Category: Speeches

  • John Stanley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    John Stanley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Stanley on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many standard individual export licences were finalised in 2013; and what proportion of those licences were finalised within (a) 20 and (b) 60 working days.

    Michael Fallon

    13,578 Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) were granted in 2013 and 148 applications for SIELs were refused. 77.8 per cent of these licences were finalised in 20 working days and 97.8 per cent were finalised in 60 working days.

  • Julian Sturdy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Julian Sturdy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of wind turbine developers using the Community Right to Build scheme to circumvent the local planning process.

    Kris Hopkins

    The Community Right to Build allows local communities to undertake small-scale, site-specific, community-led developments. It may only be used by community organisations in which local people in the relevant neighbourhood area have a majority of the voting rights and have the majority on the board of directors or governing body of the organisation, and, include different people from at least 10 different addresses within the area. This means the Community Right to Build cannot be used by property developers, including wind turbine developers, to gain planning permission for their development proposal – unless that development is something that the community wishes to see and which the community initiates.

    Proposals that require an Environmental Impact Assessment or are likely to have significant effects on a site protected under the Habitats Regulations are not eligible to use the Community Right to Build. Where proposals are eligible they will be tested by an independent examiner to see that they are appropriate in the light of national planning policy and generally conform with the strategic policies of the Local Plan for the area and any neighbourhood plans that are in force.

    The National Planning Policy Framework is very clear that local councils should design their policies to ensure the adverse impacts of renewable energy developments are addressed satisfactorily. To help implement the environmental balance expected by the Framework, we issued new planning practice guidance for renewable and low carbon energy last July. The guidance makes clear that the need for renewable energy does not automatically override environmental protections and the planning concerns of local communities.

  • Mike Kane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mike Kane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate he has made of the number of patients visiting A&E departments after having been unable to make an appointment with their GP.

    Jane Ellison

    There are over 300 million consultations in general practice each year. The latest general practitioner (GP) patient survey results show that less than 2% of patients attended a walk-in centre or accident and emergency department because they were unable to get a convenient appointment with their GP at their practice.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2013, Official Report, column 392W, on the Electoral Register if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidelines for the issuing of fixed penalty notices for non-registration.

    Greg Clark

    Guidance from the Electoral Commission on the use of civil penalties for failure to respond to a notice of requirement to register was published in September 2013.

    I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-05-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether officials in his Department consulted with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive before publishing the National Space Security Policy.

    Mr David Willetts

    It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Nigel Adams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nigel Adams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many properties built after January 2009 were flooded in winter 2013-14; and what guidance his Department issues to homeowners who are declined insurance by their provider because of risk of flooding. [R]

    Dan Rogerson

    We do not collect information on the number of properties built after January 2009 which were flooded in the winter of 2013-14. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published a “Guide to obtaining flood insurance in high risk areas” on the GOV.UK website, which sets out steps for households in flood risk areas to access appropriate insurance.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-12.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, with reference to the Answer of 24 January 2012, Official Report, column 203W, on the electoral register, what assessment he has made of his Department’s performance in making the public aware of individual electoral registration; and how he measures that performance .

    Greg Clark

    It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to ensure that the probation contracts in England and Wales are let without risk to the public or waste of public money.

    Jeremy Wright

    Under our reforms the market will be opened up to a diverse range of new rehabilitation providers, so that we get the best out of the public, voluntary and private sectors, at the local as well as national level. Protecting the public must remain our top priority,and the new National Probation Service will manage all offenders who pose a high risk of harm to the public or have committed the most serious offences. The Secretary of State will continue to issue national standards for the management of offenders, and the Government will place contractual requirements on Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) to ensure that the risk of harm posed by offenders is effectively managed. Providers bidding to run CRCs will need to demonstrate in their bids how they would deliver high quality rehabilitative support to offenders, and they will be held to account to deliver these services in their contracts. Bidders will also need to demonstrate how they will maintain a workforce with appropriate levels of competence and training to deliver these services.

    Our proposals will be affordable within the context of the MoJ commitment to deliver annual savings of over £2 billion by 2014/15. We plan to make efficiency savings through the use of competition, the introduction of private and voluntary sector providers, and by consolidating back-office functions within the public sector. Releasing these efficiency savings will enable us to invest in rehabilitation and extend provision to support supervision to a wider group of offenders.

  • Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Seabeck on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 18 December 2013, Official Report, column 636W, on defence: procurement, what the final costs are of establishing a Golo and running the tendering process.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The final cost of supporting our work on the Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) competition is £7.4 million. This investment has provided valuable insight into the challenges involved in establishing a successful GOCO. The outputs from this work will be retained to inform any future GOCO competition should a decision be taken to re-examine this model as part of the continuing transformation of Defence Equipment and Support.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2013, Official Report, columns 455-6W, on the Electoral Register, for what reasons the electoral commission has no plans to undertake a direct assessment of registration rates in specific university towns and cities.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it will undertake analysis of the impact of the transition to IER for all local authorities, which will include all university towns and cities, throughout the transition period. This will include publishing data by local authority, and in some cases by electoral ward, at several points during the transition period.