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  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the impact of the reduction in the feed-in tariff rates proposed in the Government’s consultation published on 27 August 2015 on the rooftop solar industry and solar installation companies in the South East region.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The impact assessment published alongside the feed in tariff review consultation set out DECC’s assessment of the impact of proposed changes across different technologies and tariff bands. This did not include a breakdown by region.

  • Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandatory regulation to stimulate volumes of installations of heat pumps.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC keeps under review all policies which might be needed to meet future carbon budgets in line with the requirements of the Climate Change Act, in its consideration of the advice from the Committee on Climate Change.

    Reducing carbon emissions will require improved energy efficiency measures and changes to heating systems in buildings. The Government is committed to considering both together through a stable long-term framework which explores the potential role of regulation.

  • Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential economic benefit of carbon capture and storage being used as a means to increase oil and gas production from the UK Continental Shelf.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has the potential to play an important role in enabling the UK to decarbonise its energy system. The Wood Review recognised that offshore storage of carbon dioxide could potentially benefit the UK continental shelf, and called for continued collaboration between industry, academia and DECC as the most appropriate means to realise the opportunity.

    With the UK continental shelf now being one of the more mature offshore basins in the world, the Wood Review identified a range of key issues which the Government and industry must jointly address to deliver maximum economic recovery (MER) of UK petroleum, stressing the importance of a focused regulator. In accordance with the recommendations of the Wood Review, the Government is working to establish the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), as a body with the objective of delivering MER.

    The Government has taken steps to set up the OGA quickly in accordance with the recommendations of the Wood Review, which continues to attract strong industry support. In addition to its role as licencing authority for offshore carbon dioxide storage, the OGA is developing the Sector Strategies called for by the Wood Review. In developing the Technology and Decommissioning Sector Strategies, the OGA is considering the potential for offshore storage of carbon dioxide to help achieve MER.

    Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques that utilise carbon dioxide may also have a role in increasing hydrocarbon recovery in future. In its Technology Sector Strategy, the OGA will consider the potential contribution that the various EOR technologies, including carbon dioxide EOR, could make towards MER.

    The OGA’s key actions are already providing crucial support to the oil and gas industry. Without this, we risk premature decommissioning of the UK continental shelf, loss of stranded assets and loss of the key infrastructure and skills – including those which could ultimately promote the longevity of the industry through carbon dioxide storage projects. This underlines the importance of the OGA focusing upon maximising economic recovery and constructively engaging with the CCS industry.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many officials in her Department are working on its review of post-16 education and training institutions.

    Nick Boles

    The Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), along with respective funding agencies, have re-prioritised staffing resources to support the review of post-16 education and training.

    There are seven reviews in the first wave of area reviews which have either launched since September or will launch in the next few weeks. Each review will take 3-4 months to complete and will be supported by resource from the DfE, BIS, EFA and SFA.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2015 to Question 12263, what estimate her Department has made of the number of Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils who will qualify for free school meals in each of the next five years.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The continuation of free school meals was a commitment in the Conservative Party’s election manifesto. The government is currently conducting a spending review across all its programmes. We are not able to report on free school meals until after the outcome of that review.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gareth Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many GCSEs were awarded for foreign language courses in Dartford constituency in each of the last five years.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education publishes information at local authority level on the percentage of pupils achieving the languages component of the English Baccalaureate in the “Statistics: GCSEs (key stage 4)” series[1]. Information at parliamentary constituency level is not routinely published.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4

    “

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 11372, how many additional children are now in receipt of free school meals since the changes made to her Department’s eligibility checking system.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The eligibility checking system has been revised and updated on a number of occasions, for example to reflect that universal credit had been added to the list of entitling benefits in 2012. Since 2010, the number of pupils entitled to, and claiming for free school meals has decreased from 1,212,320 (16.2%) to 1,198,494 (15.1%) in 2015. We expect the proportion of children eligible for, and claiming free school meals to continue to decrease as the economy continues to improve.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the number of (a) academies, (b) free schools and (c) maintained schools which do not include design and technology on the school curriculum.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education does not hold information on the number of schools which do not include design and technology on the school curriculum.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 11372, how many local authorities have used her Department’s eligibility checking system for free school meals.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The department’s records indicate that all English local authorities have used the eligibility checking system for free school meals.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the number of secondary school teachers accessing continuing professional development in design and technology in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015 to date.

    Nick Gibb

    The government does not collect data on the number of teachers accessing professional development. Decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rest with schools, individual teachers and head teachers, who are in the best position to judge their own requirements.