Category: Speeches

Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she has made an assessment of the potential effect on UK GDP of the National Grid using its demand side balancing reserve powers; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

Demand Side Balancing Response (DSBR) is part of National Grid’s Contingency Balancing Reserve. Under the DSBR, firms bid for contracts to reduce their demand from the grid when instructed by National Grid in return for an agreed utilisation fee.

DECC has not made an assessment of the impact of DSBR on GDP; DSBR is small (133 MW in 15/16), runs infrequently and is entirely voluntary.

Since the service commenced in winter 14/15, National Grid has only instructed on one occasion, instructing a total of 42.9MW, for which participants were paid a pre-contracted utilisation fee.

01/01/2023
Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-03-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the risk of civilian drones being used to carry out terrorist attacks and of accidental collisions, whether they are considering (1) introducing a mandatory registration system for civilian drones, and (2) introducing mandatory geo-fencing technology to prevent drones from flying over high-risk areas.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

I refer my Noble Baroness to my answer of the 16 March, UIN HL6659.

01/01/2023
Nia Griffith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the devolution of Air Passenger Duty to Wales.

Alun Cairns

The Government is considering the case and options for devolving Air Passenger Duty to Wales, informed by a review of options to support English regional airports from potential impacts caused by its devolution.

As part of this review, HM Treasury published a discussion paper at Summer Budget 2015 exploring a number of options. HM Treasury is carefully considering the evidence received from stakeholders on an ongoing basis.

01/01/2023
Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals have been on the staff of (a) each of the Directorates-General and (b) other services of the European Commission in each year since 2010.

Mr David Lidington

The European Commission publishes data on its permanent EU officials (excluding seconded national experts) broken down by nationality and by each of its Directorates-General and services at the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/about/figures/index_en.htm

01/01/2023
Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what severance pay has been granted to the special advisers that left his Department in the last week.

Ben Gummer

Severance payments are in the process of being calculated. Details of the costs will be published in due course.

01/01/2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the financial cost of unfreezing UK-issued pensions in those British Overseas Territories where they are frozen.

Richard Harrington

The Government has a clear position, which has remained a consistent policy of successive Governments for around 70 years. UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and are uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so; for example in the European Economic Area, or countries where we have a reciprocal agreement that allows for uprating, and so annual increases are paid to UK State Pension recipients in Gibraltar and in Bermuda. We have no plans to change this policy.

Were this to occur, liabilities for pensioners who live in other countries and territories would also have to be met. The estimated cost of increasing pensions in those countries where they are not currently uprated would be over £0.5 billion a year. This would be financially unaffordable.

The annual additional cost of up-rating the State Pensions of those recipients who are resident in the British Overseas Territories was estimated at approximately £1million in 2015/16.

01/01/2023
Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to change how take-away food delivery drivers are regulated.

Mr Marcus Jones

This is not a matter for the Department for Communities and Local Government.

01/01/2023
Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners undergoing a transition from male to female gender have been placed in the female estate prior to receiving legal recognition of that change of gender.

Caroline Dinenage

This information is not held centrally and as my Honourable Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation, committed to the House on 20 November, my Department will publish data on the number of trans people in prison in due course.

01/01/2023
Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to answer the letter to his Department from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, dated 16 November 2015 with regard to Mr M Bolton.

George Freeman

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health replied to the hon. Member’s letter of 16 November 2015 on 16 December 2015.

01/01/2023

Kit Malthouse – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kit Malthouse on 2016-01-27.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2016 to Question 22515, if he will estimate the amount paid out in supplements following the late payment of VAT returns in (a) 2015-16 and (b) each of the previous 10 years.

Mr David Gauke

The following table shows HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) estimates of the total amount of Repayment Supplement it has paid on VAT repayments. The estimates draw on management information that is available from 2010-11 onwards.

Date				Total VAT repayment supplement
2015-16 (to 31.12.15)				£9.0m
2014-15				£14.2m
2013-14				£15.0m
2012-13				£10.9m*
2011-12				£11.8m*
2010-11				£6.7m*

* In order to provide a more meaningful time series of data, totals for 10-11, 11-12 and 12-13 include estimated amounts from within total payments of £12.1m that relate to accounting periods in these years but were not paid until 2015, following discovery of a systems error.

In 2014-15, HMRC paid Repayment Supplement in 0.3% of all cases.

In the first half of 2015-16, HMRC carried out an extensive review of its repayment process with a view to minimising delays in cases where repayments are not authorised automatically. Following the review, new processes have been introduced and HMRC expects to reduce the incidence of Repayment Supplement as a result.

01/01/2023