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  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has spent on Rapid Deployment Teams in each year since 2010.

    James Duddridge

    The running costs, including recruiting, training and exercising the four global Rapid Deployment Team cadres were £633,735 in FY 2011/12, £626,466 in FY 2012/13, £720,731 in FY 2013/14 and £578,832 in FY 2014/15. We have spent £397,913 in FY 2015/16 to date. Due to the introduction of a new financial accounting system in 2010, figures for 2010/11 are not readily available.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the size of his Department’s Rapid Deployment Teams in terms of personnel was in each year since 2010.

    James Duddridge

    The Foreign & Commonwealth Office Rapid Deployment Teams are a volunteer cadre of Foreign & Commonwealth Office staff trained to be deployed to augment crisis response overseas. Since 2010 we have had Rapid Deployment Teams based in London, Asia Pacific and the Americas. A fourth Rapid Deployment Team covering the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) was introduced in 2012. In total, we have 185 active members of the Rapid Deployment Team globally consisting of 64 in London, 36 in Asia Pacific, 48 in the Americas and 37 in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia area. On call each week we have 12 London-based staff, 8 Middle East, North Africa and South Asia based staff, 10 Asia Pacific based staff and 11 Americas-based staff. These can be supplemented by additional specialists from the military, Police or British Red Cross. Around 72 new Rapid Deployment Team volunteers are trained each year.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what funding his Department has provided to the BBC World Service in each year since 2010.

    Mr David Lidington

    In each year from 2010 the department provided the following funding to the BBC World Service: 2009/2010 – £268,043,000 2010/2011 – £268,523,000 2011/2012 – £255,200,000 2012/2013 – £244,200,000 2013/2014 – £238,480,000

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department plans to spend on specialist kidnap negotiation and hostage rescue capabilities in British consulates in the next 12 months.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government’s response to overseas hostage taking brings together skills and capabilities across a range of Departments. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the lead Department where British nationals are kidnapped by a terrorist group. Expenditure can be dependent on factors including the number of incidents. In the current Financial Year the FCO will spend around £253,000 on specialist hostage negotiation capability, and on training for the staff in the FCO and our global network who coordinate the Government’s response to the kidnap of British nationals overseas. This training programme ensures our overseas network is prepared to respond effectively when British nationals are taken hostage by terrorists. The FCO’s exact expenditure on kidnap response in the year ahead will depend in part on the number of live cases, but is likely to be of a similar magnitude.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much of his Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not have a dedicated research and development fund. Research to inform policy is conducted by FCO Research Analysts and by individual Directorates and overseas Posts, and funded from devolved budgets. It is therefore not possible to identify how much of the FCO’s allocated funding will be spent on these activities over the Spending Review 2015 period.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of her Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    George Eustice

    Allocations for future years are currently being finalised as part of the Department’s business planning process. A breakdown of the funding allocated for research and development cannot be provided until this exercise is complete.

  • Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what training her Department has provided to staff on the family test; what other steps she has taken to raise awareness of the family test among staff of her Department; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    Defra has a team leading on the Family Test who collaborate with the Department for Work and Pensions. The team work closely with staff across the Department to raise awareness, following the guidance on the family test issued by DWP.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what representations she has received from the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate on the Paris Climate Conference; and whether she has evaluated that Commission’s list of 10 opportunities for economically beneficial climate action.

    Andrea Leadsom

    My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State is aware of the work from the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, as the UK is one of its commissioning countries. The Secretary of State welcomed the Global Commission’s reports, which underlined that growth and tackling climate change can go hand in hand.

    We continue to reflect on the reports’ findings and contribution to the economic debate. It sets out how Governments of countries at different stages of economic development can achieve strong economic performance, improve standards of living, create jobs and reduce poverty, whilst simultaneously helping to reduce the risks of climate change. The reports’ evidence on the potential economic opportunities is a powerful contribution to the clear case for action. It is in this spirit that we strongly recommend all countries to consider its findings.

  • David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much has been paid into the Exchequer from surpluses accrued by the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme since privatisation of the coal industry.

    Andrea Leadsom

    I refer the hon. Member to House of Commons Library Briefing Paper Number SN01189 dated 25 November 2015 which contains at page 17 a table showing the total gross payments made to the Guarantor from the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme since privatisation:

    http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01189/SN01189.pdf

    “

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on the six calculation errors made in the home energy efficiency calculation software known as SAP referred to in the letter to the Prime Minister from BDP Limited, dated 12 November 2015.

    Andrea Leadsom

    I regularly discuss building standards with other Ministerial colleagues but have not had discussions on the specific six issues raised in the letter cited.