Tag: Parliamentary Question

Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-06-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Thames Tideway Tunnel project will send clean excavated materials to landfill permit sites as a waste or to be beneficially reused as a material or product as recovery in accordance with its commitment to reduce waste to landfill in the development consent order.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Tideway, the infrastructure provider set up to finance and deliver the Thames Tideway Tunnel, has been assessing several sites identified through the Development Consent Order (DCO) process to receive the tunnel excavated material.

Amongst other things this assessment looks at maximising the beneficial use of excavated material and its transport by river to meet environmental commitments made under the DCO. The relevant site operators have already made a number of applications to the Environment Agency (EA). The type of permit these sites require will be assessed by the EA in line with its guidance. This guidance is currently being revised following a recent Court of Appeal judgment which in some cases may lead to the reclassification of some waste activities as disposal rather than recovery. It is possible for appropriate disposal to deliver beneficial use such as habitat creation.

01/01/2023
Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to support local television services.

Baroness Mobarik

A total of 21 local television services have launched since November 2013 with a further 13 local services due come on air next year. The development of local television has been supported by up to £40m of ring-fenced funding under arrangements agreed with the BBC in 2011. Under these arrangements, the BBC will provide up to £25 million to cover the capital costs of building the local television transmission network and up to £15m for content funding from the BBC for each station’s first three years on air.

The draft Charter agreement published on 15 September included an extension to the content funding arrangements. This would ensure that all local television stations launching by 31 July 2017 and that wish to receive BBC support for their first three years on air will able to receive funding under these arrangements until March 2020.

In addition to BBC funding, local television also benefits from having prominence on electronic programme guides (EPG) on Freeview and on other platforms and from certain exemptions to requirements in broadcasting legislation, such as having to source a proportion of their content from independent producers.

01/01/2023
Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of doctors working in hospitals are from non-UK countries.

Ben Gummer

The Health and Social Care Information Centre collects data on the number of doctors working in National Health Service hospital and community health services in England.

Nationality is a self-reported field within the electronic staff record system and of the 98,894 full time equivalent number of doctors (not including locums) who declared their nationality 25,607 (25.6%) are non-United Kingdom nationals.

01/01/2023
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether there are sufficient data to create an accurate baseline of soil quality in the UK from which to measure improvement or degradation.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The 2007 Countryside Survey measured changes in soil organic matter content of soils in Great Britain. It also measured bulk density and a number of other physical and chemical characteristics of soil. A new baseline survey for soil carbon was carried out in 2009 as part of the EU Land Cover and Land Use Statistics (LUCAS) exercise. The 2015 LUCAS soil samples are currently being analysed.

Defra does not routinely monitor national rates of soil loss (erosion), but we are funding research to pilot a national soil erosion monitoring framework for monitoring soil erosion in England and Wales.

Defra also funded a survey of soil compaction levels in grasslands in England and Wales in 2011.

No formal assessment has been made of the sufficiency of the baseline data from which to measure changes in soil quality.

The Government recognises that soil is essential for underpinning a range of benefits, including food production, but also biodiversity, carbon storage and flood protection.

While the future direction of soils policy will be considered as part of the development of the 25 year plans for Food and Farming, and Environment, government is already taking action to improve soil quality.

This includes new rules underpinning cross compliance which anyone claiming Common Agricultural Policy payments must comply with. The rules require a minimum level of soil cover, prevention of erosion and measures to protect the organic matter levels of soil. The new rules take an outcome based approach, instead of the previous paper-based system, thereby focussing on environmental improvements while reducing burdens for farmers. The Government will continue to monitor the implementation of the new rules.

No single body or institution has responsibility for measuring and analysing soils in the UK. Soil testing is carried out by a mix of commercial laboratories and Public Analyst labs. Typically laboratories are accredited and adhere to British Standards on testing procedures. However, there are no regulations governing soil testing procedures themselves.

There are existing soil maps for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which use different soil classifications. There are currently no plans to produce a new UK soil map, and we have not explored options for private sector investment.

01/01/2023
Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what process there is for updating victims on the progress of a prisoner’s appeal.

Mike Penning

I refer the honourable member to the answer given to PQ 19160 on 15 December 2015.

