Tag: Tania Mathias

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of night flights to and from Heathrow Airport.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Along with Gatwick and Stansted, the Government sets night flight restrictions at Heathrow, using its powers under s.78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982.

These restrictions limit the number of flights between the hours of 23.30 and 06.00 that can take place during a particular season – there are two seasons per annum, winter and summer, which coincide with the use of Greenwich Mean Time and British Summer Time. Heathrow is limited to 5,800 flights a year during these hours, which translates in to an average of 16 flights per night. Due to a voluntary agreement which prevents scheduled movements before 04.30, most of these flights are from aircraft arriving between the hours of 04.30 and 06.00. It should be noted that these restrictions do not preclude additional aircraft from operating at Heathrow during the night period in the case of emergencies or severe disruption.

As well as limiting the number of movements allowed within an airline season, these restrictions place requirements on the aircraft that can operate during the night period, and place seasonal limits on the amount of noise energy that can be emitted at Heathrow. Aircraft are certified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) according to the noise they produce and the higher the band an aircraft is certified as the higher quota amount it uses with each movement. The Government has also prohibited the noisiest types of aircraft from using the airport during the night. QC/4 aircraft are not allowed to be scheduled during the night quota period (2330 to 0600), and the highest rated QC/8 and QC/16 aircraft are prevented from operating at all during the entire night period (2300 to 0700).

The Government will begin consulting next year on a new nights flight regime which will take effect from October 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-12-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the purchase of buy-to-let property by a person whose current residence derives only from their job will be deemed as a second home for tax purposes under the new Rules on Stamp Duty coming into force in April 2016.

Mr David Gauke

The new higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) will apply to the purchase of additional residential properties and will come into force on 1 April 2016. Work-related accommodation which is provided and owned by an employer does not count when considering whether an individual is purchasing an additional property or not. The Government will shortly consult on the policy design, including on the treatment of particularly difficult cases, to ensure the change to SDLT is implemented in a fair way.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department is taking steps to increase awareness amongst small retailers of EU directive 2014/40/EU, section 14, regulating packet sizes for cigarettes.

Jane Ellison

The Government is developing guidance on the implementation of Article 14 of the revised Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) and is considering how best to raise awareness of the changes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to reduce the cost to the NHS of postage of appointment notifications to patients.

George Freeman

The National Information Board’s strategy document Personalised Health and Care 2020 (published November 2014) set out the aim to support greater uptake of the use of digital systems in health and care to create a National Health Service paper free at the point of care by 2020. This will remove the system’s reliance on paper and will help reduce postal service costs for the NHS.

In the case of appointment letters for patients the new NHS e-referral system, introduced last year, already allows healthcare providers to choose not to send out appointment letters, instead allowing patients to access the information directly from the NHS e-referral system. Patients have an option to print off the details of their appointment if they prefer to have a paper copy of the information. We expect increasing numbers of providers will use this functionality to help contain costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent from the public purse on printing and postage of employees’ payslips in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will take steps to ensure that NHS employees receive their payslips electronically.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Department contracts for the NHS Electronic Staff Record system. This contract includes printing and despatch of employee payslips to a single distribution point at each National Health Service organisation in England at a total price of £1.9 million (data relates to the period September 2015 – August 2016). This price reduces by around 20% each year within the contract.

The Electronic Staff Record solution already provides electronic payslip access via a facility called Employee Self Service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the concentration of flight paths over residential areas near Heathrow Airport.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government’s overall policy on aviation noise, as stated in the 2013 Aviation Policy Framework (APF), is ‘to limit and, where possible, reduce the number of people in the UK significantly affected by aircraft noise’. To achieve this, the Government believes in most cases it will be preferable to concentrate aircraft over as few routes as possible. The APF does however go on to say that ‘where there is intensive use of certain routes, and following engagement with local communities, it may be appropriate to explore options for respite which share noise between communities on an equitable basis, provided this does not lead to significant numbers of people newly affected by noise.’

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-12-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.70 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, whether it is his policy that the new rate of stamp duty land tax on second homes will apply to foreign investors and people not domiciled in the UK.

Mr David Gauke

Foreign investors and people not domiciled in the UK will be treated in exactly the same way as UK residents under these new rates. If purchasers own another property anywhere else in the world and are purchasing an additional property in England, Wales or Northern Ireland they will be charged under the new rates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to increase awareness of the impending legal requirement for dogs to be microchipped.

George Eustice

The Department has been working with key stakeholders to increase awareness of the need for owners to get their dogs microchipped. This work has included the offer by Dogs Trust, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and Blue Cross of free microchipping, and the launch of the ChipMyDog Facebook page and has helped contribute to the rise in the percentage of dogs microchipped from around 58% in 2013 to an estimated 83% today. We will continue to work with stakeholders to get this message out to dog owners and prospective owners.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the (a) use and (b) location of UK-manufactured cluster bombs that were produced before the UK signed the Convention of Cluster Munitions.

Michael Fallon

The Ministry of Defence does not routinely hold records of the use by other nations or location of UK manufactured defence exports of any type.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to (a) improve public awareness of the law and (b) make it easier for the law to be understood by people without legal expertise.

Sir Oliver Heald

Information is provided on the ‘crime, justice and the law’ section of the GOV.UK website to help the public be aware of their rights and the law. In addition, the legal services regulators have a duty to promote public understanding of citizens’ legal rights and duties. The regulators have established the “Legal Choices” website, which provides information to help with decisions on whether and how to seek legal advice and the available services the public might choose.