The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the budgeted spend is for humanitarian aid for Yemen for the next two years.
Mr Alan Duncan
DFID has already committed £33m in assistance for this financial year and we are in the process of assessing where we should allocate further funds and at what scale.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-03-31.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which companies tendered for the Portsmouth Harbour dredging contract.
Mr Philip Dunne
The contract to dredge Portsmouth Harbour is expected to be awarded in April 2015 and is worth £20 million to £40 million. Work will commence following the appointment of the successful bidder, and will be completed ahead of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s arrival in late 2016.
The bidders for the contract are Boskalis Westminster Ltd, Van Oord UK Ltd and Dredging International NV.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he intends to respond to the Law Commission’s final report and draft Bill on Taxis and Private Hire Services, published on 23 May 2014.
Stephen Hammond
The Department is considering closely the report and draft Bill concerning taxi and private hire vehicle legislation, which the Law Commission published on 23 May this year. We will be mindful, when responding, of the existing protocol between Government and the Law Commission.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adrian Sanders on 2014-03-31.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase the involvement of practising teachers in the design of the national curriculum.
Elizabeth Truss
The new national curriculum, which was published on 11 September 2013, has been developed with due regard to the views of subject experts, teachers, and the findings of international best practice comparisons. Over 2,470 of the responses to the consultation on the new curriculum were from individual teachers, headteachers and schools. In response to the representations, changes were made to improve clarity, precision and consistency of the content.
We are confident that our reform to the national curriculum will give teachers greater flexibility and freedom than ever before, which will help to raise standards and expectations for all pupils. The national curriculum has been significantly slimmed down and will free up teachers to use their professional judgement to design curricula that meet the needs of their pupils.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.
Esther McVey
Details of Ministers’ visits overseas are published quarterly and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2014-03-31.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to A UK Strategy for Agricultural Technologies, how much of the £10 million provided by her Department to support the transfer of technology and new products to developing countries has been spent; and if she will make a statement.
Lynne Featherstone
No DFID funds have been spent as part of the Agri-Tech Catalyst. The selection of the projects from the first round of the Catalyst competition is on-going. The second round of the competition closes on11th June 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Russell Brown on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training is available on autism for jobcentre plus advisers.
Esther McVey
All Jobcentre Plus advisers have access to a comprehensive learning programme which includes a specific focus on taking consideration of individuals’ personal circumstances. This training ensures staff are aware that disabilities and health conditions including autism can affect individuals in different ways.
Specialist help can be provided by Disability Employment Advisers who have extensive additional courses appropriate to this specialist area. This training has been designed with input from Specialist DWP Work Psychologists to enable these advisers to support people with particular complex needs. This training includes case studies relating to autism.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adrian Sanders on 2014-03-31.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many posts in his Department will be relocated to the South West in the next five years.
Mike Penning
The deployment of staff and efficient use of the departmental estate is always subject to review. At the present time, there are no plans to relocate Departmental staff to the South West in the next five years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Written Statement of 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 47WS, on UK Green Investment Bank, when he expects the assessment and feasibility stage to be finished; and when he expects to make a further statement on the Bank.
Michael Fallon
This business planning phase of work is expected to take a number of months. I hope to be able to provide an update in the autumn.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2014-03-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether his Department has plans to extend the life of generating capacity currently scheduled to be closed in the event that delays in new investment arise as a result of uncertainty about the outcome of the competition investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority.
Michael Fallon
Government’s plans for the Capacity Market and interim arrangements being put in place by National Grid ahead of this will offer an opportunity to extend the life of existing capacity where it is economically efficient to do so. Subject to state aid approval the first Capacity Market auction will take place in late 2014 for delivery in winter 2018. This will ensure sufficient capacity into the coming decades by offering regular payments to existing and new generation capacity that is successful at auction.
In advance of this National Grid has developed Supplemental Balancing Reserve, a new balancing service through which it will be able to procure further capacity should it be needed, including capacity that is or otherwise intends to mothball or close. National Grid will only seek to competitively procure the amount of capacity that its forecast determines necessary and expect to run an initial tender process this spring for capacity for the winter of 2014/15 and 2015/16, with the possibility of extending this period if necessary.