Category: Speeches

  • col 970).” – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    col 970).” – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by col 970).” on Energy and Climate Change.

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    Baroness Verma

    We anticipate that some generators will seek to establish the terms of any PPA and financing arrangements before they participate in the CfD allocation round, in order to understand better their likely costs. Such conditional PPAs could take a number of forms, from indicative terms to a signed contract.

    In 2013, DECC officials established an industry Market Readiness group to prepare the market for offering CfD PPAs. There are now a number of PPA providers discussing terms with potential developers but these discussions are commercially sensitive.

    The Offtaker of Last Resort will allow generators to develop their projects using shorter-term PPAs with smaller suppliers. We are on track to introduce enabling regulations to have the OLR mechanism in place ahead of the first CfD allocation in Autumn 2014.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of crimes reported in a police station in each year since May 2010.

    Norman Baker

    The requested information is not held centrally. The Home Office holds data on
    offences recorded by the police.

  • Biography information for Jason McCartney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Biography information for Jason McCartney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Jason McCartney on Culture, Media and Sport.

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    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Further legislation is not necessary, as both the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Office of Communications (Ofcom) can issue substantive monetary penalties of up to £500,000 and £2 million respectively to any organisation that deliberately continues to contravene the regulations.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to section 4(3) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, where the person to whom controlled drugs were supplied or offered to be supplied was a child, in each of the last four years.

    Damian Green

    Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not include the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute. It is not possible to separately identify from this centrally held information the age of an individual to whom an offender has been convicted of supplying illegal drugs. This detailed information may be held on the court record but due to the size and complexity is not reported centrally to the MoJ. As such, the information requested can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford on Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

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    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UK is giving £12m in aid to Rakhine State to support shelter, water sanitation and hygiene programmes, nutrition and protection activities, as well as non-food items for 115,000 people. We are also funding £4.5m towards livelihoods projects in Rakhine and support to the UN’s coordination of the international humanitarian response.

    We remain one of the most vocal and active members of the international community in supporting those calling for human rights and democracy in Burma. I was the first Western Minister to visit Rakhine State in December 2012. I raised concerns again with the Burmese government during my second visit to Burma in January this year, and I again saw Rohingya leaders to hear from them about the many issues they are facing.

    The plight of the Rohingya was also at the top of the agenda during the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron’s) meeting with President Thein Sein in London in July 2013. In March this year, I summoned the Burmese Ambassador and called on the Burmese government urgently to restore humanitarian access to all communities in need, and to ensure the security of humanitarian aid workers and all communities in Rakhine State. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks), again raised our concerns in a call with his Burmese counterpart in April, and I most recently discussed the situation with the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister on 12 June.

    We will continue to urge the Burmese government to take swift and decisive action to protect the lives and rights of Rohingya and other minorities in Rakhine State, and to address the underlying causes of ethnic and religious discrimination and violence.

  • John Spellar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    John Spellar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the practice of logbook lending.

    Stephen Hammond

    No assessment has been made by the Department for Transport. The regulation of consumer credit, including the practice of logbook loans, is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority.

  • John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what levels of stock his Department holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables.

    Mike Penning

    We do not have this level of information on a site by site basis either by value or volume. We operate a LEAN supply chain with minimal stock holding.

    a) Stationery – We are unable to confirm any stock held by sites, inclusive of paper as this information is not collected.

    b) Printer cartridges – as part of the Managed Print Service we operate on the basis of 1 consumable per device as stock, or 3 for a colour device; we also hold some drums and other products depending on the model. There are approximately 7910 devices at present. This does not take into account devices which are not part of the Managed Print Service.

    c) Treasury tags and other fasteners – we do not have this information available, this would require further analysis of Management Information for the desktop stationery contract and definition of other fasteners to identify the appropriate product lines.

    d) Other office consumables – we do not have this information available, this would require further analysis of Management Information for the desktop stationery contract and definition of what constitutes other office consumables in order to obtain information for each individual product.

  • Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-04-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to help pensioners on low incomes.

    Mr David Gauke

    Supporting pensioners is a key priority for this Government. Due to the triple lock, the full basic State Pension has increased this month to £113.10 a week – a cash rise of £2.95. This is around £8.50 a week higher than it would have been if it had been uprated only in line with average weekly earnings growth since the start of this Parliament.

    We have also passed through the cash rise, due to the triple lock, to the minimum guarantee in Pension Credit. This ensures that the poorest pensioners also benefit.

    This Government also continues to protect universal pensioner benefits, such as Winter Fuel Payments, free eye tests and prescriptions.

  • Lord Tyler – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Tyler – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tyler on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for future elections and referendums to be held in the United Kingdom of the relative voting rights in the Scottish independence referendum of (1) electors resident overseas but formerly resident in a Scottish parliamentary constituency, and (2) electors resident in England, Wales or Northern Ireland but registered in a Scottish parliamentary constituency within the last 15 years.

    Lord Bates

    The Government has made no such assessment.

  • Lord Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lucas on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any guarantee that the current levels of service and functionality provided by the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight System are to be provided in any replacement system.

    Lord Deighton

    Our plans for the future replacement of the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system are that service levels and functionality should be equal to or better than those provided in the current system. This will be a requirement within the “Invitation to Tender” that HMRC issues in respect of the procurement process for a new import and export declaration processing system.