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  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many funding agreements have been terminated by each regional schools commissioner.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    A funding agreement is contract between the Secretary of State and an academy trust. The model funding agreement states that the agreement can be terminated under the following grounds: termination by either party; by warning notice; by the Secretary of State after inspection; by the Secretary of State; and a change of control.

    The Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) are civil servants, and as such, carry out their duties in the name of the Secretary of State. The RSCs have powers to make a decision, on behalf of the Secretary of State, to replace a sponsor or trust, where they have not been able to secure necessary improvements. In some circumstances, the funding agreement may be terminated as part of the process.

    As with other areas of their responsibility, RSCs escalate decisions to the National Schools Commissioner or the relevant minister where they are sensitive, raise issues of interpretation of government policy, or relate to urgent safeguarding or extremism concerns.

    The decision to terminate a funding agreement that results in the closure of an academy is made by the Secretary of State.

    Listed below are the numbers of academy closures and re-brokerages by region since the RSCs’ appointment in September 2014:

    RSC

    Re-brokered

    Closed

    Total

    East Midlands & Humber

    28

    7

    35

    Lancashire & West Yorkshire

    15

    3

    18

    North

    6

    3

    9

    North East London & East

    15

    2

    17

    North West London & South Central

    10

    2

    12

    South London & South East

    9

    4

    13

    South West

    28

    1

    29

    West Midlands

    11

    3

    14

    Total

    122

    25

    147
  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what consideration she has given to the retention of Article 10(a) paragraph 16(a) of the EU Emissions Trading System, Directive 2003/87/EC, to take account of the carbon leakage vulnerability of activities with a high proportion of raw material-related process emissions under the next phase of the EU Emissions Trading System; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government supports reform to strengthen the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) while continuing to support the competitiveness of British businesses in the transition to a low-carbon economy. We recognise the barriers to decarbonisation in certain sectors with a high proportion of raw material-related process emissions. The Government has engaged with industry and industrial sector bodies to understand the enablers and barriers to deep decarbonisation, including through the joint industry-Government decarbonisation and energy efficiency roadmaps. We will continue to work closely with UK industry to consider ways to account for process emissions in the next phase of the EU ETS, starting in 2021.

  • Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much domestic solar PV by MWp was deployed in Quarter 1 of the new FIT scheme; and what the cap was for that quarter.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Domestic solar PV (typically greater than 4kW) is included within the greater than 10kW solar PV cap. In quarter one of 2016, the deployment cap for solar PV greater than 10kW was set at 48.4 MW and 21.031 MW of capacity was deployed. Unutilised capacity was rolled over to the next quarter’s cap.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make it her policy to support French proposals for an EU-wide carbon floor price.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government supports the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) as a market-based approach to cap emissions and achieve least-cost decarbonisation. Negotiations to reform and strengthen the EU ETS for the next phase of the system starting in 2021 are still in the early stages. Proposals to set thresholds for the EU carbon price are one of many options open for discussion. The Government believes that the implementation of the Market Stability Reserve, as agreed in 2015, is essential to strengthening the EU ETS carbon price in the long-term and to providing a strong, stable low-carbon investment signal.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will join the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The UK has joined the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition as a government partner.

    The UK supports carbon pricing and carbon markets as a means of driving cost effective decarbonisation to help reach the long-term goal agreed in Paris: to keep global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees and make efforts to deliver 1.5 degrees.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, for what reasons it has not been practicable for her Department to lay the Committee on Climate Change report on Compatibility of Onshore Petroleum with meeting UK carbon budgets before Parliament.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department has received the Committee on Climate Change report. We are considering the report and will lay it before Parliament with our response in due course.

  • Mark Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Mark Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her Department’s policy is on restricting the import of cheap, inferior-quality coal to the UK.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The decision of where to source coal is a commercial decision for companies. Through our efforts to decarbonise our electricity system, we are increasing the diversity of our energy mix and reducing our reliance on unabated coal.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when her Department plans to lay the Committee on Climate Change report on Compatibility of Onshore Petroleum with meeting UK carbon budgets and its response before Parliament.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department has received the Committee on Climate Change report. We are considering the report and will lay it before Parliament with our response in due course.

  • Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the number of job losses in the UK solar SME sector arising from the closure of the feed-in tariff scheme and its replacement with a capped scheme.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The projected employment impacts of the revised feed-in tariff scheme were set out in Annex C of the impact assessment published alongside the FIT Review government response. This can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486084/IA_-_FITs_consultation_response_with_Annexes_-_FINAL_SIGNED.pdf

    This is a UK success story with 99% of solar installed since 2010 and 8GW already deployed.

    “

  • Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of how many UK solar companies have gone out of business or stopped installing solar PV as a result of policy changes made since May 2015.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We recognise the efforts the solar industry is making to adapt following those changes; changes that we had to make to protect billpayers from the ever-increasing costs of support.

    We are encouraged by the way the industry is responding: deployment of solar under the revised FIT scheme continues, at rates that match those seen historically following revisions to the scheme.

    We expect that deployment will increase further as costs continue to fall, and the industry acclimatizes to the new system.