Category: Speeches

  • Alan Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Campbell on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many households are in receipt of (a) feed-in tariff payments from solar PV installations, (b) domestic renewal heat incentive payments and (c) both such payments.

    Andrea Leadsom

    By the end of March 2016, there were

    • 722,559 households with solar PV benefitting from feed-in-tariff (FIT) payments.

    • 45,789 households with installations benefitting from renewable heat incentive (RHI) payments

    The number of households in receipt of both FIT and RHI payments is not available.

    Source data:

    FIT: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sub-regional-feed-in-tariffs-confirmed-on-the-cfr-statistics

    RHI: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rhi-deployment-data-march-2016-q1-2016 (table 2.10)

    “

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the human rights situation of the Alevi community in Turkey; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    We have noted the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling and regularly discuss issues concerning freedom of religion and belief, including those of the Alevi community, with our Turkish interlocutors. We will continue to do so. The Turkish government continues to improve protections for all religious minorities in Turkey. We welcome the continuing implementation of the Law on Foundations which has seen a number of properties returned to minority community foundations or the payment of compensation. As we highlighted to Turkey through the 2015 UN Universal Periodic Review of human rights, we would like to see Turkey implement legislation that increases protection of the rights of persons belonging to all minority religious groups, including the status of their places of worship.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Iraqi government on devolution of powers to the Kurdistan regional government.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The autonomy of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq remains enshrined in the 2003 Iraqi Constitution. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), our Ambassador to Baghdad, our Consul General in Erbil and I emphasise regularly with both the Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government the UK’s aim to see a stable, democratic, prosperous and unified Iraq. We also work actively to ensure that both the Kurdistan Regional Government and Government of Iraq cooperate to resolve their differences. In that context we welcome the recent revenue sharing agreement over Kirkuk oil.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that archaeology continues to be offered as an A-level subject.

    Nick Gibb

    The AQA exam board has taken the decision no longer to develop specifications for A and AS level archaeology. Whilst we are disappointed with this outcome, AQA is an independent organisation and is therefore free to make its own decisions on which qualifications to offer. In 2015/16, there were 340 entries for A level archaeology, including 332 in state-funded schools and Further Education colleges.

    We published content for archaeology AS/A level in January 2016. The option for AQA or another exam board to develop a specification in future will remain open.

  • Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to implement the family test.

    Edward Timpson

    The family test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. The Department for Work and Pensions published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy which can be found online[1]. The Department for Education follows this guidance.

    The family test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policies in line with the family test guidance.

    As stated in the guidance, there is no requirement to publish family test assessments. The Department has published the outcome of such assessments on a number of occasions, including as part of the impact assessments of the Childcare Bill[2] and the Education and Adoption Bill[3].

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-test-assessing-the-impact-of-policies-on-families

    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childcare-bill-impact-assessment

    [3] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-and-adoption-bill-impact-assessment

    “

  • Earl Attlee – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Earl Attlee – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Attlee on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the MoD’s book, transfer, target or purchase price for the defence lamp holder and cap assembly component, NATO stock number 9ACR6210 99 5622; what was their approximate stock holding of that component in depot as of 7 December; how many units have been issued in the last 36-month period for which figures are available; what is the highest wattage bulb that can be fitted to that component; and whether that component is still fitted to in-service equipment or is now obsolete.

    Earl Howe

    We do not recognise the stock number that my noble Friend has quoted. We believe he is referring to NATO Stock Number (NSN) 6210 99 881 5622 which is a light holder fitted to the driver’s control panel in the Bulldog FV430 armoured troop carrier. The maximum wattage bulb that is cleared for use with this item is 2.5W.

    The Defence Equipment & Support Stock Control System contains an indicative price of £70.11 (VAT Ex) for this NSN and as at 7 December 2015 there were 175 in stock. Over the previous 36 months a total of 216 of these items have been issued.

  • Baroness Deech – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Deech – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Deech on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the Palestinian Authority concerning incitement to violence in the light of the Palestinian Ministry of Health referring to Nashat Milhem as one of the dearest martyrs”.”

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Our Consul-General in Jerusalem met the Palestinian Minister of Health on 21 January and strongly condemned the language used in the statement.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2016 to Question 22396, on park homes and the Warm Homes Discount, what the budget is for expenditure on the pilot scheme and what proportion is being funded by energy suppliers.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Energy suppliers participating in the Warm Home Discount this year (2015/16) have been given the voluntary option to provide a rebate to mobile home residents who meet the qualifying benefit as part of the Industry Initiatives section of the scheme. This scheme called the Park Homes Warm Home Discount pilot scheme is funded by obligated energy suppliers in the scheme and is open to permanent park home residents in England, Scotland or Wales. Residents on a Park Home site who pay for their electricity through their park site owner and meet one of the qualifying eligibility criteria can apply. If successful, residents will receive a one-off rebate of £140 towards their electricity bill.

    The pilot scheme opened in November and is only open for a limited period and once a certain number of applications have been received and are successful, the pilot scheme will close. The pilot is currently expected to deliver just over 1000 rebates. This translates to just over £140,000 of support being delivered before the 31st March 2016.

  • Baroness Northover – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Northover – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that women from affected communities are in positions of leadership and involved in planning and decision-making during a humanitarian emergency response.

    Baroness Verma

    To ensure that humanitarian responses meet the unique needs of women and girls, women should be provided with opportunities to engage in humanitarian response systems, decision-making processes, and accountability mechanisms. DFID works with partners, including United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations to promote the inclusion of women and women’s groups in planning and decision-making around preparedness, response, and early recovery. This approach reflects the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014 that states that before provision of humanitarian assistance, the Secretary of State shall have regard to how it will take account of gender-related differences in needs.

    Ensuring the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016 delivers outcomes for women and girls is a priority for the Government. This includes support towards proposals for system-wide accountability for gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment in crises and increased participation of women’s groups in humanitarian responses.

  • Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-04-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the change to the discount rate applied to student loans applies to all parts of the UK.

    Greg Hands

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) applies HM Treasury’s long term discount rate to calculate the carrying value of English student loans shown in the BIS financial statements.

    Loans issued by devolved administrations are shown in their respective financial statements. The accounting treatment and discount rates applied are a matter for them.

    HM Treasury is always open to discussion with the devolved administrations about such matters.