Tag: Parliamentary Question

Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with Tourism NI on increasing the level of tourism from the UK mainland to Northern Ireland.

David Evennett

Tourism Ireland, a body established under the Good Friday Agreement, has responsibility for marketing Northern Ireland as a visitor destination in all markets outside of the island of Ireland, including in Great Britain.

We want more tourists to visit Northern Ireland, and experience all that it has to offer, from the Giant’s Causeway to the film set for Game of Thrones. My officials have regular discussions with their counterparts in each Devolved Administration on tourism.

There are Memoranda of Understanding in place between VisitBritain, Tourism Ireland and the Tourism Northern Ireland, which set out their respective roles and responsibilities.

01/01/2023
Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the factors underlying decisions to leave the armed forces early; and what he is doing to address the most significant factors behind such decisions.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continually monitors the reasons for voluntary outflow of Service personnel through methods such as the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS). We recognise that the impact of Service on family and personal life remains the most important factor influencing an intention to leave. The New Employment Model Programme (NEM) is at the centre of activity being developed to address the underlying reasons individuals leave the Armed Forces and to help mitigate the impact of Service life on the family. The NEM was established to review the Terms and Conditions of Service to deliver a more modernised offer that allows personnel and their families more choice and reduce the impact of Service life on individuals and their families whilst still meeting the Services’ needs.

The NEM has already introduced a number of changes to address personnel concerns about better opportunities outside the Service, including a set of Career Management Principles and Practices designed to support greater consistency in how careers are managed and realistic lifestyle choice based on employment, stability and location factors. This will enable personnel to access employment readiness training for spouses/civil partners through the new Career Transition Partnership contract; pilots are now running in the Royal Air Force and Joint Forces command. The Department has also secured LIBOR funding to support a business start-up programme designed specifically for Armed Forces families and a course to deliver vocational assessment and employability training for Service spouses. We are also working with financial services providers to tailor their products for the Armed Forces community including banking, insurance and credit history and have also introduced loans for deposits for Service personnel to either buy their own home or for a rental deposit.

At the beginning of the year, the MOD published its first UK Armed Forces Families’ Strategy. The Strategy recognises that to recruit and retain capable and talented Service personnel that Defence must do more to listen, talk to and empower Service families. The Strategy is based on the principles of supporting fairness in line with the Armed Forces Covenant. It aims to provide greater choice where possible, empowering families by providing information and access to support when they need it, and engendering resilience in families, supporting self-determination and independence preparing families for their eventual transition from Service life.

01/01/2023
Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the benefits of localised general practice federations.

David Mowat

The majority of general practitioner (GP) practices are now working in practice groups or federations. This provides opportunities to expand services, stabilise practice income and work at scale which has benefits for patients, practices and the wider system. These include: economies of scale; quality improvement; workforce development; enhanced care and new services; resilience; and system partnerships.

The GP Access Fund specifically has enabled groups of GP practices, often collaborating with others such as community pharmacies or ambulance services, to provide new and expanded services together. Operating under a single contract in a local area and sharing work and resources has enabled the 2,500 practices in the programme to significantly develop their networks.

Most of the GP Access Fund schemes have, through the programme, strengthened their arrangements for collaboration, developed a more prominent identity with patients, and grown their leadership and management capabilities. This has been facilitated by the support programme put in place by NHS England, helping the networks to make faster progress on issues such as IT, governance and care redesign. It has also built a legacy of more cohesive and capable teams for the future.

01/01/2023
Alasdair McDonnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alasdair McDonnell on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will detail how his Department provides support for a not-for-profit training programme for drivers in administering first aid; and how many drivers this programme has trained.

Mr John Hayes

The Department has provided a grant payment of £70,000 to Driver First Assist for its 2016-17 programme.

Driver First Assist is a not for profit organisation training large goods vehicle drivers to provide lifesaving first aid and manage the scene at a road traffic collision prior to the arrival of the emergency services. So far the organisation has trained 738 drivers to act as first responders.

01/01/2023
Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department examined international comparators when developing the policy of a reception baseline assessment; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

There are several examples, internationally, of children having some form of assessment when they start school. This helps teachers to assess where extra support is needed.

The reception baseline assessment will formally recognise the progress that schools make with children throughout the primary years.

01/01/2023

Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many personal interviews with adults applying for a passport for the first time have been conducted in each year since such interviews were required, and what has been the total cost of conducting those interviews.

Lord Bates

The 2007-08 information below reflects the pilot and roll out of the Interview offices across this period of time. The increase in costs in 2008-09 reflects the final locations and staff starting. The reduction in costs between 2011 and 2012 reflects the reduction in locations.

Financial Year	Number of Interviews	Estate and staff costs (£)
2007-08	85,051	31,915,273
2008-09	261,438	37,316,440
2009-10	297,575	36,756,542
2010-11	296,312	31,087,014
2011-12	257,518	10,289,941
2012-13	283,341	9,269,802
2013-14	277,560	8,946,213

01/01/2023

Stephen Hepburn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hepburn on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have been employed in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 2008.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

01/01/2023
– 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 16 January 2013 (HL4464) describing the Childsmile programme as very encouraging”

Lord Prior of Brampton

There are a variety of community based oral health improvement programmes that have been shown to be effective in reducing dental decay. No single intervention is likely to provide a solution to oral health improvement priorities and many work together for maximum benefit, for example water fluoridation and fluoride toothpaste.

Public Health England recently reviewed such programmes and published an evidence informed toolkit entitled; Local authorities improving oral health: commissioning better oral health for children and young people, for local authorities to support their work on oral health improvement. Local authorities can therefore consider a range of oral health improvement programmes (including those which make up the Childsmile programme in Scotland and water fluoridation) and decide which or which combination is most appropriate to their local population’s needs. A copy of the toolkit is attached.

01/01/2023
Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his proposals for the extension of Sunday trading hours has passed the family test.

Anna Soubry

The Government’s Family Test is not a pass or fail measure.

The Government has conscientiously considered the impact on families and the evidence on this presented during the consultation. The Government will publish the Impact Assessment, including the Family Test, shortly.

01/01/2023

Mike Freer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Freer on 2016-03-21.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many properties valued at or over £1 million were sold in October to December (a) 2014 and (b) 2015; and how much was raised in stamp duty land tax in each of those periods.

Mr David Gauke

The table below summarises estimates for the number of and yield from property transactions between October and December 2014 and 2015. The estimates for 2014 include transactions in Scotland whereas estimates for 2015 do not because SDLT ceased to be applicable to Scottish transactions from 1 April 2015. The figures for the 2015-16 financial year are provisional.

	October to December 2014	October to December 2015
Residential Transactions at or over £1m (Number)	4,800	5,300
Residential Transactions at or over £1m (Stamp Duty Land Tax)	£577 million	£674 million
Non-Residential Transactions at or over £1m (Number)	3,800	3,600
Non-Residential Transactions at or over £1m (Stamp Duty Land Tax)	£708 million	£731 million
Total Stamp Duty Land Tax	£2.87 billion	£2.91 billion

01/01/2023