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  • Andrew Griffiths – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Griffiths – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Griffiths on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of white British pupils eligible for free school meals achieved five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and mathematics, (a) in each local authority area and (b) at each school in each of the last five years.

    Nick Gibb

    The information is not held in the format requested.

    The Department for Education publishes information at regional and local authority level on the proportion of white boys eligible for free school meals. This information, along with information on the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals, can be found in tables 3 and 5 of the “GCSE and equivalent attainment by pupil characteristics: 2014”, available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/gcse-and-equivalent-attainment-by-pupil-characteristics-2014

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  • David Mackintosh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Mackintosh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to review the school funding formula to ensure fair funding for schools in rural areas.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    We are committed to making schools funding fairer and will come forward with our proposals for this in due course. These will include proposals about how to ensure that schools in rural areas are funded fairly.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether it is her policy to allow alternatives to in-home displays to be used in the smart meter rollout.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Energy suppliers are required to offer their domestic customers an In Home Display (IHD) where they install a smart metering system, enabling consumers to visualise how much energy they use, when they use it and how much it costs them in near real time. There is strong evidence that IHDs are instrumental to energy savings, as set out in the Smart Metering Impact Assessment and the findings of the Early Learning Project published in March 2015. IHDs facilitate a significant proportion of the expected benefits of the smart metering programme (some £4.3 billion).

    Energy suppliers are able to offer their customers, where they so choose, other engagement tools in addition to the IHD. However there is a lack of evidence on the enduring consumer benefits of alternative engagement tools within Great Britain. The Government is currently consulting on proposals to allow suppliers to undertake, with the Secretary of State’s approval on a case by case basis, trials of alternative energy use engagement tools to IHDs. This will help DECC to gather evidence on the performance of other approaches, to understand if the IHD requirement remains optimised for the costs and benefits accruing to consumers.

    The consultation can be found on the following weblink:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/smart-meter-in-home-display-licence-conditions.

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  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many police officers, at each rank, of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary are deployed at Dounreay nuclear power station; and whether she plans to increase the number of such officers.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Security at Dounreay nuclear site is a high priority for the Government. However, the Government does not comment on security at nuclear sites. Allocation of officers at Dounreay nuclear site is subject to the same processes and rules as other civil nuclear sites in the United Kingdom as regulated by the Office of Nuclear Regulation.

  • Sue Hayman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Sue Hayman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the Sellafield site security costs were in each of the last five years; and what those costs are projected to be in each of the next five years.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Security at Sellafield is a high priority for the Government. However, the Government does not comment on security at nuclear sites. Expenditure on security is subject to the same processes and rules as other public expenditure.

  • Jeremy Lefroy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jeremy Lefroy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the total renewable installed capacity was on 30 June 2015.

    Andrea Leadsom

    At the end of March 2015, total renewable electricity installed capacity in the UK was 26.4 GW. Figures as at end of June 2015 will be available on 24 September 2015.

    Source:

    Table 6.1, Energy Trends section 6: renewables, available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-trends-section-6-renewables.

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  • Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she has taken to remove barriers to small energy providers using the services of the Data Communications Company.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC has undertaken a continuous programme of outreach with independent suppliers. This has allowed us to monitor their views on a range of issues, including costs and their ability to use the services of the Data Communications Company (DCC). One challenge we recognised independent suppliers may face was the cost effective procurement of adaptor software enabling them to access DCC services. Over the last twelve to eighteen months, this challenge has been taken up by a number of commercial providers bringing managed service IT solutions to the market which allow independent suppliers to access the DCC with minimal upfront cost. We will continue to monitor the situation to verify that smaller suppliers are able to access the DCC services satisfactorily.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the fixed charge system outlined in the Smart Energy Code on the ability of small energy providers to access the services of the Data Communications Company.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Data Communications Company (DCC) charges for access to the DCC’s services in proportion to suppliers’ market share, calculated on a meter point basis, rather than an equal amount per supplier. This is designed to strike a balance between ensuring a fair contribution from all parties who will have access to the DECC services, and not disadvantaging those parties that are likely to use these services less than others.

    The amount small energy providers will pay in fixed charges is therefore directly reflective of their smaller customer base and likely more limited use of the system that results from their lower market share.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to promote a sustainable approach to resourcing timber in the UK.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra implements the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which makes it an offence to place illegally logged timber on the EU market for the first time, and the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation, which aims to combat illegal logging and improve the supply of legal timber to the EU. The EU FLEGT Regulation establishes Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) between the EU and timber producing countries. Once VPAs have been agreed, timber producing countries will issue exports with a ‘FLEGT licence’ which verifies the timber’s legality.

    Defra is also responsible for the Government’s Timber Procurement Policy, which requires central government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies to procure timber and timber products that are both legal and sustainable.

    Domestic forests provide about 20% of the UK’s timber needs. They are managed in accordance with the UK Forestry Standard, the reference standard for sustainable forest management in the UK. Moreover, about 85% of UK timber production is independently certified, providing additional assurances of sustainability.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent decisions she has had with (a) representatives of the EU and (b) her counterparts in other member states on EU timber regulations.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra officials regularly discuss the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) and the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation with both the European Commission and other EU Member States.

    Most recently (September 2015) Defra officials participated in a FLEGT/EUTR Expert Group meeting in Brussels, covering a range of related issues including implementation of the two regulations across the EU.