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  • Tom Watson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Watson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which post or team in his Department is responsible for the application of remotely piloted aircraft systems.

    Mr Mark Francois

    There is no one person or team responsible for the application or deployment of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). The decision to deploy RPAS is taken by Ministers following advice provided by senior personnel, both military and civilian, across the Department.

  • Baroness Byford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Byford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, following the implementation of the new Common Agricultural Policy information technology system, farmers who are prevented from completing their applications for payments by 15 May will be subject to penalties for late submission.

    Lord De Mauley

    Under article 13 of EU regulation 809/2014, Member States must require claims to be made by no later than 15 May, and this is the deadline adopted in the UK. Late claims submitted within the next 25 days are subject to a penalty of 1% of the claim for each working day’s delay. Claims already submitted by 15 May can be adjusted after that in some circumstances. We expect that the Rural Payments system, and our provision of support to those who may face any difficulty in applying online, will ensure that all farmers have every opportunity to claim their direct payments by 15 May. There are force majeure provisions for those that fail to submit on time which can apply in limited circumstances.

    The Secretary of State is also seeking to make such penalties more proportionate in future.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of providing phase two training for the regular Army band at Kneller Hall in 2013-14.

    Anna Soubry

    The requested detail for Financial Year 2013-14 is provided below:

    Number of personnel who

    completed Phase Two training

    Cost of providing Phase

    Two training

    Royal Marines School

    of Music (Portsmouth)

    22

    Information is not held

    centrally and could be

    provided only at

    disproportionate cost

    Royal Military School of Music (Army, Kneller Hall)

    66

    £2.8 million (approx)

    No personnel undertook phase two training with the RAF Music Services. The RAF recruits are fully trained musicians who undertake a rigorous audition process and are only admitted once their playing ability is proven.

  • Tom Watson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Watson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 222435, what the (a) rank, (b) function and (c) location is of the five personnel from the UK Reaper Force on loan service to US Forces.

    Mr Mark Francois

    There are four Flight Lieutenant Instructors at 49th Operations Group, Holloman Air Force Base. There is also one Flight Lieutenant at 53rd Test and Evaluation Group, Creech Air Force Base in a test and evaluation role. None of the five personnel on loan are conducting operational mission flying.

  • Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, as a contribution to establishing future targets and implementation plans for the reduction of carbon emissions at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015, what policies are being proposed by the United Kingdom delegations to the United Nations specialised agencies responsible for climate change mitigation, including United Nations Habitat, the United Nations Environmental Programme, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Maritime Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

    Baroness Verma

    We recognise the UNFCCC as the only place where a legally binding international agreement could be delivered at the scale necessary to meet the challenge of climate change, given its universal coverage and legitimacy. As such, we are working with countries to intensify domestic preparations for the new deal and want as many as possible to put forward contributions to the UNFCCC by the first quarter of 2015, which set out how they are going to achieve their commitments on post-2020 mitigation. Alongside this we are working closely with UN institutions and relevant international agencies to assess how different international actors can best support an ambitious deal in Paris.

  • Tom Watson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Watson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 222435, what the name and date was of the agreement pursuant to which five personnel from Squadron 329 are on loan service to US Forces.

    Mr Mark Francois

    UK loan service (LS) personnel assisting the United States Air Force are covered by the terms of the NATO Status of Forces Agreement (1949), the US-UK Chapeau agreement (1993), the US-UK Provision of medical support agreement (2014), and US-UK discussions to determine working-level arrangements. LS personnel are subject to UK Service regulations; they are administered and receive pay and allowances from the UK.

  • Lord Judd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Judd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following their policy of prioritising survivors of sexual violence for their Syrian refugee resettlement programme, what similar action they are taking in respect of the situation of Yazidi women and girls.

    Lord Bates

    The Government is deeply concerned about the crises in Syria and Iraq and the suffering and hardship they are causing for millions of people, particularly those who have endured appalling violence, persecution and abuse. We are committed to helping those in need and have so far provided £39.5 million to help the 2.2 million displaced Iraqis, many of whom were victims of ISIL’s persecution. These funds provide food, shelter, water and medical care to thousands of vulnerable families.

    Tackling violence against women and girls is a priority for the Government. The action we are taking includes providing funding to support the UN Population Fund in the coordination and information management of the international response to support victims of sexual and gender based violence. The UK has also specifically committed funding to help establish community outreach teams that are providing psychosocial support and referrals to appropriate services for survivors of sexual and gender based violence.

    We will continue to be actively involved in the region and will closely monitor developments but we have no current plans to expand the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme, or implement a similar scheme specifically for Iraq.

  • Tom Watson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Watson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 222434, what consideration his Department has given to deployment of the UK Reapers in storage for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance in Iraq.

    Mr Mark Francois

    As with all platforms and capabilities not deployed on operations, the deployment of additional Reaper aircraft currently in storage in the UK is kept under constant review.

  • and (4) the future of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.” – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    and (4) the future of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.” – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by and (4) the future of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.” on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the February 2015 meeting of the P5 Process”

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    I refer the noble Lord to the statement made on 12 February 2015 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), which I repeated in the House of Lords, Official Report, column HLWS256; and to the attached joint statement issued by the P5 States after their conference in London on 4-5 February.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the call by the Prime Minister at the British Chambers of Commerce Conference on 10 February for salaries and wages in the private sector to be increased, whether they will now arrange for the caps on the salaries and wages of public sector employees to be lifted; and if not, why not.

    Lord Deighton

    The Chancellor announced at Autumn Statement 2011 that for the two years following the public sector pay freeze, public sector pay awards will average at 1 per cent. At Budget 2013 it was announced that awards in 2015-16 will be limited to an average of up to 1 per cent.

    The government has made no decisions on pay policy beyond 2015-16. Decisions on future pay policy will be made at the next spending round.

    Pay restraint is one of the many difficult choices the government has had to make to help put the UK’s public finances back on track. It is helping to protect jobs in the public sector and support the quality of public services.