01/01/2023
David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-02-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what amount of funding the European Court of Auditors has recorded as having been misspent in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Mr David Gauke

The European Court of Auditors prepares an annual audit report on the EU Budget which is published each year in November in relation to the previous EU financial year, running from January to December. This includes an estimated ‘error rate’ in relation to EU budget payments made which were not in compliance with EU regulatory requirements.

The latest audit report available, published in November 2015, relates to the financial year 2014.

The 2014 report can be consulted at the following link:

http://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/annualreports-2014/annualreports-2014-EN.pdf

“

01/01/2023
Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Turkey since the recent terrorist bombing in Ankara; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington

The Government condemns the attacks in Ankara on 13 March and in Istanbul on 19 March. The UK stands in solidarity with Turkey, a NATO ally and valued partner for the UK. As noted in our travel advice, the threat from terrorism remains high, with the Kurdish separatist PKK, Daesh and other terrorist organisations continuing to plan and carry out attacks. The UK condemns terrorism in all its forms, and is clear that PKK terrorist attacks must end. We welcome Turkey’s invaluable contribution to the international campaign against Daesh as a member of the Global Coalition committed to defeating it.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he made of the funding needs of (a) university health centres and (b) other GP surgeries with atypical patient profiles in applying the core funding formula for GP surgeries.

Alistair Burt

Approximately 55% of general practitioner (GP) practices operate under General Medical Service (GMS) contract arrangements. Typically, at least half of the money that a GMS practice receives is in the form of the ‘global sum’, derived through the Carr-Hill Formula.

The formula, as agreed with the British Medical Association (BMA) before the introduction of the 2004 GP contract, is used to allocate the global sum and related payments on the basis of the practice population, weighted for factors that influence relative needs and costs.

There are indications that the formula does not work as effectively in areas with demographically atypical populations, such as new towns or areas with high student populations. NHS England is working with the BMA’s General Practitioners Committee, NHS Employers, the Department and academic partners on the review to develop a formula that better reflects the factors that drive workload, such as age or deprivation. As part of this work, the effect of any changes on practice funding in specific areas such as Huddersfield and Kirklees will be considered. It is intended that the review of the Carr-Hill formula will inform the 2017-18 GP contract.

A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified one item of correspondence received since 1 May 2015 from university health centres. There has also been a Ministerial meeting related to areas with demographically atypical populations, in this case new towns. It was not possible to identify correspondence received from GP surgeries with atypical patient profiles. This represents correspondence received by the Department’s ministerial correspondence unit only.

01/01/2023

Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding was allocated to schools for supporting children with learning difficulties in (a) Manchester, Withington constituency and (b) Greater Manchester in each of the last three years.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Funding for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) is allocated to local authorities through the dedicated schools grant, which includes both funding to be delegated to mainstream schools, and funding for the additional costs associated with educating children and young people with high needs.

Schools are funded through a formula set by their local authority, and local authorities are required to delegate funds to a level that enables schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with SEN up to £6,000 per annum. It is for individual schools to decide how they allocate their overall budget to ensure they meet the specific needs of children with learning difficulties.

For those pupils whose additional support costs more than £6,000 the local authority pays top-up funding to the schools from their high needs budget. Top-up funding rates are for local authorities to agree with their schools.

The high needs allocation, within the dedicated schools grant, for the Greater Manchester local authorities in each of the last three years were as set out below:

	2013-14 (£million)	2014-15 (£million)	2015-16 (£million)
Bolton	25.83	27.15	27.55
Bury	22.50	24.08	24.17
Manchester	59.83	63.34	64.07
Oldham	23.54	24.90	25.58
Salford	22.10	22.75	22.82
Stockport	27.62	29.04	29.44
Tameside	25.82	27.14	28.23
Trafford	13.81	14.79	14.73
Wigan	22.88	23.34	24.08

We do not hold information on the total funding for supporting children with learning difficulties allocated to schools in the Manchester, Withington constituency or in the Greater Manchester area.

01/01/2023

Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-06-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many electric vehicles they estimate will be using British roads by 2030.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

There are currently over sixty thousand ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) on the road in the UK. The Government has the goal that by 2040 all new cars and vans will be zero emission vehicles. The uptake trajectory between now and then will depend on a range of factors including technological developments, consumer attitudes, international regulations and Government incentives, but by 2030 we would expect ULEVs to be firmly into the mass market. The Government will be spending more than £600 million by 2020 to support uptake and manufacturing of ULEVs in the UK.

01/01/2023