Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much of 10 Downing Street’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

    Following settlement of the Cabinet Office Spending Review last week, the allocation of funds to individual workstreams, including for research and development, is underway as part of the department’s business planning process to be completed in the coming months.

  • 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 2016-01-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide a list of all the departments within HM Treasury.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Treasury Group – Bodies can be found in the published Report and Accounts. The latest Annual Report and accounts for 2014-15 is published on line and can be viewed in the link below:-

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

    “

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the undulations in the road surface of the M180 east of junction 4 in respect of which warning signs have been erected, to be eradicated; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England are aware of a problem with the underlying road construction of the M180 east of junction 4, which affects the ride quality on that section of the motorway. Highways England has carried out, and will continue to carry out, surface repairs to ensure the road surface remains safe and serviceable. In the longer term, substantial reconstruction works will be required to prevent the recurrence of these problems and investigations into this are being undertaken.

  • 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 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average amount of time is a prisoner spends on education or work-related activities at Feltham Young Offenders Institution.

    Andrew Selous

    HMP&YOI Feltham is a split site which holds both young people (under 18’s) and young adults (18-20 year olds). The two cohorts are managed distinctly and there are separate education contracts and different providers for each.

    The Youth Justice Board oversees the management of the education contract for young people at Feltham. Prior to August 2015, education providers were only required to deliver 15 hours of education. In August 2015, we increased the requirement for education providers in public sector Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) to 27 hours of education a week, which is supplemented by 3 hours of physical exercise.

    Whist the majority of education time is protected, it is expected that young people will miss some lessons to attend appointments such as court appearances, medical appointments and legal visits.

    The following table provides the average number of classroom based education hours, alternative activities hours and physical education hours per week accessed by young people at Feltham YOI since 16 August 2015.

    Education

    Average hours per week

    Classroom based learning

    13.99

    Alternative activities(1)

    7.72

    Physical education(2)

    1.43

    Total

    23.15

    (1) Alternative activities include interventions relating to offending behaviour, focus groups, Release on Temporary licence etc.

    (2) Data is from 9 October only.

    This table does not include outreach education provision which is provided to young people who are not able to engage with class room based education.

    The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the Youth Justice Board are working with education providers to address delivery challenges and increase the number of education hours received by young people.

  • Baroness Jowell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Jowell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jowell on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what dedicated and expert resources they have in each department to support bereaved families and survivors in the event of a terrorist attack.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government, law enforcement, and the security and intelligence agencies work tirelessly to prevent terrorist attacks wherever possible. Resources are in place for the provision of general and specialist support for those affected by terrorist attacks either in the UK or abroad, including bereaved families and survivors.

    A range of medical, psychological, liaison, and compensation support arrangements can be provided suited to the specific circumstances.

    Our approach is set out below.

    Support for victims of terrorism overseas

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides support during any crisis overseas, including a terrorist attack, ensuring that the government responds effectively to deliver rapid and professional assistance to British nationals affected. The crisis centre in London can bring together teams of more than a hundred people from across government to coordinate a response and can call on trained staff to both bolster the team in London and be deployed to the country affected. This includes consular support to survivors and to families of victims, working with police family liaison officers and overseas authorities to provide support, assistance and information.

    Immediately after the 2015 terrorist attack in Sousse, the Prime Minister established an ad hoc Ministerial Committee to coordinate support from across government to all British Nationals that were affected. The Committee has oversight of arrangements for the memorial service (which took place on 12 April), a physical memorial, compensation and a programme to provide support for those experiencing mental health difficulties.

    Support for victims of terrorism in the United Kingdom

    In the event that an attack were to take place in the UK, bereaved families and survivors are entitled to support and services under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime; this is published by the Ministry of Justice and can be accessed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/476900/code-of-practice-for-victims-of-crime.PDF. This includes access to medical support and any specialist support such as psychological support. Families and victims are able to access these directly without a referral.

    The Victim Information Service provides advice for victims of terrorism. This can be accessed online at www.victimsinformationservice.org.uk/im-victim-terrorist-attack/ or by phone on 0808 168 9293.

    Government funding is also provided for the national Homicide Service and a number of smaller organisations to support those living in England and Wales bereaved by murder or manslaughter, whether committed here or abroad which includes those bereaved by terrorism.

    Compensation

    The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority administers both the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and Victim of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme, which provide compensation to victims of terrorist attacks in the UK and of designated terrorist attacks overseas.

    Northern Ireland-related terrorism

    Responsibility for dealing with Northern Ireland-related terrorism rests with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and, for that reason, this answer does not cover Northern Ireland-related terrorist attacks in Northern Ireland. The response does however, cover any Northern Ireland-related terrorism in Great Britain.

  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-04-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Prudential Regulation Authority’s Draft Supervisory Statement on Buy-to-Let Underwriting Standards, published in March 2016, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the 20 per cent growth in buy-to-let mortgage lending over the next three years on home ownership.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government is committed to supporting homeowners. One part of this commitment is ensuring that there is a level playing field between homeowners and landlords. In the 2015 Autumn Statement, we announced a 3 percentage point increase in the rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax applying to the purchase of additional residential properties, such as second homes and buy-to-let properties; and in the Summer Budget of 2015, we acted to restrict, to the basic rate of income tax, the tax relief on finance costs received by landlords of residential property.

    The Financial Policy Committee recently stated that the combination of forthcoming changes to mortgage interest tax relief and the implementation of the PRA Supervisory Statement will probably dampen growth of buy-to-let mortgage lending relative to lenders’ plans.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help create consensus at the UN Security Council for a referral to the International Criminal Court of the acts committed by Daesh in Iraq and Syria as genocide.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    It is not possible to refer Daesh itself to the ICC. Any referral would cover all potential crimes within a specified geographic area, rather than by a specified organisation or set of actors.

    We judge that a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the UN Security Council is not practical at this time. When efforts were made to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014, it was vetoed by Russia and China.

    While we continue to draw the attention of the Security Council to the atrocities being committed in Iraq and Syria – on 4 May the Council held a session on the situation in Aleppo at the UK’s request – we expect that any Security Council resolution at this time seeking to refer the situations in Iraq or Syria to the ICC would likewise be blocked. Addition as per PQs 36262 and 35349.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2016 to Question 38191 on fertility: medical treatments, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the issues highlighted in the report in that Answer; and if he will write to clinical commissioning groups in England to highlight the findings of that report and the importance of delivering IVF services consistent with the NICE guidelines.

    Jane Ellison

    It is for clinical commission groups (CCGs) to decide locally the extent to which fertility treatment is offered. CCGs’ decisions should be underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services may vary in response to local needs. NHS England has general intervention powers in relation to CCGs, should it be satisfied that a CCG is failing or has failed to discharge any of its functions, or there is a significant risk that it will fail to do so. It is also NHS England’s role to provide support and guidance to CCGs.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has plans to improve the quality of Lyme disease tests.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The National Health Service and Public Health England (PHE) use well established validated diagnostic tests for Lyme disease that are highly reproducible between laboratories. International External Quality Assurance schemes are in place to ensure consistency between different tests centres.

    However, Lyme disease is a complex infection; we recognise that there are real challenges in diagnosis and we are further strengthening the evidence base. Commercial manufacturers and international academic groups have research programmes into improved tests. PHE continuously reviews new Lyme serology tests and will validate and implement new tests if appropriate.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the total cost to the public purse to date is of defending legal action against HM Government in all courts on the expulsion and right of resettlement for the population of the Chagos Islands.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The costs paid by the Government for defending these legal actions to date are approximately £2,660,000.