Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with mobile network operators about shared infrastructure; and if he will use the forthcoming review of the Electronic Communications Code to reform wayleases and rights of way for the implementation and maintenance of shared infrastructure.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Maria Miller, and I had a number of representations from mobile network operators about shared infrastructure. DCMS is considering the implications of the Law Commission’s report on the Electronic Communications Code which was published in February 2013. The analysis work is ongoing and I will make public the plans to reform the Electronic Communications Code in due course.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the full out-turn cost was of AFC Harrogate in each year since 2006, including (a) building maintenance, (b) staffing costs, (c) training costs and (d) salaries for recruits; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    Financial data is held from financial year 2007-08 onwards. The Ministry of Defence’s budgetary structure is organised into a number of different Top Level Budget areas. This means that the cost of activities at a single location can often be split between a number of different budgets which are not managed centrally. For example infrastructure costs (including utilities) are managed by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation through contracts which do not split out the costs for individual units operating on a particular site. Similarly, equipment costs are managed across whole fleets of items by Defence Equipment and Support, and not by individual location. For this reason the full running costs of the Infantry Training Centre and the Army Foundation College cannot be provided in the format requested. However the costs attributable to the Army can be provided from financial year 2007-08 onwards.

    Unit

    2007-08

    2008-09

    2009-10

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    £million

    £million

    £million

    £million

    £million

    £million

    £million

    Army Foundation College

    54.658

    62.078

    58.435

    60.829

    62.199

    63.486

    62.232

    Infantry Training Centre

    83.172

    90.790

    104.702

    81.471

    103.196

    105.274

    93.046

    The Army’s anticipated outturn for the Army Foundation College Harrogate in 2014-15 is £66.204 million, and for Infantry Training Centre Catterick is £90.793 million.

  • Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff from (a) his Department and (b) the Atomic Weapons Establishment are on secondment to an institution in the United States involved in nuclear weapons development or nuclear warhead stockpile, stewardship, stability and safety research.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    There are no Ministry of Defence staff and fifteen Atomic Weapons Establishment staff employed by AWE plc on secondment to these institutions in the United States.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 25 March 2013, Official Report, column 940W, on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, whether UK personnel at Creech Airforce base will remain embedded following the cessation of NATO International Security Force missions in Afghanistan.

    Mr Mark Francois

    There are no longer any RAF personnel embedded with 432nd Wing of the US Air Force at Creech Airforce base.

  • Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 81W, on solar power, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the solar industry regarding changes to the 250-5MW FiT band for the purpose of encouraging greater deployment of mid-size rooftop solar PV.

    Gregory Barker

    I have been in regular contact with representatives of the Solar Trade Association and British Photovoltaic Association over the last few months, in the lead-up to the publication on 4 April of the UK Government’s Solar Strategy, the first of its kind in Europe.

    I have discussed with the Industry a range of options for removing the barriers to greater deployment of mid-scale building mounted solar PV. As set out in the Strategy, we will be considering specific proposals for doing this in the coming months.

  • Baroness Uddin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Uddin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Uddin on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 14 May (WA 522), why they do not intend to ring-fence monies identified by the Independent Living Fund as needed to meet the critical and substantial needs of recipients.

    Lord Freud

    The Government’s position on how local authorities manage their finances is clear; local authorities need to be allowed to meet their statutory responsibilities in a flexible and responsive way and the ring-fencing of funding prevents this. Allowing local authorities the flexibility to manage their budgets locally means they can respond to local needs and priorities to deliver more efficient services and better outcomes.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to protect each of the 26 species of bee that are under threat in the UK.

    Dan Rogerson

    Conservation of biodiversity is a devolved matter. Action in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved administrations.

    England’s biodiversity strategy, Biodiversity 2020, takes an integrated, large-scale approach to biodiversity conservation, exemplified by our Nature Improvement Areas initiative. This approach is designed to meet the habitat needs of many species, including threatened species of bee.

    The strategy recognises that there will also be a need to take targeted action for the recovery of certain priority species, including certain bee species, whose conservation is not delivered through wider, habitat-based measures. These species are catered for through Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme. The recent reintroduction of the short-haired bumblebee in the South East of England is one such example.

    Incentives for farmers and other land managers to conserve and enhance important wildlife habitats, including those for bees, are provided under Environmental Stewardship schemes. Following a review, new payments were introduced from 1 January 2013 to improve habitats and food for pollinators, including bees. These payments provide for the addition of wildflowers to buffer strips and field corners, and the provision of legume-rich and herb-rich swards.

    For the future, we are currently considering the scope for further enhancements for bees and other pollinators as part of wider environmental delivery through the reformed Common Agricultural Policy. Over £3.1 billion will be available up to 2020 to protect and enhance biodiversity under the New Environmental Land Management Scheme.

    Defra is also developing the National Pollinator Strategy for England to reflect the importance of bees and other insect pollinators to agriculture and biodiversity and in recognition that they face many pressures. A public consultation was launched in March 2014 and the final Strategy will be finalised in summer 2014.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of 16 to 24 year olds declared themselves self-employed in each year between 2008 and 2013.

    Mr Nick Hurd

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

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) the ongoing monitoring of the pilot badger culls in Somerset and Gloucestershire will be independent and (b) their effectiveness, humaneness and safety is based on rigorous scientific methodology.

    George Eustice

    Monitoring of compliance with licence conditions will continue to be carried out by the licensing authority, Natural England. AHVLA will continue to carry out post-mortem examinations of carcases. Defra is currently working closely with Natural England and AHVLA to develop the detail of how the monitoring will be implemented, including auditing and evaluation procedures.

  • Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlie Elphicke on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy that public sector organisations should not be allowed to be associated with tax avoidance schemes.

    Mr David Gauke

    ‘Managing Public Money’, is published by HM Treasury and provides advice and guidance to central government on the use of public funds. It confirms that public sector organisations should not engage in tax evasion, or tax avoidance.