Category: Speeches

Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will discuss with the European Commission the need for co-operation throughout the EU on tackling the spread of bluetongue disease.

George Eustice

Discussions are continuing with EU Member States and the European Commission on tackling the spread of Bluetongue disease, including seeking expert opinion from the European Food Safety Agency on the most appropriate control strategy. Further information on the current control strategy for this disease can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bluetongue-gb-disease-control-strategy and https://www.dardni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/dard/bluetongue-control-strategy.pdf

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01/01/2023
Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether energy suppliers are obligated to report to the National Measurement and Regulation Office when a heat network is established or a lease is acquired.

Joseph Johnson

Under Regulation 3(2)(b) of The Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 heat suppliers have a duty to notify the National Measurement and Regulation Office in relation to a district heat network or communal heating that commences operation after 31^st December 2015, on or before the first date of operation.

If a change of ownership occurs (or a lease is acquired) on a district heat network or communal heating that has already been notified there is no requirement to re-notify within four years of the date of the first notification submitted. If the network has not been previously notified, then the duty to notify applies.

01/01/2023

Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, how much it costs to post a franked envelope from the House of Commons.

Tom Brake

The cost of postage for a bespoke DL sized pre-paid envelope, supplied to Members through the House provided stationery budget, is as follows:

1st class – £0.64
2nd class – £0.55

The cost of postage on a pre-paid envelope is the same as a stamp. Franked mail, used by departments of the House, is cheaper than pre-paid envelopes as franking is paid for in bulk and in advance which generates a slight discount to the price; costs are:

1st Class small envelope under 100g – £0.52
2nd Class small envelope under 100g – £0.39

1st Class large envelope under 100g – £0.81
2nd Class large envelope under 100g – £0.65

However, there are restrictions on where this can be sent from. 30 items or less can be sent from a standard post box but must be bundled and separated from standard mail; in excess of 30 items must be sent via a Post Office, Royal Mail Centre or Delivery Office or Business Post Box.

The list below details the different postage costs for envelopes which are available to Members through the bespoke stationery catalogue.

HC23-244S	£0.55
HC23-245	£0.55
HC23-146S	£0.64
HC23-246S	£0.55
HC23-147S	£0.64
HC23-247S	£0.55
HC23-149WS	£0.64
HC23-249WS	£0.55
HC23-150	£5.50
HC23-151	£2.85
HC228	£0.55
HC129	£1.27
HC229	£1.20
HC130	£1.27
HC230	£1.20
HC3-16	£0.64
HC85	£0.55
HC86A	£0.55
HC23-146EU	£1.05

01/01/2023

Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department for International Development overspent their budget in the last financial year, and if so, for what reason.

Baroness Verma

In 2014-15, the most recent year for which audited accounts are available, the Department for International Development did not overspend its budget.

01/01/2023
Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil servants in her Department are paid through limited companies.

Nick Gibb

No civil servants at the Department for Education are employed through limited companies.

We award contracts to individuals or organisations through their limited companies but the number of those could only be provided at disproportionate costs.

01/01/2023
Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Leader of the House, what steps his Office has taken to prepare for the UK to leave the EU since 23 June 2016; and what further such steps his Office plans to take in the remainder of 2016.

Mr David Lidington

The Department for Exiting the European Union has responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister. In doing this it is working very closely with other government departments, including the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons, and a wide range of other interested parties.

01/01/2023
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what will be the status in the UK of European Court of Justice case law on EU legal instruments which remain in force in the UK after it leaves the EU.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Government will bring forward legislation in the next session that, when enacted, will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 on the day we leave the EU. This ‘Great Repeal Bill’ will end the authority of EU law and return power to the UK.

The Government will set out the content of the Bill and its implications in due course.

01/01/2023
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-10-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of international aid agencies’ efforts to support and protect their staff from sexual abuse.

Baroness Verma

Whilst we do not have a contractual obligation to have a duty of care for the staff of international aid agencies that are funded by DFID, all DFID funding is subject to DFID’s Due Diligence procedures which assess an organisation’s governance and control structure and those of their downstream partners.

01/01/2023
Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect on student numbers of abolishing grants and maintenance allowances and introducing student loans and tuition fees for nurses’ training places; and what assessment the Government has made of the effect on students from poorer backgrounds of abolishing grants and maintenance allowances and introducing student loans and tuition fees for such training places.

Ben Gummer

The Government assessment undertaken to date is that nursing is consistently one of the most popular courses on the University Central Administration Service (fifth), with 57,000 applicants for around 20,000 nursing places in 2014. Midwifery and Allied Health Professional courses receive higher than average applications as well.

A maximum £9,000 tuition fee for other subjects at higher education institutions was introduced in 2012. Between 2012 and 2014 the number of English domiciled applicants to enter full-time undergraduate courses in the United Kingdom increased by 7.5% (from 454,000 in 2012 to 487,870 in 2014). Figures for 2015 cycle will be released in mid-December and early indicators suggest that there will be further increase in 2015.

Students from the most disadvantaged areas in England were 72% more likely to apply to higher education in 2015 than 2006.

01/01/2023
Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Autumn Statement and Summer Budget 2015, paragraph 2.172, what the (a) annual income and (b) running costs of the Government Property Unit is.

Matthew Hancock

The Government Property Unit was established in 2010 to work with central government departments to drive savings across the central civil mandated estate. Since May 2010, we have reduced our Estate by 2 million square metres, saving over £750 million in running costs and generating nearly £1.8 billion in capital receipts.

Funding was agreed at Spending Review for the work which the Government Property Unit is taking forward. This includes our Government Office Hubs Programme, which is driving a radical reshaping of the Civil Service office estate, the One Public Estate Programme which works with local authorities to deliver better services, achieve savings and deliver local growth including releasing land for new homes and jobs.

We are also taking a more commercial approach to property through the creation of a New Property Model which will help drive better strategic oversight and management of the estate, and provide greater incentives for departments to rationalise the space they occupy.

The Government Property Unit’s administrative running costs for the FY 2015/16 is forecast as £7.4m.

01/01/2023