The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of investor confidence in the carbon capture and storage industry following the CCS competition.
Andrea Leadsom
We are engaging closely with the two bidders and wider CCS industry on the implications for them of the recent decisions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to prevent the exploitation of consumers by salesmen of stair lifts and other aids to the elderly and disabled.
Nick Boles
The Department funds the Citizens Advice Service to provide valuable advice to consumers, including how to avoid scams. Citizens Advice also lead the annual Scams Awareness Month, working with Trading Standards to help give consumers the confidence to spot and report a scam.
Trading Standards Officers have powers to take action under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 against salesmen who use misleading practices and aggressive pressure selling. Additionally, National Trading Standards Scambuster Teams take action against large scale national and regional scammers, including those who exploit the elderly and vulnerable through the sale of substandard or unnecessary mobility aids.
Since 2014 the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Regulations 2014 introduced important new rights for consumers to take their own action against such traders to get their money back.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Krebs on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether there is a widespread risk of lead poisoning in migratory waterbirds resulting from the use of lead ammunition, for the purpose of interpreting the Guidelines to Resolution 11.15, Preventing Poisoning of Migratory Birds, agreed at the Eleventh Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Through the Environmental Protection (Restriction on Use of Lead Shot) (England) Regulations 1999, the use of lead shot ammunition is restricted to protect waterfowl from lead poisoning. Its use is banned on all foreshores, certain Sites of Special Scientific Interest and for the shooting of all ducks and geese, coot and moorhen. The supply of lead weights for fishing is also prohibited. One recent piece of research suggests compliance with the Regulations is relatively low with around 70% of wild duck carcasses bought from game dealers in England having been shot with lead ammunition. We will continue to look at how the Lead Shot Regulations can be better implemented.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 8 February 2016 on behalf of a constituent concerning Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent training sessions in PSHE lessons.
Mr John Hayes
The correspondence was passed to the Department for Education for response. They accepted the transfer on 12 February 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department provides to NHS England and clinical commissioning groups on the account they should take of future residential developments with regard to GP service provision.
George Freeman
Commissioning of general practitioner (GP) services is a responsibility of NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) with delegated authority. Currently around half of CCGs have delegated authority. As part of these arrangements, NHS England and CCGs are responsible for planning GP services to ensure they are appropriate for the local population. This should take into account a number of factors, including information about known future residential developments and implications for requirements for healthcare provision, including GP services. Based on this information, the commissioners should engage with the local planning authority to enable decisions to be made on the appropriate funding arrangements for the required health infrastructure resulting from the new development.
Departmental guidance on planning matters for National Health Service organisations is available in Part B of the Department publication Health Building Note 00-08 The efficient management of healthcare estates and facilities and Health Building Note 00-08 Addendum 2 – A guide to town planning for health organisations. These publications are available at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-05-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of reports of collusion within the police forces and other agencies after the Hillsborough disaster, whether they will introduce legislation to prevent serving members of the police force and the judiciary from belonging to the freemasons.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Any police officer must be able to discharge their duties within the law and is expected to abide by the oath of constable. The Standards of Professional Behaviour, set out in Schedule 2 to the Police (Conduct) Regulations (2012), require police officers to be ‘honest, act with integrity and . . . not compromise or abuse their position’. Police officers must be able to do so, irrespective of membership of any external membership organisations.
The College of Policing introduced a Code of Ethics in July 2014 which applies to all police officers and staff in England and Wales and sets out clear principles and standards of behaviour expected of them. It is for individual forces to determine whether an individual officer’s behaviour or misconduct meets the standards that are set out and where they are not, to investigate and instigate disciplinary proceedings where appropriate.
Following the Chapman Review in 2014, the Government is continuing its programme of reforms to improve police integrity and the police discipline system, including through the Policing and Crime Bill which is currently before parliament to improve the system and its ability to hold officers to account for their actions and behaviour.
In the case of judges it is also essential to the rule of law that they are independent and impartial when exercising their judicial functions. All judicial office holders should recuse themselves in any case where bias or the appearance of bias arises and are counselled against engaging in any activity which might undermine or be reasonably thought to undermine their judicial independence or impartiality. These commitments are enshrined in the judicial oath.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-06-15.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the devolved administrations are permitted to re-allocate funds provided by HM Treasury for capital expenditure purposes for resource expenditure purposes.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
Devolved administrations may not switch provision from Capital to Resource, except where bespoke arrangements have been agreed with Treasury ministers.
The annual ‘Consolidated Budgeting Guidance’, published by the Treasury, sets out the budgeting framework for expenditure control for devolved administrations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-09-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 3 August (HL1132 and HL1135), whether they consider that they are showing no sense of urgency in negotiating the UK’s departure from the EU and whether they consider that delay in doing so will result in uncertainty and harm to the economy.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government is working thoroughly, systematically and rapidly through the full range of issues. The Prime Minister has been clear we will not be triggering Article 50 before the end of 2016, and the detailed work underway to prepare for our negotiation over exit is complete.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent to date of the £1.25 million committed to the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme.
George Eustice
Defra Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme projects in England were funded on the basis of actual work done by the grant beneficiaries with no specific total amount committed to the Scheme. Defra spent just over £92,000 on these projects in the 2015/16 financial year, with additional in-kind support in the form of free loans of equipment, supply of the Badger BGC vaccine and advice from field experts.
Although no vaccination of badgers under the Scheme is possible in 2016, we have awarded grant funding to three of the former beneficiaries for other vaccination-related work. The amounts payable to each will depend on the work that they do in the current financial year
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which ongoing operations are funded by the core defence budget; and what the expenditure on each such operation was in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.
Michael Fallon
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The costs of military operations are compiled in terms of the net additional costs incurred, which are defined as those which the Department would not have incurred had the operation not taken place. The Department’s estimate of the net additional cost of military operations are recorded annually, and can be found in Table 2.3.1 in the Departments’ Annual Report and Accounts 2014-15 which is available at the following link;
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/462966/MOD_ARAc_combined_23_Sep_2015_web.pdf