Category: Speeches

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the implications for her policy on the solar power industry are of the recent European Court of Justice decision on levels of VAT.

    Andrea Leadsom

    HMRC has consulted on removing solar technologies from the list of measures that are currently eligible for the lower (5%) rate of VAT. They are currently considering the responses to the consultation, which closed on 3rd February[1].

    If it is decided that a change to VAT is appropriate, we will consider options on how to maintain a suitable rate-of-return for investors.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/vat-changes-to-the-reduced-rate-of-vat-for-the-installation-of-energy-saving-materials

  • Craig Mackinlay – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Craig Mackinlay – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Mackinlay on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the European Council on the use of EU funds to support travel by candidates for the post of the UN Secretary General in connection with that candidacy.

    Mr David Lidington

    We are not aware of any EU funds being used to support travel by candidates for the post of UN Secretary General and have therefore not made any representations.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to monitor the location and use of the recently announced military equipment being given to Ukraine.

    Michael Fallon

    All equipment being gifted is non-lethal in nature, and includes night vision goggles, global positioning sets (GPS), helmets, body armour, ruggedized laptops, large tents, heating units, cold weather clothing and individual first aid kits.

    This equipment has helped save lives in contested areas in the Donbas. Given its non-lethal nature, we see no need routinely to monitor its location and usage.

  • Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations and advice they have received from (1) the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, (2) the Civil Nuclear Police Authority, and (3) the Civil Nuclear Police Federation, regarding the normal retirement age of 60 for Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Energy has met with the Chair of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority (CNPA) and the Chief Constable of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) on two occasions since taking office where the pension age of officers was discussed. In October 2015 and March 2016.

    The Minister of State has recently written to the Civil Nuclear Police Federation about meeting representatives of that organisation to discuss issues including the age at which CNC officers receive their pension.

    Officials at the Department of Energy and Climate Change have worked closely with officials at the CNPA and CNC at all levels, up to and including the Chief Constable, on the issue of the pension age of CNC officers since May 2014. The Department has received frequent and substantial advice on all aspects of this issue. This includes, but is not limited to, the impact of fitness standards on CNC officers and how those standards affect deployability of officers, and the costs of administering a pension scheme with a lower effective pension age.

    The Minister of State has received two letters from the Civil Nuclear Police Federation outlining their legal case for a lower pension age. Officials have met with the Civil Nuclear Police Federation to discuss the pension age of CNC officers on two occasions in 2015.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support his Department is offering to small and medium-sized enterprises to assist with the cost of setting up an apprenticeship programme.

    Nick Boles

    The government provides £1,500 per apprentice to smaller employers taking on new apprentices aged 16-24 through the Apprenticeships Grant for Employers. Additional support provided for employers includes funding training for 16-18 year old apprentices, those young people who are aged 19-24 who have been in the care of the Local Authority, apprentices with additional learning needs, and apprentices who don’t have the level of English and maths that is required to meet the minimum standard. Further funding detail and provisional funding rates are due to be published in June.

    Since April, employers have not been required to pay employer National Insurance contributions for almost all apprentices aged under 25 up to the Upper Secondary Threshold (£827 per week in 2016-17).

    This change makes the business case for apprenticeships even stronger, reducing the cost of employing a young apprentice by over £500 a year on a salary of £12,000, and over £1,000 a year on a salary of £16,000.

    Employers can access information about employing an apprentice on the gov.uk website https://www.gov.uk/take-on-an-apprentice

    “

  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people who were affected by the recent server issue affecting the universal credit portal; and if he will make a statement.

    Damian Hinds

    Whenever a service problem is identified the Department always prioritises claimants first ensuring their payments are not interrupted. In this instance the outage impacted only 24 of the 712 Jobcentres across Great Britain and none of the claimants impacted experienced a delay in their payments.

    The performance of all systems is continuously monitored on many resilient servers and in the event of an outage an immediate impact assessment is made and appropriate action taken to ensure normal service is resumed at the earliest possible opportunity and the impact on claimants is minimised.

    We continually assess the performance of our suppliers, and underlying engineering, to ensure systems are available to meet the needs of claimants and the Department. With the exception of this isolated supplier outage the performance of the UC portal has been higher than expected, however, further improvements to resilience were already under active consideration as part of preparing for UC Full Service national expansion.

  • Lord Touhig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Touhig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-10-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contingency plans have been put in place in the event of a mechanical failure of one of the Trafalgar Class submarines due to the withdrawal of the only Royal Navy repair ship RFA Diligence.

    Earl Howe

    Should on-board engineers be unable to resolve a problem with any ship or submarine, there is a range of ways in which operational maintenance and repair can be delivered. This can include the deployment of a Royal Navy repair and maintenance party, or utilising well-established commercial arrangements and international agreements, such as the use of other countries’ bases and facilities. This is particularly the case where resources and facilities are not available within the Ministry of Defence or are more effectively provided by a third party.

  • Pauline Latham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Pauline Latham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pauline Latham on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will ensure that any agreement on a central registry of beneficial ownership in Bermuda includes access for the public with legitimate reason.

    James Duddridge

    In March the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and I wrote to the Premier of Bermuda asking him to set out plans and a timetable for the implementation of a central register of company beneficial ownership, or similarly effective system, to meet three criteria, including law enforcement access. Bermuda has had a central registry of company and trust beneficiaries since 1939. It includes all shareholdings above 10% compared to the 25% which is the threshold for the UK’s register. The information is updated in real time and is already shared with law enforcement and tax authorities on request. We remain of the view that a public central register is the best approach to improve company transparency.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much of his Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not have a dedicated research and development fund. Research to inform policy is conducted by FCO Research Analysts and by individual Directorates and overseas Posts, and funded from devolved budgets. It is therefore not possible to identify how much of the FCO’s allocated funding will be spent on these activities over the Spending Review 2015 period.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the humanitarian effect of the Israeli government’s policy on demolition orders.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We believe these demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; are harmful to the peace process; and are, in all but the most exceptional of cases, contrary to international humanitarian law. The Fourth Geneva Convention is clear that the destruction of any real or personal property in Occupied Territory is not justified unless it is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations. This is why Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers and officials regularly raise the matter with the Israeli Government, emphasising our concerns.