Category: Speeches

  • Lord Myners – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Myners – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Commissioners of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact receive funding to cover travel and hotel expenses ahead of visits, or whether they are reimbursed for meeting those costs personally.

    Baroness Verma

    The majority of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) commissioners’ air and rail journeys and hotels are booked in advance by the ICAI secretariat through DFID’s internal travel system to ensure value for money in line with DFID/ICAI guidance. These invoices are then verified and settled by the Secretariat. In the minority of cases where travel cannot be booked in advance, commissioners pay up-front and their submitted expense claims with receipts are then verified by the Head of the Secretariat and reimbursed.

  • Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

    Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what information the Committee holds on steps being taken by IPSA to prevent errors in P11D forms for hon. Members occurring in future financial years.

    Mr Charles Walker

    I have received confirmation from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority that in 2014-15, an error with the mail merge used to create P11Ds resulted in incorrect forms being sent to Members.

    I understand from IPSA that they have taken steps to improve the quality checking process, and that staff will receive additional training in the production of P11Ds. In the longer term, IPSA is planning improvements to its information management systems which should reduce the likelihood of data discrepancies, like the one that led to this incident, occurring.

  • Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice has been provided this Session for ministers or senior officials in the Department of Health on whether to use secondary legislation or primary legislation for significant legislation.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    There has been no change in approach to the use of primary and secondary legislation since the General Election. Each piece of legislation is approached within the context of the policy and the existing legislative framework. There is no evidence of an increase in the number of statutory instruments laid since 2010 or since the General Election. Briefing produced by the House of Commons Library (CBP 7438) shows that the number of statutory instruments laid before the House of Commons peaked at 1,885 in the 2005-06 session, compared to 1,378 last session and 540 so far this session.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 26811, what the job titles are of those people in receipt of subsidised health insurance.

    Matthew Hancock

    There are fewer than 5 staff in receipt of subsidised health insurance and disclosing the job titles of those in receipt of subsidised health insurance may lead to the identification of the individuals.

  • Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the corrected Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 March (HL6286), what consideration they have given to the impact of the increased bundling together of computer hardware with operating systems and browsers on the definition of electrical and electronic equipment specified in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Electrical and electronic equipment in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive is defined as that “which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly" and "equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields” below specified voltages.

    Whilst the Directive does provide for certain exclusions, the Government believes that the definition is already sufficiently broad to embrace technological change and computer hardware that incorporates browsers and operating systems.

  • Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the closure of coal-fired power stations on (a) job losses and employment trends in the energy sector and (b) power generation; and what plans her Department has to mitigate those losses.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Coal is the most carbon intensive form of electricity generation and is not consistent with our decarbonisation plans, which is why the Secretary of State has announced an intention to consult on ending unabated coal generation by 2025.

    The Capacity Market is designed to bring forward the capacity we need as older plant such as coal come of the system. On 6 May 2016 we announced changes to the Capacity Market to buy more capacity and earlier; tighten the sanctions on those who fail to deliver on their obligations; and bolster energy security in the short–term by holding a new auction bringing forward the first Capacity Market delivery year to 2017/18.

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.

    George Freeman

    The Department’s purchasing policies support the Government’s commitment to do all it can to ensure United Kingdom suppliers can compete effectively for public sector contracts, in line with our current international obligations and guidance issued by the Crown Commercial Service.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with with Guy Verhofstadt on the UK’s exit from the EU.

    Mr David Jones

    The Prime Minister has been clear we will not give a running commentary on Brexit negotiations. We will ensure that we engage closely with all relevant interlocutors.

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many improvement notices have been issued by Health and Safety Executive inspectors to operators of offshore oil and gas installations in 2015-16; and what proportion of those notices were issued in response to maintenance matters.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Twenty three Improvement Notices have been issued to offshore operators in the period April 15 to date. Of these, four were related to maintenance.

    Please note that the rationale used for answering the question is as follows:

    • The question specifies Improvement Notices, and so Prohibition Notices have not been considered;
    • The total includes all notices served in respect of the offshore oil and gas industry, and includes pipelines and diving where relevant;
    • Offshore windfarms, withdrawn notices, and notices currently under appeal, or where an appeal has been upheld have been excluded;
    • Maintenance has been taken to include notices in relation to maintenance systems, failures to maintain (includes work equipment and fabric integrity), and maintenance backlogs (generally criteria for deferring maintenance of Safety Critical Elements etc);

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any assessment of the cost of energy bills to people served by District Heating Networks.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    In March 2015 DECC published a report by AECOM titled ‘An Assessment of the Costs, Performance, and Characteristics of UK Heat Networks’. The report included a review of the prices charged to final customers by a representative sample of heat networks (7 in total). The average heat price was found to be 6.43p/kWh but with a wide range of 4.64 to 9.88 p/kWh reflecting differences in network design, construction, commissioning and operation. On average this is less than the modelled cost of gas central heating in flats and terraced houses when boiler ownership costs are included (7.22 to 10.24p/kWh).

    The Government is aware that costs to the consumer can vary and achieving cost savings is dependent on the quality of the individual network. DECC has supported industry development of a technical code of practice for heat networks, and worked closely with industry and consumer groups on the development of Heat Trust, an independent consumer protection scheme that launched in November 2015. There are also plans to launch an on-line cost comparator tool in 2016 to allow a consumer to assess their charges against gas central heating. This greater transparency of heat charges is complemented by the billing information requirements in the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014.