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  • Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rupa Huq on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to retain access for UK universities to EU research programmes after the UK leaves the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government is committed to maintaining and enhancing the strength of the UK’s research base. This is why it has protected the science resource budget in real terms from its 2015/16 level of £4.7 billion 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.

    HM Treasury’s decision to underwrite the grants of competitively bid for EU research funding will give British participants and their EU partners the assurance and certainty needed to plan ahead for projects that can stretch over many years. The Government will ensure that the UK continues to be a world leader in research and innovation.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 404 of the Education Act 1996, what her Department’s policy is on the teaching of sex and relationships education in proposed new grammar schools.

    Edward Timpson

    Our plan is that the curriculum requirements that apply to existing grammar schools will apply to any proposed new grammar schools.

    The requirement under section 404 of the Education Act 1996 for schools to have a statement of their policy on the provision of sex education applies to maintained schools, and the requirement to teach sex education (under section 80 of the Education Act 1996) applies to maintained secondary schools only. Grammar schools operating in the maintained sector are required to teach sex education and must adhere to the requirement under section 404 of the Education Act 1996.

    Academies, including grammar schools which are academies, must teach a broad and balanced curriculum and in respect of sex education, they must – like maintained schools – have regard to the Secretary of State’s statutory Sex and Relationship Education guidance issued in 2000. The guidance stipulates that schools must have an up-to-date policy in relation to their sex and relationship education provision. The guidance can be access via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sex-and-relationship-education

    “

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to work with the waste and coatings industries on making better use of leftover paint.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The Government has been engaging constructively with the British Coatings Federation on making better use of leftover paint, including identifying potential regulatory barriers to its recycling and remanufacture and how these might be overcome.

    The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) encourages consumers to recycle and re-use household paint by providing information through the Recycle Now website. This includes a postcode locator which helps pinpoint local Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) that accept leftover paint. The Government’s Innovation in Waste Prevention Fund has also supported a pilot paint re-use project in Cheshire involving local charities, working with HWRCs and housing associations to increase paint donation and minimise disposal. WRAP will publish a summary of the project, lessons learned and a video case study later in the year.

    In terms of public procurement, it is for each Government department to consider sustainability and put this into practice in its own procurement activity. Government Buying Standards do not currently include remanufactured paint. WRAP has recently published a guide on ‘How to Include Re-use in Local Authority HWRC Procurement’.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to increase the number of household waste recycling centres that accept liquid paint.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The Government has been engaging constructively with the British Coatings Federation on making better use of leftover paint, including identifying potential regulatory barriers to its recycling and remanufacture and how these might be overcome.

    The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) encourages consumers to recycle and re-use household paint by providing information through the Recycle Now website. This includes a postcode locator which helps pinpoint local Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) that accept leftover paint. The Government’s Innovation in Waste Prevention Fund has also supported a pilot paint re-use project in Cheshire involving local charities, working with HWRCs and housing associations to increase paint donation and minimise disposal. WRAP will publish a summary of the project, lessons learned and a video case study later in the year.

    In terms of public procurement, it is for each Government department to consider sustainability and put this into practice in its own procurement activity. Government Buying Standards do not currently include remanufactured paint. WRAP has recently published a guide on ‘How to Include Re-use in Local Authority HWRC Procurement’.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to include remanufactured paint as a material in Green Public Procurement.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The Government has been engaging constructively with the British Coatings Federation on making better use of leftover paint, including identifying potential regulatory barriers to its recycling and remanufacture and how these might be overcome.

    The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) encourages consumers to recycle and re-use household paint by providing information through the Recycle Now website. This includes a postcode locator which helps pinpoint local Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) that accept leftover paint. The Government’s Innovation in Waste Prevention Fund has also supported a pilot paint re-use project in Cheshire involving local charities, working with HWRCs and housing associations to increase paint donation and minimise disposal. WRAP will publish a summary of the project, lessons learned and a video case study later in the year.

    In terms of public procurement, it is for each Government department to consider sustainability and put this into practice in its own procurement activity. Government Buying Standards do not currently include remanufactured paint. WRAP has recently published a guide on ‘How to Include Re-use in Local Authority HWRC Procurement’.

  • Scott Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Scott Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Scott Mann on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she plans to support fishing communities to take advantage of British territorial fishing waters after the UK leaves the EU.

    George Eustice

    Our fishing industry is of vital important to coastal communities and leaving the EU creates the opportunity to improve the management of UK industry in the future.

    Defra officials will be working with the Department for Exiting the European Union to look at future policies for fisheries. We will continue to work closely with industry and other key stakeholders to develop these new arrangements.

  • Peter Aldous – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Peter Aldous – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Aldous on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of UK fishing trips and hauls were (a) accompanied by fisheries observers and (b) electronically monitored by cameras in each of the last three years.

    George Eustice

    UK fisheries observers accompanied 610 UK fishing trips in 2013, 755 in 2014 and 595 in 2015.

    The number of vessels that have been electronically monitored using remote electronic monitoring (REM) equipment (which includes cameras) in each of the last three years (to and including 2016) is show in the table below.

    Year

    2014

    2015

    2016 (to 18/10)

    No. of vessels

    44

    45

    31

    No. of trips

    1214

    1652

    1005

    While the number of vessels being electronically monitored is a low proportion of all UK vessels, those which are electronically monitored have a high catching capacity. For example, in 2015 some 82% of total landings by English vessels of North Sea cod were made by vessels monitored by REM equipment.

  • Peter Aldous – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Peter Aldous – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Aldous on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the Government plans to monitor the phased in landing obligation requirements (a) generally and (b) for North Sea cod in 2017 to ensure that no illegal discarding or high grading is occurring; and what the level of (a) observer coverage and (b) electronic monitoring coverage is planned for 2017.

    George Eustice

    Responsibility for ensuring compliance with the Landing Obligation (LO) rests with Defra, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the UK’s Devolved Administrations. After an advisory period, and for the vessels for which it is responsible, the MMO is ensuring that fishing vessels are fully compliant with LO requirements while working at sea through inspections, including those made by Royal Navy offshore patrol vessels.

    Fishing vessels are selected for inspection at sea using a risk-based and intelligence-led approach. Any illegal discarding or high grading discovered is dealt with in-line with the MMO’s compliance strategy. Coastal inspectors have received guidance and instruction on the LO, covering both pelagic and demersal fisheries. This guidance is updated in-line with regulatory changes every year, and coastal inspectors are monitoring both fish markets and landings.

    We are currently working with industry to continue a scheme that will fully document certain catches using electronic monitoring equipment in 2017, and going forward, as the LO is phased in.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2016 to Question 47784, if she will make it her policy that changes to environmental protections deriving from EU legislation should be made through primary legislation.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The Government is considering future arrangements for existing EU legislation. We look forward to working with the industry, rural communities and the wider public to shape our plans for a future outside the EU.

    As I said in my previous answer, any future changes in the law will be subject to full scrutiny and proper Parliamentary debate.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2016 to Question 47328, if she will provide the information requested in the specified format.

    George Eustice

    As previously stated, further information on Ministerial meetings with organisations is available on Gov.UK, as part of the quarterly transparency information.

    Data on meetings with Departmental officials is not centrally recorded. Any further information could only be obtained by incurring disproportionate costs.