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  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the relationship will be between the new Institute for Apprentices and the industry-led body that will administer the Apprenticeships Levy.

    Nick Boles

    It is our intention that the independent Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) will be established by April 2017. The Institute will approve apprenticeship standards and safeguard apprenticeship quality.

    The body will not be responsible for the operational functions associated with funding of apprenticeships and the administration of the levy. These will be fulfilled by the Government’s operational agencies.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the legal position is on the use of prefixes or styles granted by virtue of honours in Commonwealth realms in the UK to (a) either to a citizen of a Commonwealth realm and (b) to a dual national who is also national of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; how such honours are recognised; and if he will make a statement.

    James Duddridge

    The recognition of foreign honours is a matter for the Royal Prerogative and is governed by convention, rather than by law.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what local authorities are permitted to spend profits from parking enforcement after covering enforcement costs; and what assessment they have made of how much such profit local authorities make from such enforcement.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Unfair parking fines push up the cost of living and undermine the high street. Local authorities should be making it easier to park to support local shops, local jobs and tourism by increasing footfall. Making parking more difficult stifles local trade, driving motorists into the arms of internet retailers and out of town superstores.

    Existing legislation clearly restricts the purposes for which monies generated from parking may be spent by local authorities to off-street parking, transport and environmental improvements.

    The Local Government Transparency Code 2015 requires local authorities to publish a breakdown of income and expenditure on the authority’s parking account. This includes details of revenue collected from on-street parking, off-street parking and Penalty Charge Notices and a breakdown of how the authority has spent a surplus on its parking account.

  • Lord Campbell-Savours – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Campbell-Savours – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, where an office property that qualified for a residential planning designation is demolished, whether any restrictions are placed on the building of a new property on that land according to the former office property’s footprint.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    We announced on 12 October that the permitted development right for the change of use from office to residential will be made permanent. We further announced that the rights will in future provide for an office to be demolished and replaced on a like-for-like basis as residential. The details of the rights including any requirements about the use, eligibility criteria and any matters for prior approval, including in relation to demolition and replacement, will be provided in due course.

  • Lord Campbell-Savours – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Campbell-Savours – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, before 13 November, the B1 planning class remained a requirement for offices that also qualified for a residential planning designation.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    We announced on 12 October that the permitted development right for the change of use from office to residential will be made permanent. We further announced that the rights will in future provide for an office to be demolished and replaced on a like-for-like basis as residential. The details of the rights including any requirements about the use, eligibility criteria and any matters for prior approval, including in relation to demolition and replacement, will be provided in due course.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 30 November (HL3685), on what basis they differentiate dogs and cats in the requirements to report accidents.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 requires a driver to stop and report an accident involving horses, cattle, sheep, asses, mules, pigs, goats or dogs, but not cats or wild animals. This requirement arises from their status as working animals rather than as domestic pets.

  • 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.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what impact assessment they conducted on provisions in the Trade Union Bill prohibiting public sector employers from providing a check-off service.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The prohibition on deduction of union subscriptions from wages in the public sector (check-off) is being considered in an impact assessment to be published in due course.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation they carried out about prohibiting public sector employers from providing a check-off service.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    We have not undertaken a formal consultation. This clause will receive full Parliamentary scrutiny during the Bill’s passage through Parliament.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Dunlop on 27 November (HL3723) and 8 December (HL4130), whether those answers include all security personnel who served in Northern Ireland but are not from Northern Ireland.

    Lord Dunlop

    I have nothing further to add to my earlier responses.