Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015, which cycling programmes his Department plans to fund from the £300 million fund for cycling for 2015-16 to 2020-21; and what other funding for cycling to which cycling programmes his Department plans to fund over that period.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, to be published in summer 2016, will set out the Government’s plans for investing in cycling and walking.

    Otherwise, at the Spending Review the Government reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking by committing to investing over £300 million over the life of this Parliament. This includes delivering the Cycle City Ambition scheme in full, a new ‘access’ fund for sustainable travel and our Road Investment Strategy for 2015-20 which includes plans to improve 200 sections of the road network in England for cyclists. We will also provide 1.3 million children with cycling proficiency training through the Bikeability scheme.

    Over this period, other Government funding streams will contribute to cycling. Through the Local Growth Fund, an investment of at least £270m is planned by local enterprise partnerships for cycling infrastructure. Local authorities could also use sums from the £1.3bn Integrated Transport Block to 2019/20 for cycling schemes.

    It should also be noted that spending on road maintenance can benefit not just motorists but can also lead to improved conditions for cyclists, and a record £6.1billion is allocated to local highway authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance.

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of potential increases to the port usage of Heysham after the new Heysham M6 link road is completed; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    None. As this is a local road and not part of the Strategic Road Network, the assessment was carried out by Lancashire County Council. However, the scheme will certainly improve access to the Port and improve accessibility for related local businesses.

  • Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to review Building Regulations Approved Document B (Fire Safety).

    James Wharton

    My Department is considering a number of issues related to the Building Regulations and the building control system. We will make an announcement about our plans in due course.

  • Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff working at (a) Queen’s Hospital in Romford, (b) Whipps Cross University Hospital and (c) King George Hospital in Goodmayes are nationals of other EU countries.

    Ben Gummer

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre collects data on the number of staff working in National Health Service hospitals and community health services (HCHS) in England. Nationality is a self-reported field within the electronic staff record system. Data is only available for people working in NHS trusts.

    The following table shows the number of HCHS staff by nationality working at Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust and Barts Health NHS Trust as at 29 February 2016.

  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to allow transgender athletes to compete at the Olympic Games; what consultation they have had with the British Olympic Association about that issue; what rules apply in the UK regarding transgender athletes competing in sport; and whether they consider the IOC’s ruling to be a disadvantage to non-transgender female athletes.

    Lord Ashton of Hyde

    We have had no such discussions with the British Olympic Association. Sports competition regulations are a matter for the governing body.

    Home Nation Sports Councils published the attached guidance in 2013 for national governing bodies of sport entitled "Transsexual people and competitive sport”.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much overtime was paid to NHS staff in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2013-14.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The total overtime payments to National Health Service staff are estimated to have been:

    – £380 million in 2015-16;

    – £362 million in 2014-15; and

    – £330 million in 2013-14

    These estimates are based on pay information from the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR), which is the Human Resources and Payroll system for almost all trusts in England. These estimates do not include overtime payments to general practitioners or their staff.

    ESR includes hundreds of payment type codes and payment figures are aggregated to high-level groupings using a mapping system. One of the high-level groupings is Overtime/Additional Duty Hours. The estimates provided in the answer above are based on this.

    Overtime/Additional Duty Hours is just one way of buying extra staffing resource in the NHS. Shifts, absence and vacancies are also filled using additional activity payments (e.g. additional programmed activities and additional hours at plain time rates for part-time staff), bank contracts, and agency staffing.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the call by the European Commission as part of the EU enlargement strategy for Turkey to lift media restrictions to improve respect for human rights and the rule of law, and to re-start comprehensive peace negotiations with Kurdish militants and constitutional nationalists.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We welcome the Commission’s EU enlargement strategy, which commends Turkey’s considerable efforts on refugees and recognises the progress Turkey has made in recent years. The strategy also highlights where Turkey needs to do more to meet EU standards through continuing reform, particularly in the areas of fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, and rule of law. As we have made clear, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) needs to cease its attacks and we fully support a resumption of peace talks. The UK stands ready to help in any way it can.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what basis Action Fraud determines which reported frauds to pursue for investigation; and whether the amount defrauded influences such decisions.

    Mike Penning

    Action Fraud is the national reporting point for fraud and also cyber crime. Crime reports received by Action Fraud are considered by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), both of which are operated by the City of London Police. Neither Action Fraud nor the NFIB are investigatory agencies. Crime reports are evaluated to assess the information available which could assist an investigation, and to identify links between seemingly unconnected incidents. Where there is enough evidence available and a viable lead, actionable intelligence packages are created by the NFIB and are sent to the appropriate police force to consider whether enforcement activity should take place. All crime reports are assessed against a number of variables, which may alter according to demand. It would be improper to comment on the procedure on which these decisions are made in the public domain.

    Action Fraud was rolled out to all police forces in April 2013; the data below includes crime reports and disseminations in England and Wales only. For the 12 months to 31 March 2015, Action Fraud received 230,399 reports of crime. Of these, 14,509 were cyber dependent crimes, namely, crimes which can only be committed using computers, computer networks or other forms of information communication technology – for example, hacking or malware offences. These crimes fall under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. For this period, the NFIB disseminated a total of 61,682 crimes to Forces and partner agencies to consider investigation. For the period April 2013 – March 2014 Action Fraud received 211,221 crime reports and of these, 21,686 were cyber dependent. For this period, the NFIB disseminated a total of 39,138 crimes to Forces and partner agencies to consider investigation.

    Historically the Action Fraud capability came into life in 2009 and was funded by the National Fraud Authority (NFA), which has since been closed, a proportion of the NFA’s total budget was used to fund the Action Fraud Capability and is as follows:

    • 2009/10 £5.7 million including a £1.4 million uplift to set up the service

    • 2010/11 £4.9 million

    • 2011/12 £6.68 million

    • 2012/13 £9.4 million

    Since the closure of the NFA in March 2014 Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau have been funded by Home Office funding, Cabinet Office funding for Cyber Security and funding from the City of London Police core grant, and is as follows:

    • 2013/14 £11.11 million

    • 2014/15 £10.62 million

    • 2015/16 £11.03 million

  • Lord Wallace of Saltaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how often between 1 January 2010 and 1 January 2016 requests for diplomatic status or immunity were refused, and on what grounds.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    A small number of requests for diplomatic status or immunity from members of the public have been received by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and subsequently refused. However, statistics and details are not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. It is incumbent on the sending State to inform the FCO of the appointment of staff, including diplomats, to any of its missions in the UK. The FCO is not required to give explicit consent to such appointments, except in the case of heads of mission and military, naval and air attaches.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25993, whether his Department had a Cycling Health sub-group.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department had a Cycle Stakeholder Forum, established from 2011 – 2014, which had some sub-groups including a group on cycle health, chaired by the Department of Health. The sub-group was disbanded when the Cycle Stakeholder Forum was dissolved.