Tag: Rebecca Long-Bailey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the number of eye clinic liaison officers.

David Mowat

The Government fully appreciates the impact that sight loss can have on a person’s life and the importance of information being available for those newly diagnosed with sight loss, including signposting patients to appropriate support and rehabilitation services.

Eye clinics and their staffing, including eye clinic liaison officers, are commissioned and funded by individual clinical commissioning groups on the basis of local assessments of need.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-11-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total on-flow and off-flow for tax credits was for claimants in Salford in the most recent (a) three and (b) six months for which data is available.

Damian Hinds

The answers are only available at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what Government property is located in Salford and Eccles constituency.

Matthew Hancock

A list of properties located in the Salford and Eccles constituency drawn from the central database of Government properties and land across the UK, e-PIMS™ is attached. A copy of this will be placed in the Library of the House. Government owned property can be found at:www.gov.uk/find-government-property.

Information is only held centrally on the Central Civil Estate. Any information outside of this is held locally by departments.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what were the total receipts from the sale of Government assets (a) from 1 January to 7 May 2015 and (b) from 8 May 2015 to date; and whether any further such sales are expected to take place before the end of the calendar year.

Greg Hands

Reporting on asset sales is made on a financial year basis in departmental accounts. During the 2014-15 financial year the government received £4.2bn from sales of financial assets and £0.2bn from other commercial and financial assets. The timing of any further transactions is a commercial matter and the Government does not forecast exact timing of all sales within a particular fiscal year. Around £30bn of sales are expected in total during 2015-16.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the 5,000 peacekeepers proposed by the African Union to protect civilians within Burundi will be safely accepted by the Burundian government.

James Duddridge

The UK supports the African Union’s efforts to address the current security situation in Burundi, including the proposed peacekeeping mission. We are working with African and other international partners to encourage Burundi to accept the mission and to cooperate fully with the peacekeepers. I have regularly engaged the Burundian Government and key bilateral and multilateral partners on the deteriorating situation in Burundi, including a visit to Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi on 15-17 December 2015. I intend to raise these issues with the Burundian Foreign Minister at the African Union Summit at the end of this month.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much central government funding has been allocated to programmes in (a) Salford City Council and (b) Salford and Eccles constituency to reduce and prevent homelessness in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16 to date.

Mr Marcus Jones

One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness. We have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20. This builds on the Spending Review commitment to increase central government funding to £139 million over the next four years. We will work with homelessness organisations to consider other options, including legislation, to ensure those at risk of homelessness get earlier and more effective support.

Funding is allocated at a local authority level. Salford City Council was allocated the following amounts based on the homelessness prevention funding formula within the Local Government Finance Settlement:

– 2014-2015: £70,591

– 2015-2016: £70,319

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-03-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what contingency plans he has should an insufficient number of wholesalers not have signed up to the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme by the end of March 2016.

Damian Hinds

The application window for the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme (AWRS) closes on 31 March. HMRC is using appropriate channels to ensure customers who need to apply are aware of their obligations in good time to enable them to meet that deadline.

Once the application window has closed, HMRC will assess the applications it has received. Appropriate action will then be taken to enforce the requirements of the new scheme.

HMRC has been ramping up communications for AWRS over the last 12 months. It has issued several press notices and articles including regional and national media as well as specialist press and social media. HMRC is also working through key stakeholders and representative bodies associated with the alcohol business sectors to issue partnership marketing, giving a reach of 55,000 businesses. In February I wrote to individual businesses that may need to apply for AWRS to remind them of the deadline.

The HMRC communications approach to this scheme is designed to ensure messages reach everyone who needs to receive them. If, however, analysis of applications after the deadline reveals a particular category of customers ‘missing’ to a significant degree from the applications received, and there is evidence that the programme of extensive communications failed to reach them, HMRC will explore whether there are any implications for the way in which follow up action is taken for that particular group.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-03-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 34 of the report, Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates, published on 16 March 2016, which producers will be exempt from the soft drinks industry levy.

Mr David Gauke

The levy will not apply to small operators under a certain volume threshold. We will consult on the level of the threshold and whether and how to apply a tapered relief.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to formally encourage the Burundian government to play a greater role in the truth and reconciliation process in that country.

James Duddridge

The UK Government believes that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, guided by the Arusha Accord, has an important role in ensuring long-term reconciliation. During my visit to Burundi in December 2015, and through my continued engagement with Burundian Foreign Minister Alain Nyamitwe, I have made clear that only a genuine and inclusive dialogue, based on the respect of the Arusha Accord, will enable the Burundian stakeholders to find a consensual solution to the crisis facing their country, a necessary precondition for a lasting truth and reconciliation process. The continued violence shows that the principles of inclusion set out in the Arusha Accord are needed now more than ever and I continue to urge all in Burundi to uphold them

Under the UK’s Presidency the UN Security Council approved Resolution 2248 which stresses the utmost importance of respecting the letter and the spirit of the Arusha Accord. It calls upon the Government of Burundi to adhere to the rule of law and undertake transparent accountability for acts of violence. These points were reiterated in UN Security Council Resolution 2279, agreed on 1 April.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of progress in addressing the UK’s concerns over human rights abuses in Ethiopia since his meeting with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros in January 2016.

James Duddridge

We remain deeply concerned about the handling of demonstrations in Oromia, including the reported deaths of a number of protestors, and about those detained under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. We have repeatedly made representations to the Ethiopian Government over the situation in that region. Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, raised our concerns with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 21 January and Her Majesty’s Ambassador last raised the issue with Prime Minister Hailemariam on 26 April.

I met with Dr Tedros at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa on 27 January. I raised the UK’s concerns with regards to the human rights situation. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Ethiopia both through our bilateral engagement, most notably through our ongoing Human Rights Dialogue, as well as jointly with our international partners.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been appointed to look into the handling of the protests in Oromia. We will not pre-judge the outcome of their investigation and we await the publication of their report. We will continue to urge the EHRC and the Government of Ethiopia to ensure that their report is credible, transparent and leads to concrete action. We will take a view on what further lobbying, if any, might be appropriate following the publication of the EHRC report.