Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Goudie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Baroness Goudie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Goudie on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the potential benefits to the Northern Powerhouse of the Candu Energy option for the reuse of the United Kingdom’s stockpile of plutonium.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is in the process of submitting advice to DECC, which together with other sources of information and evidence, will enable DECC to consider options for the disposition of plutonium. There are a number of options for dispositioning of plutonium that will be considered, including the potential option presented by Candu. A decision will be made by ministers in due course. The Government is confident that its preferred option for plutonium disposition will be implemented safely and securely, and in a way that is affordable, deliverable, and offers value for money.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia about the case of Waleed Abu Khair.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We continue to be concerned by the case of Waleed abu Al-Khair and have raised it at a senior level with the Saudi authorities. We will continue to follow this and other cases closely.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what financial support her Department provides to livestock farmers to mitigate the development of antibiotic resistance; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    No specific financial support is offered to livestock farmers to mitigate the development of antibiotic resistance.

    We will continue to promote the importance of the vet-farmer relationship, and the need to be proactive in looking at any measures in husbandry practices that will reduce disease, and therefore the need for antibiotics, in livestock production

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average size of mortgages in each London borough was in (a) 2010 and (b) the last year for which figures are available.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not record or collect this information at London borough level.

  • 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 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of existing capacity of existing Capacity Market Units that were awarded Capacity Market contracts did not place an exit bid in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

    Andrea Leadsom

    All existing Capacity Market Units (CMU) participating in the 2014 and 2015 auctions submitted exit bids in accordance with the auction rules. Confidentiality rules mean that the Government is unable to obtain from National Grid, the delivery body for the Capacity Market, the detailed information on individual exit bids.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many outstanding (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payment assessments for Scottish claimants there were in each of the last four quarters for which information is available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The number of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) initial work capability assessments still in progress in Scotland as at the dates below were:

    Quarter

    Total

    31 December 2014

    30,700

    31 March 2015

    28,800

    30 June 2015

    28,200

    30 September 2015

    27,500

    Source: Data is derived from administrative data held by the DWP and assessment data provided by the healthcare provider.

    Personal Independence Payment (PIP) clearance levels are within expectations. The number of cases in progress in Scotland as at the dates below were:

    30 April 2015 6,100

    31 July 2015 6,800

    31 October 2015 8,900

    31 January 2016 13,000

    Source: Data taken from the PIP computer system management information

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people from other EEA member states settled in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland (i) before and (ii) since 1 January 2004.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy schools hold the freehold of their school sites.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department does not retain a central record of the land holding arrangements for individual academies. However, the vast majority of academies will be occupying sites on the basis of a lease from the relevant local authority.

    No school gains the freehold of a school site as a result of becoming an academy. Academies own their own land only where the school already owned the land before converting to academy status. These are usually former foundation or voluntary schools which are generally the freeholders of their own land even as maintained schools and in the case of voluntary schools which tend to mainly occupy land which was not originally provided by the state.

    The Department does not have detailed information on the current and historic ownership of academy land and buildings, and had chosen not to prioritise the expenditure necessary to resolve the issue.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of having the Civil Nuclear Constabulary retirement age at (a) 65 and (b) 68 on (i) the safety of the individual officer and (ii) national security.

    Jesse Norman

    The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary undertook a joint assessment of the effect of having a Civil Nuclear Constabulary retirement age of 65 or higher in 2015. This analysis considered the potential effects of an increase in the Civil Nuclear Constabulary retirement age on both national security and individual officer safety.

    Civil Nuclear Constabulary Officers face rigorous testing to determine deployability and officers are firearms trained and tested to College of Policing Standards. Officers who joined the force post- 2011 are already subject to rigorous fitness standards, and following a Chief Constable’s Direction in Autumn 2015, these fitness standards are being extended to the remaining workforce. Capability and not age are the determining factors for deployment.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sure Start centres have closed in Nottinghamshire since 2010; and where such centres were located.

    Caroline Dinenage

    According to information supplied by Nottinghamshire County Council, no children’s centres sites have closed in Nottinghamshire since April 2010.