Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) redundancy and (b) voluntary exit schemes for civil servants are currently in operation in his Department.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Central department has two voluntary exit schemes. These are both small, targeted schemes aimed at specific groups of people who we have not been able to redeploy or who do not have the skills and capabilities we need.

    There are also 2 schemes in DVLA which have received Cabinet Office approval and are underway. There are

    1. A voluntary redundancy scheme – this is required to deal with a number of people who have TUPE transferred into DVLA from Fujitsu following the insourcing of our IT function, who are based in locations which are not within travelling distance of Swansea and are not able to move home
    2. A voluntary exit scheme – this is required to deal with surplus numbers of people based in Swansea following the TUPE transfer into DVLA from Fujitsu, Concentrix and IBM as result of the insourcing of the DVLA IT function

    The Driver Vehicle and Standards Agency has no redundancy and one voluntary exit scheme currently in place. The voluntary exit scheme is to enable staff who have been identified as surplus to be released if needed as a result of the agency restructuring. It is not open for general applications.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment the Government has made of whether the TTIP trade deal will make the UK more vulnerable to lawsuits; if the Government will insist that TTIP does not contain provisions which would allow similar lawsuits to be brought in the UK; and if the Government will reconsider its support for TTIP in response to that lawsuit.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government does not comment on cases in which it has no involvement. Under UK laws a foreign investor can already sue the Government over allegedly unfair or unlawful treatment. UK domestic courts and our legal system will continue to be the main route for resolving the vast majority of disputes between foreign investors and the Government regardless of any investment protection provisions included in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This is because our domestic courts typically offer a quicker and cheaper method of resolving disputes.

    The European Commission has published its proposal for investment protections in TTIP. This includes various possible measures to ensure these provisions are fair and transparent, including prohibiting claims from being pursued simultaneously under investor-state dispute settlement provisions and in domestic courts.

    The UK will continue to work with the Commission on the details of these latest proposals. We need investment protections that ensure UK investors are treated fairly overseas by foreign governments. But the UK will make sure that governments can continue to regulate lawfully in the public interest.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 24390, if he will list those clinical commissioning groups which had (a) planned and (b) actual overspends in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15 and (c) have such overspends in 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    Owing to the length of the data requested, quarterly information on Clinical Commissioning Spend, including planned and actual overspends, can be found here:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/publications/financial-performance-reports/

    “

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders have been sentenced and imprisoned in the UK after having been returned to the UK under an European Arrest Warrant in the last five years.

    Dominic Raab

    This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    The National Crime Agency publishes statistics on the operation of the European Arrest Warrant and these can be found here: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/european-arrest-warrant-statistics/wanted-by-the-uk-european-arrest-warrant-statistics/608-wanted-by-the-uk-european-arrest-warrant-statistics-2009-april-2015-1

    “

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average cost is per patient attending a GP’s surgery in Southampton.

    Alistair Burt

    The requested information is not collected.

    NHS England advises that general practitioners (GPs) are funded per head of population to deliver GP medical services. The Southampton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will be commissioning primary care on behalf of NHS England from 1 April 2016 and NHS England confirms across the CCG’s forecast population this funding is £124 per head of population.

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

    Lord Boateng – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-04-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the guidance for commissioners of mental health services to people from black and minority ethnic communities on inequalities in access, experience and outcomes in mental health care.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department is committed to involving patients and service users in the development of national mental health policy. It does not monitor this engagement centrally.

    The Department commissioned the Mental Health Providers’ Forum and the Race Equality Foundation to gather and review evidence of effective mental health service for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups. The review Better practice in mental health for black and minority ethnic communities was published in May 2015.

    The report found that organisations that were successful in providing mental health services that meet the needs of BME groups had developed local community-based approaches to service delivery which addressed cultural and linguistic differences and sought to actively engage hard to reach groups.

    The Department has also supported guidance published by the Joint Commissioning Panel in 2014 A guide for commissioners of mental health services for people from black and minority ethnic communities. http://www.jcpmh.info/good-services/black-minority-ethnic-communities/

    The guide set out 10 key messages for commissioners to improve services. These included: commissioning equitable access to mental health services for people regardless of ethnicity and identify and taking action to reduce ethnic inequalities; better local data collection to build understanding and competencies in commissioning services that meet the needs of BME groups; clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and health and wellbeing board developing strategies for BME groups; and involving and engaging service users in commissioning decisions.

    Copies of these reports are attached.

    “

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress he has made on implementing the request by the governments of British Overseas Territories during the December 2015 Joint Ministerial Council on establishing parity of treatment between all British Overseas Territories on the uprating of pensions for UK state pension holders residing in those territories.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government has a clear position which has remained the same for around 70 years and we have no plans to change this policy: UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and are uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so, for example in the European Economic Area or countries where we have a reciprocal agreement that allows for uprating. Annual increases are paid to UK state pension recipients in Bermuda and in Gibraltar.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the response of the then Minister of State in the Department for Energy and Climate Change to the Oral Question of 14 July 2016, Official Report, column 411, what assessment he has made of the effect of the publication of the National Grid’s four plausible and credible pathways for the UK’s energy sector between now and 2020 on the likelihood of the UK meeting the EU-mandated target to increase renewables to 15 per cent of energy consumption by 2020.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    We have considered the National Grid’s report but this is one assessment from one organisation. In 2015 25% of electricity generated came from wind farms, solar panels and other renewable power sources.

    On the UK’s progress towards meeting the 2020 target we are currently progressing in line with the trajectory set out in the Renewable Energy Directive, having met the Directive’s interim targets.

  • George Kerevan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    George Kerevan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Kerevan on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to investigate reports of misconduct by Royal Bank of Scotland relating to small business finance.

    Simon Kirby

    HM Treasury has no plans to investigate these reports. This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority, which is undertaking a review.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the roles and responsibilities of the National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure UK are, to whom they report, and what overlaps there are between them, if any.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The National Infrastructure Commission is an independent advisory body, currently operating on an interim basis. It will deliver a long-term plan and assessment of national infrastructure needs and publish advice on specific infrastructure issues. The Commission reports to the Chancellor.

    Infrastructure UK is a specialist unit within the Treasury that works on the UK’s long-term infrastructure priorities and secures private sector investment. It provides commercial support for infrastructure projects, administers the UK Guarantee Scheme, and reviews and refines the way that Public Private Partnerships are run in the UK. Infrastructure UK reports to the Commercial Secretary to the Treasury and to the Treasury Permanent Secretary.