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  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Rural Payments Agency has made in payments related to the European School Milk Scheme in each region and constituent part of the UK in each year since 2005.

    George Eustice

    The attached table shows the total UK amounts taken from the annual European accounts for each year from 2005 to 2016. The amounts in the table are the payments made to the organisations that supply milk to schools, which have been claimed back in full from the European Commission by the RPA.

    In years 2005 and 2006 the Rural Payments Agency were required to produce the accounts in GBP currency and in years 2007 and later, were required to produce accounts in euro currency to comply with Regulation 883-2006.

    Year

    Amount

    2005

    6,695,400.64

    2006

    6,552,414.56

    Total£

    £13,247,815.20

    2007

    8,204,965.56

    2008

    7,893,693.21

    2009

    7,553,825.13

    2010

    7,292,814.68

    2011

    1,900,066.83

    2012

    4,753,174.39

    2013

    4,525,499.84

    2014

    4,382,584.46

    2015

    4,325,618.91

    Total €

    € 50,832,243.01

    The figure for 2011 is a result of a repayment made by the Department of Health, where a decision was taken to fund the cost of the nursery milk provision entirely from their own budget. This resulted in the RPA claiming less from the European Commission that year only.

    A breakdown by region and constituent part of the UK could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 11 May 2016 to Question 36565, when she plans to make the decision on whether to update the statutory guidance on sex and relationship education; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    As stated in my response to the Hon. Member’s previous question 36565, the Government believes that sex and relationship education is essential for children’s development and preparation for responsible adult life. We have received requests about updating the guidance which we will consider carefully.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the academy trusts approved to receive the Northern fund for academy sponsors were operating schools that had (a) received a requires improvement rating, (b) received an inadequate rating and (c) had been placed in special measures by Ofsted.

    Edward Timpson

    The Northern Fund was announced by the Chancellor in the 2014 Autumn Statement, to boost academy sponsorship in the North of England as a means of turning around standards in some of the most educationally deprived parts of the country.

    The first competition was run in June and July 2015, with awards being announced in November 2015. Two further competitions were run in January and February 2016.

    A total of 65 academy sponsors received an award under the Northern Fund. At that time, the number of sponsors operating schools in these categories breaks down as follows:

    • 22 sponsors were operating schools that had received a requires improvement rating.

    • Seven sponsors were operating schools that had received an inadequate rating; and, of these seven sponsors, five were operating schools that had been placed in Special Measures, which is a subset of the inadequate category.

    By definition, approved academy sponsors are working with groups of schools, some of which have the most deeply ingrained challenges. Sponsors will often have a mixed portfolio of schools at different stages of both absolute performance and improvement. The Northern Fund is designed to help selected sponsors develop additional capacity in geographical locations of need. Ministers and Regional Schools Commissioners are confident that recipients of the Northern Fund will be able to benefit schools that need their help.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) mathematics and (b) physics teacher training places have been allocated in each available teacher training route for the 2016-17 school year; and how many of those places allocated have been filled.

    Nick Gibb

    There are no caps on the number of mathematics and physics trainees that universities, School Direct lead schools and school-centred initial teacher training providers can recruit. We changed the approach to ITT allocations for 2016/17 by not allocating places to individual organisations for postgraduate ITT courses.

    We will publish the number of trainees starting courses in the 2016/17 academic year when we publish the ITT Census in November 2016.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make it her policy to remove the deadline for the installation of SMETS 1 meters as a result of software upgrades making such meters compatible with her Department’s requirements.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government remains committed to ensuring the industry and consumer benefits of SMETS2 meters operated through the Data and Communications Company (DCC) are realised as soon as possible, while providing industry sufficient time to transition from SMETS1 to SMETS2 meters.

    The Government considers that a SMETS1 end-date of 12 months from availability of all DCC functionality strikes this balance; however we reserve the right to review the end date.

  • George Kerevan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    George Kerevan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Kerevan on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether there is any involvement of China National Nuclear Corporation as a stakeholder in the construction or ownership of the Hinkley Point C reactor.

    Andrea Leadsom

    This is a commercial matter for EDF Energy.

    Any company involved in the UK civil nuclear sector must meet the robust requirements of our regulatory regime.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to meet the EU’s nitrogen dioxide emissions target.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK currently meets the EU legal requirements for almost all pollutants, but we know there is still more to do and that the UK faces significant challenges in meeting EU requirements for nitrogen dioxide.

    The national air quality plan, published in December last year, sets out a comprehensive approach for meeting the air quality challenges by implementing a new programme of Clean Air Zones. The plan combines targeted local and national measures, forming part of a wider approach that exploits new and clean technologies, such as electric and ultra-low emission vehicles.

    The Government has committed over £2 billion since 2011 to increase the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, support green transport initiatives and support local authorities to take action.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect of the European Court of Justice’s ruling on VAT on energy-saving materials of 4 June 2015, on achievement of the UK’s annual carbon emissions target.

    Amber Rudd

    We have made no such estimate of the effect of the ECJ ruling on VAT, since there has been no decision to amend VAT since the ECJ ruling. The reduced rate on 11 different types of energy saving materials remains in place and remains unchanged.

    The Government is still considering the responses to the consultation on VAT on energy saving materials and will issue a response to that consultation in due course.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average length of time is that feed-in tariff applications have been queued since applying for full accreditation; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the timelines of that accreditation process.

    Jesse Norman

    Ofgem aims to approve applications in under 12 weeks where all the necessary information has been provided. Those applications still in the process after 12 weeks are likely to be complex or require further clarification from the applicant. The average time that full accreditation applications have been in the queue since applying is currently five and a half months.

    Ofgem is committed to continuous improvement of accreditation processes and works with applicants to get applications approved as quickly as possible. In order to accomplish this Ofgem has now doubled the level of staffing in this area and made process improvements.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many applications for feed-in tariffs under the renewables obligation order-feed-in tariff application process for larger systems managed by Ofgem are awaiting accreditation.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The total number of Renewables Obligation Order Feed-in Tariff (ROO-FIT) applications which are awaiting accreditation as of April 2016 is 1993. This includes 472 applications for preliminary accreditation, 1456 applications which have converted to full accreditation or applied for full accreditation, and 65 amendments to existing accredited installations. Ofgem aims to approve applications in under 12 weeks where all the necessary information has been provided.