UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of proposed changes to (a) the student loans system and (b) maintenance grants on productivity.

    Greg Hands

    The government’s system of student support enables students to cover the costs of studying at university. At Summer Budget 2015, we announced that maintenance grants would be replaced by more generous maintenance loans and that we would consult on freezing the repayment threshold for loan repayments. These measures help create a financially secure Higher Education system, allowing the government to remove the student numbers cap and enable more students to go to university than ever before.

  • Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce the use of chlorofluorocarbons; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    Most production, import and use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) has now been banned in the UK in accordance with our obligations under the United Nations’ Montreal Protocol and EC Regulation 1005/2009 on substances that deplete the ozone layer. Exemptions to the ban are granted under certain circumstances for essential laboratory and analytical uses. CFCs may also still be imported for destruction and may be used for the production and processing of other chemicals but emissions must be minimised. These measures are enforced in England by the Environment Agency and Local Authorities.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are responsible for any aspects of the finance and operation of the two universities in Northern Ireland, and if not, who is.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    Higher Education policy is devolved. The Department for Employment and Learning of the Northern Ireland Executive is the department responsible for Higher Education Institutions in Northern Ireland. This includes responsibility for providing funding to their HEIs for teaching and for recurrent research (also known as Quality Related research funding). In addition, the UK Government provides funding through the Department for Business Innovation and Skills’ Science & Research Budget for Research Councils, which are reserved bodies, and to the National Academies. The Research Councils provide funding for specific projects and programmes of research on a competitive basis open to universities across the United Kingdom, including those in Northern Ireland. Similarly, academics from universities across the UK can bid for funding from the National Academies.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department and the FCA have made on the Connaught Income Fund Series 1.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The FCA is an independent, non-governmental organisation, and so it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in, or comment on, their ongoing investigation into the Connaught Income Fund Series 1.

    On 29 January, the FCA published on their website an update to investors on the Connaught Income Fund. This update outlines that a settlement has been reached between the liquidators of the fund and Capita Financial Managers Ltd. The FCA have asked the liquidators to distribute the settlement sum to investors as soon as possible. The update also states that while the FCA’s investigation is ongoing, they will not provide any comments or details on progress because to do so may later turn out to be misleading.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) scope, (b) value and (c) cost overrun from the original value are of contracts awarded to BAE Systems for the Successor submarine programme.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Contracts awarded to BAE Systems for the Successor programme relate to design services, long lead procurement and facilities upgrades. The total value of these contracts amounts to some £1.4 billion.

    Spend to date, on these contracts, is within agreed contract limits of liability.

  • Baroness Nye – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Nye – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Nye on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many level 3 Craft, Creative Arts and Design (9.2) vocational qualifications were completed in each year since 2011 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland combined.

    Lord Nash

    As there is no formal definition of what constitutes “Craft, Creative Arts and Design”, it has not been possible to provide the information that is requested.

  • Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the additional housing needed to provide (a) private and (b) social sector accommodation for immigrants from (i) the EU and (ii) non-EU countries in each year to 2020.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department has not made estimates of the addition private and social housing needed to provide accommodation for immigrants from EU and non-EU countries.

  • Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-06-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 February (HL5344), how many of the 1,286 genomes processed by 4 February came from (1) the rare disease programmes, and (2) elsewhere in the cancer programme; and how many of those genomes from (1) the rare disease programmes and (2) the cancer programme have now been interpreted clinically, either by GEL or the General Medical Council.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Genomics England (GeL) has confirmed that all 1,286 of the genomes quoted in my Written Answer of 4 February related to the cancer programme. GeL has also confirmed that at that time 5,102 rare disease genomes had been sequenced.

    GeL is in the process of developing rare disease and cancer reports and is discussing these with clinical sites. Significant work has gone into building a pipeline to process genomic and clinical data at scale. This requires collection of complete datasets and a complex design process to minimise manual interaction with the process to improve accuracy.

    The work on the pipeline is not planned to have been completed and thoroughly tested until later this year, but early results are already flowing through it and GeL has returned 39 reports to pilot sites. This number will increase steadily over the coming year as experience is gained.

  • Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to lay secondary legislation on changes to the rate of interest on late payment of compensation under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 before Parliament.

    Mr David Gauke

    Government is committed to making the process of compulsory purchase orders clearer, fairer and faster. The Housing and Planning Act and the Neighbourhood Planning Bill, introduced last week (7th September) will enable us to lay legislation to set interest rates on payments of compensation that are paid late. The Regulations to set this level of interest will be laid at least 21 days before the substantive commencement of sections 192 to 198 of the Housing and Planning Act. This is likely to be in spring 2017.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will conduct an investigation into the sales practices of Wells Fargo in the UK.

    Simon Kirby

    Investigations into the conduct of financial services in the United Kingdom are a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government.

    The questions have been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the Honorable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.