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  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the outcome of the EU referendum does not have an adverse effect on funding for collaboration by and recruitment of astrophysicists.

    Joseph Johnson

    The UK will maintain its status as a global centre for research and innovation. In last year’s Spending Review the Government committed to protecting science resource funding in real terms from its 2015-16 level of £4.7 billion a year for the rest of the parliament, as well as committing to invest in new scientific infrastructure on a record scale – £6.9 billion over the period 2015-2021.

    While the UK remains a member of the EU, funding and collaboration arrangements continue unchanged. Researchers can continue to bid for competitive EU research funding such as Horizon 2020 while we remain a member of the EU. The Government will work with the Commission to ensure payment when funds are awarded. The Treasury will underwrite the payment of such awards, even when specific projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU. This commitment will provide reassurance and stability to the research community, and recruitment should continue as normal.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people working for her Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Nick Gibb

    All directly employed staff, agency workers and outsourced contractors who work for the Department for Education and its executive agencies are paid at least the Living Wage Foundation rate.

    No staff or agency workers are employed via zero-hours contracts and only 23 of 164 outsourced contractors are employed on this basis.

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has provided to teachers on the value added measure for 2016-17 for Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department published guidance, Primary School Accountability in 2016, which explains how the new progress measures will be calculated. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/496158/Primary_school_accountability_in_2016.pdf

    This guidance will be updated in the autumn.

    “

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of uprating the earnings threshold for graduate repayments of student loans.

    Joseph Johnson

    In 2015 the government chose not to uprate from April 2017 the loan repayment threshold for ‘plan 2’ student loans — those issued for course starting from 2012 onwards. This decision will be reviewed again in 2021. The government consulted on this decision and published a detailed consultation response.

    The forecasted cost of uprating the repayment threshold by earnings growth from April 2017 would be equal to the forecasted savings from freezing the threshold. These figures can be found in paragraphs 67 and 68 of the consultation response.

    “

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will assess the potential merits of giving protected name status to Morecambe Bay shrimps.

    George Eustice

    We recognise the benefits of protecting our traditional and geographical food products and continue to work with producers to encourage protected food name (PFN) applications. Each application is assessed on its own merits and eligibility under the scheme. We would encourage producers to make applications for PFNs in order to promote high quality products such as Morecambe Bay shrimps.

    The Protected Food Name (PFN) scheme enables producers to add value to their product and helps consumers to identify foods with a clear regional provenance.

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make representations to gluten-free food producers on reducing the cost to consumers of gluten-free products; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    It is not the Government’s role to set retail food prices. We work to promote transparency and open global markets internationally, as well as a competitive domestic market to help producers and retailers offer the best prices to consumers. Year on year food prices have continued to fall with an annual rate of inflation of -2.6 per cent in the year to July 2016, according to official figures released on 18 August.

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make representations to the Competition and Markets Authority on investigating the price of milk at major supermarkets.

    George Eustice

    The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as the UK’’s competition authority can carry out investigations where there is evidence of abuse of a dominant position or market abuse. Whilst the Government does not generally intervene in what businesses charge consumers for their goods and services we do recognise concerns about transparency and trust in the dairy supply chain. A number of supermarkets have pledged to pay a premium over and above the current market price. This is welcome and gives some respite to farmers. Some retailers have also taken steps to increase the number of dairy products they source from the UK and improve country of origin labelling on cheese.

    The Groceries Code which has been in operation since 2010 and the Adjudicator which came into force in 2013 have had a positive impact on the relationship between retailers and suppliers in the dairy chain. The Code was a specific remedy recommended by the Competition Commission following an extensive investigation into the UK grocery market. A review of the Adjudicator is due this year and will include a Call for Evidence on the case for extending the Groceries Code Adjudicator’s remit in the UK groceries supply chain and, as part of this, we will look at how this can further help the farming industry.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people working for her Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    George Eustice

    There are no direct employees paid less than the Living Wage in core-Defra, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).

    There are 2 direct employees currently paid less than the Living Wage in the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), none of which are employed on zero-hours contracts. One is an apprentice and the other is about to have their salary increased to the Living Wage rate.

    There are no employment agency staff paid less than the Living Wage in core-Defra, APHA, and VMD.

    There are 95 employment agency staff paid less than the Living Wage in RPA. None are employed on zero-hours contracts. All are paid at least the National Living Wage as defined by the Government.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase the rate of new woodland planting.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Forestry is a devolved matter and the answer refers to England only.

    We encourage tree planting by championing sector-led initiatives, such as Grown in Britain and the Roots to Prosperity strategy. Their work to grow demand for wood from ground level up is helping develop the woodland economy. We also support the Woodland Carbon Code to help to attract private investment in woodland creation.

    The window for Woodland Creation Grant applications for planting over the next two seasons, under the Rural Development Programme, closed on 31 March. We are continuing to process these applications and agreements are expected to be issued this month.

    The Forestry Commission plans to re-open the £1m Forestry Innovation Fund for Woodland Creation Planning Grants for new applications this month. Funding for this has been confirmed by HM Treasury.

    The Forestry Commission continues to support landowners to make applications through a series of workshops and online support.

    As announced by the Chancellor in August, all Countryside Stewardship applications signed or agreed before the Autumn Statement will be fully funded, even when these continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent representations her Department has received on the future of the school milk subsidy scheme since the outcome of the EU referendum.

    George Eustice

    Following the outcome of the EU Referendum we continue to receive views across the range of the Department’s responsibilities. Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the EU and current EU funding arrangements will continue unchanged. The UK currently claims around £3.5 million a year under the current EU milk scheme, compared with the much larger nursery milk scheme for children under 5 which is funded by UK Health and Education departments, and is worth £67m a year.