Category: Speeches

  • Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the return on public investment in the UK Space Agency; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Willetts

    The return on investment delivered by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) is subject to biennial assessment as part of the Agency survey of the size and health of the space industry. Results of the 2014 survey are due to be published in the autumn of 2014, though I hope to be in a position to announce headline figures such as turnover and employment numbers at the Farnborough Airshow in July 2014.

    The European Space Agency (ESA) is the primary route for Government R&D space investment. Several economic analyses of investment impact have been undertaken, drawn together in BIS Economics Paper No3 . The Agency’s biennial survey of the size and health of the UK space industry has shown growth from £3.4Bn turnover in 1999/2000 to £9.5Bn in 2011, reflecting the results of sustained investment as well as the growth of the market.

    UKSA investment through the European Space Agency (ESA) in the last five years is as follows:

    2009/10: £242.8m

    2010/11: £231.1m

    2011/12: £232.0m

    2012/13: £207.6m

    2013/14: £267.5m

    In addition, national expenditure averaging £20M a year has been invested within the UK to build and operate scientific instruments carried on ESA spacecraft. The funding to ESA has been used to contribute to missions and technology in the fields of space science and exploration, Earth observation for science and applications, telecommunications and broadband delivery, access to microgravity facilities for life and physical sciences, space weather, navigation technologies, human spaceflight and weather monitoring. As well as resulting expenditure in the UK due to the juste retour principle, wider benefits have accrued in economic growth; new scientific knowledge and improved delivery of public services.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what average time is taken to re-imburse a jobseeker’s allowance claimant who has been wrongly sanctioned.

    Esther McVey

    We do not hold any information that just captures the average time it takes to reimburse a Jobseeker’s Allowance Claimant who has been wrongly sanctioned.

    Once a decision is made that a sanction is no longer appropriate the decision maker notifies our JSA claims maintenance teams. They identify these decisions as priority work and endeavour to input the revised decision into our system and pay any benefit due as soon as possible. For JSA our aim is to clear 90% of changes in 6 days. Based on Year to Date information, up to February 2014, we are achieving 94.9% on JSA.

  • Meg Hillier – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Meg Hillier – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Hillier on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) new passport applications and (b) passport renewal applications have been received by HM Passport Office since the beginning of the current financial year; and what proportion of such applications were completed and dispatched within (i) three and (ii) four weeks.

    James Brokenshire

    During April and May 2014, Her Majesty’s Passport Office received:

    (a) 319,639 new passport applications.
    (b) 1,044,840 passport renewal applications.

    Her Majesty’s Passport Office does not hold passport application processing
    data in the format requested, although we can advise that 96.1% of straightforward
    applications were processed within 3 weeks and 96.9% of non straightforward
    passport applications were processed within the 6-week target.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful bids from Local Enterprise Partnerships for the Local Growth Fund to date.

    Michael Fallon

    All 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) submitted their Strategic Economic Plans to Government by 31 March 2014. Given the highly competitive nature of the Local Growth Fund (LGF), it will be over-subscribed and therefore there will be successful and unsuccessful bids to the fund. The assessment process is underway, but it is too early to say how many bids will and will not be successful.

  • Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 5 February (WA 238), whether they are now in a position to implement a revision to the personal injury discount rate.

    Lord Faulks

    The Government’s review of the personal injury discount rate is still continuing and the position remains as stated in my Written Answer to my Noble Friend of 25 February 2014 (WA238).

  • Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the next meeting of the Finance Ministers Quadrilateral will take place; and what will be discussed at this meeting.

    Danny Alexander

    The last Finance Quadrilateral was held on 18 November 2013.

    No formal minutes of the meeting were taken, but Ministers present discussed the general economic outlook for the UK and for each of the devolved administrations, as well as looking forward to the forthcoming Autumn Statement. Agreement was reached at the meeting regarding the framework under which the devolved administrations could carry forward Financial Transactions capital into future years.

    The Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Finance Ministers from the devolved administrations aim to meet regularly in Quadrilateral format, complimenting bi-lateral meetings and conversations throughout the year. It is anticipated the next Quadrilateral will take place over the coming months. No date or agenda has yet been set.

  • Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to recover records of royal pardons granted between 1987 and 1997.

    Baroness Randerson

    The review of Departmental record keeping ordered by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is ongoing.

    Northern Ireland Office officials continue to seek information on use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) for the years 1987 to 1997. This includes contact with other Government Departments where relevant material might be held.

  • 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 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much income the Environment Agency expects to raise from fracking firms to pay for the regulation of the industry; and if he will make a statement.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Environment Agency does not separately record the income it expects to raise from fracking firms. However, it does hold estimates of the charges it expects to raise from environmental permits and licences for the onshore oil and gas industry as a whole.

    Over the next year, with the current charging scheme, the Environment Agency estimates income of between £300,000 and £350,000. This includes fees from permit applications and annual subsistence, for mining waste, groundwater, radioactive substances and water resources permits. It does not include any site surrender fees as no sites are expected to surrender their permits over the next year. As the onshore shale gas part of the industry grows over time, we would expect the income from permitting charges to change.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of staff within the Law Officers’ Departments who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

    Oliver Heald

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to her by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 16th June (Official Report, Col 433W).

  • Barry Gardiner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the reasons are for the time taken for the review of the Chalara management plan; why the updated plan was not published by the Government’s March 2014 target; and if he will make a statement.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Government will publish an updated management approach to Chalara alongside updated management approaches to other established tree pests and diseases, and those that pose an imminent threat, in a single Tree Health Management Plan. This Plan will set out the action that the Government and others are taking to protect our tree population from pests and diseases. It will be published alongside the wider Plant Biosecurity Strategy later this spring.