy is geared towards high-value high-skilled jobs.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The digital sector contributes more than 7 per cent to the UK economy – it is one of our most innovative sectors, and needs a strong skills base to continue to grow and succeed. That is why this Government has implemented the new apprenticeship levy, and is consulting digital and technology employers to have a better understanding of their specific skills needs and assess the likely impacts of the levy on existing professional training programmes and initiatives.

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

    Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many items of correspondence the Department of Health has received from (1) the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, and (2) the Chair of the House of Commons Health Select Committee, in each of the last five years that originated from a postal or email address belonging to the group Action on Smoking and Health.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department of Health’s central correspondence database recorded 90 items of correspondence from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health received in the last five years that originated from a postal or email address belonging to the group Action on Smoking and Health.

    There was no record of any such correspondence having being received from the Chair of the House of Commons Health Select Committee in this period.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what basis his Department assessed the effect of changes to the (a) annual allowance and (b) lifetime allowance on pension contributions.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government does not hold its own records on total accumulated pension wealth, only on pension contributions. For the purposes of the Lifetime Allowance, officials have used data from the ONS Wealth and Assets Survey, which includes estimates of pension wealth.

    The Government assessed the effects of changes to the Annual Allowance and Lifetime Allowance by considering how many people would have to reduce their saving in response to these reductions. This methodology was agreed with the OBR.

    The reduction in the Lifetime Allowance will affect only 4% of savers currently approaching retirement. The Lifetime Allowance will be reduced to £1 million from April, but the average pension savings of someone approaching retirement is only £85,000.

    Just 1% of savers make contributions of £40,000 per year, the level of the Annual Allowance since April 2014. The average saver contributes £6,000 per year.

    The introduction of the Tapered Annual Allowance for individuals who earn over £150,000 in April 2016 will impact less than 2% of people saving into a pension.

    The Government laid out its modelling on the effect of changes to the Annual and Lifetime Allowances on pension contributions in its policy costings documents at the March and Summer Budgets 2015.

    For changes to the Lifetime Allowance, the Wealth and Assets Survey was used to estimate pension wealth, and this was projected forward using assumed pension contributions and estimates of the real rate of return on pensions savings taken from the OECD and the Government Actuary’s Department.

    For the Tapered Annual Allowance, modelling used estimates from the Survey of Personal Incomes, HMRC operational data on personal pension contributions, the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, and the Occupational Pension Scheme Survey.

  • Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether their policy for reducing carbon emissions in the UK over the next five years is consistent with their policy for reducing the average concentration of air pollution, and whether they will publish data relevant to that assessment.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Improving the quality of our air and reducing carbon emissions are important priorities for Her Majesty’s Government. Later this year we will be publishing detailed plans on how we will deliver against Carbon Budgets, including information about how these measures can also support air quality objectives. Further information on the synergies across these policy objectives was outlined in DEFRA’s air quality plan, Improving Air Quality in the UK – tackling nitrogen dioxide in our towns and cities, December 2015.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many initially rejected visa applications have been reconsidered as a result of changes in circumstances during the assessment process.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office does not hold the information requested.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people from other EU member states were in receipt of housing benefit in each of the last 10 years; and what the total cost to the public purse was of those people claiming that benefit in each of those years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will bring forward proposals to give the Oil and Gas Authority powers to regulate commercial decisions in the offshore helicopter industry.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Civil Aviation Authority regulates the offshore helicopter industry.