Tag: Roger Godsiff

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to restrict television advertising for unhealthy food on programming likely to be watched by children.

Matt Hancock

We recognise the importance of tackling childhood obesity, which is caused by a number of complex factors. The Childhood Obesity Plan for Action, published in August, considered a number of different policy responses to address this problem. Additional advertising restrictions were considered as part of this process, but current restrictions in the UK are amongst the toughest in the world and the plan focuses on those areas which experts tell us are most effective.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will examine the effect of the revaluation of business rates for self-owned rooftop solar power on the solar industry taking account of the draft list of rateable values, published by the Valuation Office Agency.

Mr Marcus Jones

Business rates are based on valuations from the Valuation Office Agency and we do not intervene in their independent assessments. We have proposed a £3.4 billion transitional relief scheme to ensure that no ratepayer is unfairly penalised by the 2017 revaluation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2015 to Question 9671, for what reasons the Government cannot mandate companies to join the 2013 Accord on Fire and Safety in Bangladesh.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The Rana Plaza disaster demonstrated the need for a concerted effort by all stakeholders to address the challenges facing the garments industry in Bangladesh. As well as establishing 2 international initiatives (the Accord and the Alliance), The International Labour Organisation (ILO) worked with the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), employer organisations, and trade union representatives to develop the Tripartite National Plan of Action on Fire Safety and Structural Integrity (NTPA) and in 2014 the Government raised the minimum wage for the country’s garment workers by 77%.

The Accord has been established as a voluntary, independent, legally binding agreement between Trade Unions and brands: we, and the many stakeholders involved, believe this is a more effective mechanism than making it mandatory. We actively encourage UK companies to join the Accord.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2015 to Question 9671, what estimate the Government has made of the proportion of UK companies which have joined the 2013 Accord on Fire and Safety in Bangladesh.

Mr Desmond Swayne

30 UK companies have signed the 2013 Accord on Fire and Safety in Bangladesh. We do not have comprehensive information on the total number of UK brands purchasing Garments from Bangladesh.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2015 to Question 11269, whether a personal independence payment assessment provider would be breaking the terms of its contract with his Department if it were to provide audio equipment for use in assessments which complied with the required specifications.

Justin Tomlinson

There is no contractual agreement between DWP and assessment providers around the provision of audio equipment. If claimants wish for their assessments to be recorded they may do so using their own equipment, provided they comply with the conditions put in place which were outlined in the response provided to your previous question on this subject on 9 September 2015 and 16^th of October 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the parliamentary communications of the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes

The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.

As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.

The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.

It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11270, for what reason it was decided to make the provision of audio recording facilities available for employment and support allowance assessments but not for personal independence payment assessments.

Justin Tomlinson

In his first review of the Work Capability Assessment, Professor Harrington recommended piloting the audio recording of face-to-face assessments to see if the approach was helpful for clients and improved quality.

Findings from the pilot showed that recording assessments did not improve the quality of assessments. Less than half those claimants taking part thought the recording would be helpful to them and only a handful requested a copy. Having carefully considered the results of the pilot, it was decided not to make the provision of audio recording of assessments a contractual requirement within the specification for Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

However, claimants who wish to record their PIP assessment may do so using their own equipment provided they comply with the conditions put in place; these were outlined in the response provided to your previous question on this subject on 9 September 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information he received about risks connected with the proposed right to buy scheme during the planning of that scheme.

Brandon Lewis

The Government has a manifesto commitment to extend the Right to Buy to 1.3 million housing association tenants.

The deal we have made with the National Housing Federation ensures that housing associations will give their tenants the opportunity to buy their home with an equivalent discount to the Right to Buy, delivering the manifesto commitment.

The Government is in discussion with the National Housing Federation and the housing association sector to ensure that the right arrangements are put in place to support the implementation and delivery of the proposals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of (a) the total NHS staff budget, (b) spending on doctors and (c) spending on nurses was spent on agency staff in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt

The information requested is not held centrally. The annual National Health Service budget does not specifically identify for a budget for staff costs. While the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts record the total amounts spent on agency staff from 2013-14, these data do not permit the proportion spent on doctors or nurses to be calculated.

2013-14 was the first year for which the Department collected financial data from NHS trusts and foundation trusts in respect of net temporary and agency staffing costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that sufficient doctors and nurses are trained in the UK to maintain safe staffing levels in the NHS.

Ben Gummer

The Government has established Health Education England (HEE) as the body responsible for workforce planning and the commissioning of education and training for the National Health Service and public health system with a budget of £4.9 billion.

The number of nurse training places has increased by 14% over the past three years, with currently over 50,000 nurses in training as at 31 March 2015.

HEE is forecasting that, based on their current training plans, there will be 23,121 more nurses available to work in the NHS by 2019 compared to 2014.

There are currently near record numbers of nurses and midwives in post in the NHS in England. The latest available figures from June 2015 show a total of 317,595 nurses and midwives in post.

Since May 2010, the number of doctors in the NHS has increased by 8,574 to just under 104,000.