Category: Speeches

  • 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 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of when the Afghanistan Air Force will be ready to function independently of US and UK support.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The Afghan Air Force (AAF) is trained in accordance with the wider International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) development strategy. ISAF envisages that the AAF will be at full operational capability with the required trained personnel, aircraft and equipment by the end of 2017.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-04-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Cabinet Office prepares any management information or reports that provide comparisons between departments; and, if so, which areas they cover.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The Cabinet Office runs a system that allows departments and arm’s length bodies to compare their performance across a full range of indicators.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of people eligible to be on the most recent (a) census and (b) electoral register who were not recorded.

    Mr Nick Hurd

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

  • Lord Rooker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Rooker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rooker on 2014-04-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to implement the changes set out in sections 45 and 46 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

    Lord Faulks

    Implementation is already well underway. The point at which historic central government records are transferred to The National Archives is being reduced from 30 years to 20 years. This change is being implemented in a phased way over a ten period starting from 1 January 2013, with two years worth of records being transferred every year until transition is complete. This was implemented by The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (Commencement No 7) Order 2012 (SI 2012 No. 3001) and The Public Records (Transfer to the Public Record Office) (Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2012 (SI 2012 No. 3028).

    The Government intends to begin, from 2015, a similar ten-year transitional period for records transferred to 116 local places of deposit, subject to the outcome of further detailed work on costs and the impact to the local authority archive sector.

  • 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 2014-06-04.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what (a) number and (b) proportion of voters voted (i) at a polling station and (ii) by postal ballot in each police authority area in the 2012 Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission has placed the answer to the hon. member’s question in the library.

  • 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 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department plans to take to monitor whether alternative learning providers are meeting the standards he recently set out on (a) quality assurance, (b) financial sustainability and (c) management and governance; and how he plans to facilitate the meeting of those standards.

    Mr David Willetts

    Under the new specific course designation arrangements alternative learning providers are required immediately to notify the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) of any material changes which may affect their financial sustainability or quality of provision. HEFCE will also run an annual monitoring exercise to collect information about the ongoing financial sustainability, quality of provision, and changes to management and governance arrangements at alternative learning providers.

  • Dan Byles – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Dan Byles – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Byles on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policy on the need for additional gas storage capacity in the UK of recent events involving Russia and Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

    Michael Fallon

    We have no plans to reassess the need for additional gas storage capacity in the UK in the light of events between Russia and Ukraine. The Department commissioned from Redpoint Energy analysis on the case for Government support for additional gas storage in the UK, which was published in September 2013. This cost-benefit analysis did not support intervention to deliver additional gas storage capacity due to a combination of low risk, poor rates of return for the taxpayer, and the risk of unintended consequences within the market.

    Disputes between Russia and Ukraine affecting gas supply to Europe do not change this stance. Previous analysis has demonstrated that the UK gas market is resilient to all but the most unlikely combination of high-demand conditions and supply disruption. The UK has a diverse range of gas suppliers and routes to market and receives less than 1% of its gas from Russia.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities affected by flooding can claim under the Bellwin scheme for the cost of disposing of sandbags that have been contaminated with sewage.

    Brandon Lewis

    [Holding Reply: Thursday 3 April 2014]

    Local authorities can claim the costs of removing sandbags used during the flooding emergency, under the Bellwin scheme. This includes sandbags that have been contaminated with sewage.

  • Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Miss Anne McIntosh on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent representations he has received on support for moorland farmers; and if he will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    We consulted on proposals for changes to the regional direct payment rates in October 2013, and announced our decision in December to align the payment rates in relation to the lowland and severely disadvantaged areas (SDAs). We also said that we would undertake further analysis and consultation on the appropriate payment rate for the moorland region. We received several contributions to the analysis from stakeholders, and consulted further through the Direct Payments Consultative Group and other forums. Our decision in April confirmed that the payment rate in the moorland will be increased by approximately the same cash amount as the uplift previously announced for the rate in the rest of the SDA. The decision has been welcomed by a number of organisations representing hill and moorland farmers.

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which water companies operating in the UK use alternatives to chlorine as a disinfectant in drinking water.

    Dan Rogerson

    By law, water companies are required to supply safe drinking water at the tap. Companies are free to choose the technology they use to treat water and in doing so are required to ensure it is correctly designed, operated and maintained. Increasingly a combination of filtration and ultra violet light is used by companies in England and Wales as an alternative to chlorine.