Category: Speeches

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information her Department holds on the number and severity of incidents involving trains carrying nuclear material on the rail network.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Details of safety events involving the transport of nuclear material both by rail and on the strategic road network can be found in the following report:

    Events reported to Nuclear Safety Regulator 2001-2015:

    http://news.onr.org.uk/2016/02/events-reported-to-nuclear-safety-regulator-2001-15/

    “

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what sub-departments HMRC has in addition to the Tax Capacity Building Unit, the Large Business Service/Directorate, the Compliance Unit, the Transfer Pricing Unit, the Business International Directorate, and the Anti-Money Laundering Supervision Team; and (a) what funds were allocated to and (b) how many FTE staff were employed by each sub-department in each year since 2009-10.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is split into four sub-departments, or business areas, for delivery purposes, which are supported by corporate areas.

    Please see below the expenditure and full time equivalent (FTE) staff for each of those areas for the period 2009/10 onwards.

    Net expenditure (£m)

    09/10

    10/11

    11/12

    12/13

    13/14

    14/15

    Enforcement and Compliance

    1,033

    1,004

    991

    1,028

    1,037

    987

    Business Tax

    222

    248

    181

    185

    156

    201

    Personal Tax

    763

    682

    726

    728

    670

    531

    Benefits & Credits

    169

    164

    154

    157

    153

    154

    Corporate

    1,760

    1,477

    1,647

    1,566

    1,629

    1,595

    HMRC

    3,947

    3,575

    3,699

    3,664

    3,645

    3,468

    HMRC has not yet published accounts for 2015/16.

    FTE staff

    09/10

    10/11

    11/12

    12/13

    13/14

    14/15

    15/16

    Enforcement and Compliance

    26,864

    25,475

    25,334

    26,601

    26,923

    26,223

    26,798

    Business Tax

    3,776

    3,877

    3,695

    3,410

    3,160

    4,415

    4,582

    Personal Tax

    27,307

    25,975

    26,858

    24,444

    20,558

    14,949

    15,661

    Benefits & Credits

    6,307

    5,834

    5,301

    5,157

    4,983

    5,193

    5,459

    Corporates

    6,445

    5,720

    5,279

    4,865

    6,376

    6,358

    7,356

    HMRC*

    70,699

    66,881

    66,467

    64,477

    61,370

    57,138

    59,856

    *this total for HMRC includes Civil Service Resourcing.

    The question mentions specific teams within HMRC and those teams are within the Business Areas above, as follows:

    Large Business – Business Tax

    Compliance Unit – Enforcement and Compliance

    Transfer Pricing Unit – Business Tax

    Business International – Business Tax

    Anti-money laundering – Enforcement and Compliance

    HMRC does not publish accounts information at a level of detail that includes expenditure or allocations by specific teams.

  • Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether gas supplies to the UK are secure and will remain competitively priced following the vote to leave the EU, and what contingency plans they have in place; what percentage of UK gas supplies originate from Russia; and what assessment they have made of whether the devaluation of sterling against the rouble following the vote to leave the EU will adversely affect gas prices.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Energy security is my top priority. The Department will take the steps needed to ensure hard working families and business have the energy they need, including from overseas where this adds to the diversity and cost effectiveness of our energy supplies.

    The UK has high levels of gas security from a diverse supply mix including storage facilities; pipelines from Norway, Netherlands and Belgium; and LNG terminals. This is in addition to domestic production which met over half our annual demand of 773TWh in 2014. Gas shippers in the UK purchase gas from hubs across Europe without HMG intervention in a competitive market.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans she has to increase investment in decentralised renewable energy in developing countries.

    James Wharton

    The UK Government is playing a leading role in improving energy access in developing countries. DFID has a range of programmes which are working with developing countries to ensure renewable energy markets work effectively as well as supporting energy businesses to grow, and providing consumers with access to funding to buy solar goods. For example, our Energy Access Ventures programme is investing in off-grid electric and we are delivering green mini-grid solutions across Africa.

    Through the UK Government’s Energy Africa campaign we are working with solar firms to help them access the finance they need to expand their businesses, create jobs and help reach millions of people in Africa without electricity access.

  • Ian Paisley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Ian Paisley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether proposals to expand the Security Service include the expansion of its facilities and additional recruitment in Northern Ireland.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    It would not be appropriate for me to comment on these matters which are the responsibility of the Security and Intelligence Agencies.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many volunteers there are currently carrying out work in each prison in England and Wales.

    Lord Faulks

    This information is not held centrally. The Ministry of Justice facilitates a wide and varied range of opportunities for volunteers to work with offenders, within prisons and in the community, and also directly recruits volunteers to sit on its Independent Monitoring Boards.

  • 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 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what cross-departmental structures her Department has established with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Transport since May 2015 to ensure progress on meeting the EU target of 15 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2020.

    Andrea Leadsom

    My rt. hon Friend has regular meetings with colleagues from all Departments with an interest in Climate Change and Energy policy.

    The 2020 renewables target is relevant to a number of government policies, and my Department ensures that all views across government are taken into account.

  • Lord Tyler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Tyler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tyler on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department of Energy and Climate Change will publish records of external meetings held by special advisers to its ministers.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Government publishes an unprecedented amount of data; departments publish details of Ministers and Permanent Secretaries meetings’ with external organisations, and Special Advisers’ meetings with senior media figures. The information requested is not held centrally and there are no plans to extend current arrangements.”

    “

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of a drone collision with an emergency helicopter attending a scene in a built-up area.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport is currently working with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to develop consistent, EU-wide safety rules for drones.

    The Department and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) work with a wide range of industry partners across the aviation sector, (including manufacturers, airports, and operators), to ensure our understanding of potential hazards to aircraft remains up-to-date and mitigations effective.

    This collaboration is also considering the need for other potential drone policies, such as geo-fencing. There are a number of drone models already sold in the UK with types of this technology installed and we are assessing the potential for solutions that could restrict drone operations around sensitive locations and key infrastructure.

    The Government has undertaken analysis of the use of drones for criminal purposes, including the potential use of drones for terrorist purposes, and the impacts of their negligent use near sensitive locations, such as airports. This work is kept under review and is being used to inform research and testing to improve mitigation techniques and strategies.

    Education of drone users is vital. The DfT is working with the CAA on raising awareness of responsible drone use. This includes the CAA’s ‘Drone Code’ safety awareness campaign and the issuing of safety leaflets at the point of sale.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many full driving licences have been issued to people in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) the city of Glasgow in the last 10 years.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) only issues licences to drivers in Great Britain. Since July 2007, 68,096,270 full driving licences have been issued to people in GB. This is the number of driving licences produced and despatched by the DVLA and includes new licences, renewals, exchanges and replacements. The DVLA does not hold statistics on the number of licences issued before July 2007 as this is when the current method of producing licences began.

    The DVLA only retains information about the number of full and provisional driving licences issued and does not record how many of these licences were issued by country or region.

    However, it is possible to extract figures from the DVLA’s drivers’ database to show the number of people who hold full driving licences for countries and regions of GB. There are 38,571,679 full driving licence holders in Great Britain, 3,205,868 in Scotland and 651,045 in Glasgow.