UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March to Question 28299, on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, if he will estimate the cost to his Department of each of the 12 rounds of negotiations; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    The European Commission conducts trade negotiations – including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – on behalf of the EU and, where appropriate, Member States. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not therefore incur the direct costs of the TTIP negotiating rounds.

    It is rare that travel undertaken by Ministers and officials relates solely to TTIP, but will usually encompass other issues. Officials within the Transatlantic and International Unit in my Department have the lead policy responsibility for TTIP as well as certain other international matters. The total travel expenditure by these officials in 2014/15 was £25,081, in 2015/16 £14,269.

    The cost to the Department of any travel undertaken in relation to TTIP is greatly offset by the economic prize that an ambitious agreement offers. Independent analysis shows that a comprehensive TTIP agreement could give an annual boost to the UK economy of as much as £10 billion each year.

  • 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 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the proposal to the International Maritime Organisation to develop a work plan to define shipping’s fair share in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions ahead of the meeting on 18 to 22 April 2016.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We welcome the paper submitted to the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee proposing the development of a work plan to define international shipping’s fair share in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

    Negotiations on how the global shipping sector can contribute to the goal in the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature increases to well below 2°C, and to pursue efforts towards 1.5°C, are at an early, technical stage.

    Department for Transport officials have been working closely with the Department of Energy and Climate Change and other departments to ensure that the UK is well placed to play a leading role in the upcoming discussions regarding this “fair share” and will continue to do so as progress is made towards a global solution to tackling emissions from international shipping.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools founded since 2015 are compliant with section 5 of the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010.

    Nick Gibb

    The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010 were replaced by the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, which came into force on 5 January 2015.

    58 fee paying independent schools have been registered since 1 January 2015. Not all of these have been inspected since registration. The normal procedure is for an independent school to be inspected in their first year of operation.

    14 schools have had a standard inspection since registration, and two schools have had material change inspections. Three of the standard inspections do not yet have a report available due to them having taken place very recently.

    Of the 11 inspection reports available, only one shows a failure to meet standard 5.

    All schools will have been inspected prior to registration and judged likely to meet all of the standards. Schools are not permitted to register unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that the school is likely to meet all of the standards on registration.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what measures are in place to apply restrictions to houses in multiple occupation that are located in areas associated with the night-time economy.

    Brandon Lewis

    Where Houses in Multiple Occupation are having a detrimental effect on a locality’s night time economy, local authorities have a range of powers to manage their proliferation and poor management. Whilst all large Houses in Multiple Occupation are subject to mandatory licensing, local authorities have a discretionary power to license small Houses in Multiple Occupation in a designated area. Local authorities also have planning powers to limit the proliferation of Houses in Multiple Occupation within their locality. Where there is sufficient evidence of the need to do so, a local planning authority may withdraw a permitted development right in a specific area using an article 4 direction, after consultation with the local community.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding has been provided to the (a) Kurdistan Regional Government Peshmerga, (b) Kurdish government in Northern Syria and (c) Yazidi community to (i) gather evidence of alleged acts of genocide and (ii) support displaced persons in refugee camps.

    James Wharton

    Since June 2014, DFID has committed £129.5 million in humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable internally displaced people in Iraq, including Yezidis and those living in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. To date, the UK has pledged over £2.3 billion in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region. Our support is reaching vulnerable and displaced Syrians, including those living in areas controlled by Kurdish groups.

    On 21 July the Foreign Secretary announced that the UK will lead a global campaign to hold Daesh to account for its crimes. In Iraq, the Foreign Office has funded projects to support the documentation of Daesh crimes and preservation of evidence. In Syria, UK funding supports a range of NGO partners to compile case files of evidence of atrocities approximating to International Criminal Court (ICC) standards.

    DFID has not provided funding to the Peshmerga, or to the governing authorities in Kurdish-dominated parts of Syria.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to improve the retention of students who have the potential to succeed in higher education but face financial difficulties.

    Joseph Johnson

    Continuation rates for students in publicly-funded institutions are at a record high, with 94.3% of young full-time first degree entrants to higher education in English HEIs in 2012/13 continuing after their first year and, 90.0% of full-time first degree starters of all ages in English HEIs in 2012/13 were expected to receive an award or transfer. Improvements in these areas have come at a time of considerable expansion in student numbers and increasing diversity in the backgrounds of students.

    Institutions wishing to charge higher fees must agree access agreements with the independent Director of Fair Access. In these, institutions set out what more they will do to attract students from disadvantaged backgrounds and help them to complete their studies and progress to post-graduate study or employment. In 2016/17, institutions expect to spend £425m on financial support through their access agreements.

    The Higher Education Green Paper set out further steps to encourage universities to improve retention rates, including for students from disadvantaged and under-represented groups, through a Teaching Excellence Framework.

  • Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of aid provided by the UK following the earthquake in Nepal last year.

    Baroness Verma

    DFID gave £70 million to the Nepal earthquake response to support humanitarian and early recovery efforts, making us one of the major donors. The Department for International Development’s expenditure in Nepal is assessed in a number of different and complementary ways. Across the portfolio, monitoring plans are in place for every programme including our response to the 2015 earthquake. This places emphasis on results delivery, ensuring we are well placed to monitor the effectiveness of our programmes. Our strong focus on evaluation, both globally and in our country programmes, ensures we can evaluate performance and impact across the sectors in which we work.

    In addition to regular monitoring and evaluation, since the earthquake DFID Nepal has set up a regional office in Gorkha district to increase oversight of humanitarian and reconstruction programmes.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much of the (a) conflict pool and (b) conflict security stability fund has been allocated to other states fighting Daesh since 2014.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    For national security reasons, we do not specify how much Conflict Pool and Conflict Stability and Security Fund has been allocated to other states fighting Daesh. I can confirm that in Iraq, we are making a £2 million contribution to the UN Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he plans that his Department’s further education area reviews will incorporate equality impact assessments.

    Nick Boles

    Government will produce an evaluation of the area review programme and its potential to impact on groups protected by the Equality Act 2010. The reviews do not however, mandate action, and colleges are independent corporations, so it will be for each college’s governing body to assess the potential impact on groups protected by the Act, as part of its decision to accept or reject any recommendation requiring a change to their provision.

    Each area review steering group will consider relevant data relating to current courses delivered within their area, assess the relevance of these courses to local learner and employer needs and determine how current and future demand can be best met through the recommendations of the area review.

    Individual area reviews are expected to take about four months, the timescale being dependent on the number of colleges and complexity of the local issues involved in each area. The overall review process has been divided into five waves of area reviews and is scheduled to be completed by March 2017

    We expect the costs of completing an area review to be met within existing budgets, with minimal additional costs to the colleges, local authorities or LEPs involved. The Departments and their agencies will undertake this work with no additional staffing. Additional costs will be minimal.

    The costs arising from the recommendations of each review will be explored as part of the process. We expect the colleges, alongside local authorities and LEPs with devolved skills budgets, to consider how these costs can be met locally. Where there are costs that cannot be met, but which are essential to the successful implementation of the review, we have announced a facility for transitional funding to support this. We will provide more detail in due course.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what bids his Department received for funding from the tampon tax fund by the deadline of 22 February 2016; and how such bids are being assessed.

    Mr David Gauke

    As the Chancellor set out at the Autumn Statement, further donations and recipients will be announced at Budget 2016