The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average distance between home and school was for school-aged children in (a) London and (b) each London borough on 1 January in each year from 2010 to 2016.
Nick Gibb
Information in the form requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the financial penalties potentially faced by further education institutions resulting from triggering break clauses in the loan agreements they hold with banks resulting from his Department’s area reviews.
Nick Boles
The Area Reviews provide an opportunity for post-16 institutions to explore issues relevant to the provision in their area and consider recommendations for change. The cost of these changes will be considered in the steering group discussions. Additionally, officials are meeting regularly with the main lenders to the post-16 sector. The nature, likelihood and cost implications of break clauses in loan agreements are being explored in these discussions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to prevent the E-ACT Academy chain from dismissing community governors from its school governing bodies.
Edward Timpson
In a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT), individual academies are all under the control of the trust board, as the legal entity. A trust is allowed to exercise its choice about whether and how to construct its local governing bodies for each academy. The composition of those boards and the range of functions delegated to any such boards, are all a matter for the board to determine. In all cases the board remains accountable for all of the academies in the MAT. We expect Government bodies to drive strong governance so that standards remain high. We trust these boards to decide on the most appropriate arrangements for their trust. They may choose to delegate duties to local governing bodies, but trustees maintain overall responsibility. E-ACT has reviewed its governance arrangements and is planning to change its regional and local governance structure.
The Secretary of State can intervene where a trust is in breach of its funding agreement due to a serious breakdown in governance.
Fewer, higher quality and more highly skilled boards overseeing groups of schools is central to the Government’s strategy for improving the quality of school governance. It is also the key to schools realising a wide range of other educational and financial benefits.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to her oral contribution of 18 January 2016, Official Report, column 1152, on subsidies for low carbon power, what recent estimate she has made of the year by which new nuclear generation at (a) Hinkley point C, (b) Sizewell C, (c) Wylfa Newydd, (d) Oldbury and (e) Moorside is likely to operate on a subsidy-free basis; and if she will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
Our electricity market reforms have set the right conditions for necessary investment in our energy market, and support low-carbon generation in nuclear as well as in other generating sectors.My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects to be in a position to take her final decision on the Contract for Difference and associated agreements for Hinkley Point C once the documentation relating to equity investment into the project is finalised. The Contract for Difference would provide revenue support during the operational phase of Hinkley Point C for a period of 35 years. No applications for development consent to build new nuclear power stations at the other sites have been made and it is too soon to say what the funding arrangements might be for these projects proposed by developers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the entering into force of the agreement between the UK and EDF to proceed with Hinkley Point C is conditional on the Flamanville successfully demonstrating capability of operation; what recent conversations her Department has had with EDF about the findings of the French Nuclear Safety Authority on tests on the Flamanville EPR reactor vessel head and bottom and the implications for her policies on new nuclear power; and if she will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s final decision on the Contract for Difference and associated agreements for Hinkley Point C is not dependent on developments at Flamanville. The UK has its own independent nuclear regulatory regime which has assessed the reactor design proposed for use at Hinkley Point and will continue to regulate the project through construction, operation and decommissioning. As part of this, the Office for Nuclear Regulation has said that it expects EDF to apply any relevant lessons learned from Flamanville and improve its design to ensure the delivery of high standards of nuclear safety for its new nuclear power plants in the UK. DECC officials are in regular contact with EDF about both projects.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she has taken to protect recipients of Green Deal funding from companies whose work is not of an acceptable standard.
Andrea Leadsom
All authorised Green Deal participants must adhere to the Green Deal Code of Practice which clearly stipulates their roles and responsibilities in relation to carrying out energy efficiency measures and dealing with consumers. A Green Deal provider offering Green Deal finance must also hold the appropriate FCA permissions to do so and comply with the relevant elements of that regime. Any measures installed under a Green Deal, the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund, or Green Deal Communities must be installed to the standards required in the Publicly Available Standard 2030 (PAS 2030). Green Deal Certification Bodies exist to certify and audit Green Deal Installers against PAS 2030 and the Green Deal Code of Practice.
Consumers with Green Deal finance plans who have a complaint can contact the Green Deal Ombudsman if their Green Deal provider is unable or unwilling to help when something goes wrong with a Green Deal Plan.
My rt. hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for DECC and DCLG, have also commissioned Dr Peter Bonfield to chair an Independent Review of Consumer Advice, Protection, Standards and Enforcement for UK home energy efficiency and renewable energy measures. The Bonfield review will be submitting its recommendation in April 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans she has for long-term sustainable household energy efficiency measures in the period after 2017.
Andrea Leadsom
We are providing support for households to improve their energy efficiency through a reformed domestic supplier obligation (ECO) from April 2017.
This will upgrade the energy efficiency of over 200,000 homes per year to 2022, help to tackle the root cause of fuel poverty and continue to deliver on our commitment to insulate 1 million more homes this Parliament.
We are also looking at a range of policy levers for driving take up of low carbon heat and energy efficiency in non-fuel poor households.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support milk producers in ensuring milk prices in supermarkets are maintained.
George Eustice
We support the farming industry by reducing red tape, funding research to foster innovation, extending the tax averaging period for self-employed farmers and working to open up new export markets.
To provide some relief to hard-pressed farmers we secured a £26.6m aid package for the UK from the European Commission – the third largest of all Member States. Dairy farmers across the UK are being paid a one-off, flat rate payment linked to milk production. The majority of payments were made by the RPA on 16 November 2015.
The Government is working with the food industry – including supermarkets, retailers, manufacturers and caterers – on even more consistent labelling and branding of British dairy products, improving transparency across the supply chain and allocating more space on shop shelves. This will make it easier for consumers and food businesses to know when they are buying British dairy products.
A number of supermarkets have pledged to pay a premium over and above the current market price and we should welcome that. It won’t solve the problem but it will give some respite to farmers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to work with farmers and land owners in areas susceptable to flooding to encourage them to allow parts of their land to flood to avoid flooding elsewhere.
Rory Stewart
Temporarily storing flood water on agricultural land can be a cost effective way of reducing risks elsewhere in a catchment, and where such schemes are planned, farmers/landowners are paid to store flood water on their land in a managed way, with payments being made to offset the damages caused by additional deliberate flooding that forms a part of the flood management scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the use of upland management schemes in areas susceptible to flooding as a method of flood prevention.
Rory Stewart
Land management change can have important benefits in reducing flood risk. We will encourage any measures that could help manage flood risk, for example management of our peat uplands and planting trees to slow the flow at the same time as providing wider environmental benefits within catchments. Flood risk management is also one of the targeting criteria for woodland creation funded through the new Countryside Stewardship scheme and the Forestry Commission also continues to undertake research into understanding what role woodlands can play in managing flood risk.