Blog

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government implements the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

    Mr David Lidington

    The UK was the first country to produce a National Action Plan (NAP) in September 2013 for the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on Business and Human Rights. It was launched jointly by the the Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Busines, Innovation and Skills and was developed through consultations with business and civil society organisations. Implementation has been coordinated through a cross-Whitehall Steering Group.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Pet Animals Act 1951 to reflect the increasing number of animals sold over the internet.

    George Eustice

    Defra is reviewing the Pet Animals Act 1951, which already covers sales of pet animals over the internet, as part of a wider review of some of the animal related licensing schemes. We are aiming to consult on a set of proposals shortly.

  • David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the disparity between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK in the price farmers are able to achieve when selling livestock.

    George Eustice

    We are part of a single market across Europe and as such we should not dictate what a fair price is for farmers and consumers. We support the farming industry by reducing red tape, funding research to foster innovation, extending the tax averaging period for self-employed farmers and working to open up new export markets.

    In recognition of the difficulties faced by Northern Irish dairy farmers, the UK government pressed for additional money to be paid to Northern Irish dairy producers as part of the support payments. 71% of Northern Irish dairy farmers have now received their payment.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the Government’s policy is on negotiating legally binding targets at the Paris World Climate Summit 2015.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The UK Government is committed to securing at the Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 in Paris, an ambitious, legally binding global Agreement on climate change with mitigation commitments from all Parties and a set of rules that ensure transparency and accountability of commitments that will allow the world to track progress.

    The Prime Minister at the G7 Summit prioritised an ambitious climate package, and more recently at the G20, all Leaders were clear that an ambitious climate deal remains a global priority. My Ministerial colleagues and I are taking every opportunity to press for an agreement that meets these objectives.

  • Alex Chalk – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alex Chalk – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the average electricity bill was attributable to the levy imposed by the Levy Control Framework to meet the cost of feed-in tariffs in 2014-15.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The costs of the small scale Feed-in Tariffs scheme in 2014/15 are estimated to have accounted for around 2 percent, on average, of the household electricity bill.

  • Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the Northern Ireland Executive has the option to continue to issue its own Renewables Obligation Certificates.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Decisions regarding the issuing of Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) are matters for Northern Ireland’s Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to determine in accordance with the Renewables Obligation Order (Northern Ireland) 2009.[1]

    [1] S.R. 2009/154, as amended by S.R. 2010/134, S.R. 2011/169, S.R. 2013/116, S.R. 2013/174 and S.R. 2014/146.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department is undertaking of the effect on children’s (a) attainment, (b) health and (c) attendance of the universal infant free school meals policy.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The decision to introduce universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) was based on pilots of universal free school meals carried out between 2009 and 2011 in Newham and Durham. The pilots demonstrated benefits in terms of children’s health, attainment and behaviour, as well as helping families with the cost of living.

    The UIFSM policy has been in place for just over a year. We will look carefully at a range of indicators in relation to UIFSM once we are satisfied that we have sufficient time series data to undertake a robust analysis.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has discussed the planned move to a numeric grading system for GCSEs in England with her Northern Ireland counterpart.

    Nick Gibb

    The Secretary of State has not had any meetings with Northern Ireland’s Minister for Education to discuss the grading system for GCSEs in England. Her predecessor discussed reforms to GCSEs in England with John O’Dowd (Minister for Education, Northern Ireland) and Leighton Andrews (Minister for Education and Skills, Wales) in May 2013.

    Department for Education officials have regular meetings with officials from the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as the regulators Ofqual and Qualifications Wales, to discuss the qualification reforms taking place in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the planned move to a numeric GCSE grading system in England on the comparability and portability of GCSE results in Northern Ireland.

    Nick Gibb

    It is a matter for the regulator Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation, to set grade standards. Ofqual ran a consultation and carried out impact assessments on a move to a numeric GCSE grading system in England.

    I have asked Ofqual’s Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the development of Watchkeeper.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Development costs are not separately identified as they are included within the main Demonstration, Manufacturing and Initial Support contract with Thales UK. The current total financial approval for development and delivery of Watchkeeper to Full Operating Capability is £927 million.