Blog

  • Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what support his Department has given to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority for its commercial and procurement capability; and what assessment he has made of that capability.

    Michael Fallon

    The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is responsible for running competitions to manage its sites, and for managing the contracts with those sites; maintaining the capability to do so effectively is also the responsibility of the NDA. My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State appoints the Chairman and other non-executive members of the NDA Board and we have ensured that it has strong commercial skills to support the Executive. With regard to the NDA’s Parent Body Organisation competitions, the process is subject to governance by the NDA’s Competition Programme Board (CPB), on which the Shareholder Executive (on behalf of DECC), HM Treasury and Infrastructure UK sit. A key role of the CPB is to provide assurance that the NDA has the right commercial and procurement capability. We also monitor continuously the NDA’s performance, capability and overall effectiveness.

  • Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the commerical and procurement capability of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; and what steps have been taken to assist the authority in the development of its capability in this area of operations.

    Michael Fallon

    The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is responsible for running competitions to manage its sites, and for managing the contracts with those sites; maintaining the capability to do so effectively is also the responsibility of the NDA. My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State appoints the Chairman and other non-executive members of the NDA Board and we have ensured that it has strong commercial skills to support the Executive. With regard to the NDA’s Parent Body Organisation competitions, the process is subject to governance by the NDA’s Competition Programme Board (CPB), on which the Shareholder Executive (on behalf of DECC), HM Treasury and Infrastructure UK sit. A key role of the CPB is to provide assurance that the NDA has the right commercial and procurement capability. We also monitor continuously the NDA’s performance, capability and overall effectiveness.

  • Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 81W, on solar power, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the solar industry regarding changes to the 250-5MW FiT band for the purpose of encouraging greater deployment of mid-size rooftop solar PV.

    Gregory Barker

    I have been in regular contact with representatives of the Solar Trade Association and British Photovoltaic Association over the last few months, in the lead-up to the publication on 4 April of the UK Government’s Solar Strategy, the first of its kind in Europe.

    I have discussed with the Industry a range of options for removing the barriers to greater deployment of mid-scale building mounted solar PV. As set out in the Strategy, we will be considering specific proposals for doing this in the coming months.

  • Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 81W, on solar power, whether he plans to make changes to the 250-5MW FiT band for the purpose of encouraging greater deployment of mid-size rooftop solar PV.

    Gregory Barker

    We are working to clear the way for the widespread use of mid-scale solar on top of factories, supermarkets, warehouses, car parks and other commercial and industrial buildings. We are currently considering a range of options to achieve this as set out in the solar strategy.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/302049/uk_solar_pv_strategy_part_2.pdf.

    “

  • Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answers of 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 745W and 13 January 2014, Official Report, column 342W, on wind power: planning permission, what recent assessment he has made of whether the average time taken from submission of a planning application to full generation for offshore wind is reasonable; and whether he has recently discussed this matter with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

    Michael Fallon

    Since the introduction of the new Planning Act 2008 regime in March 2010 in England and Wales (planning is devolved in Scotland), there is now a statutory maximum timescale of 12 months for the examination, report writing and decision making phases of applications for the development consent of nationally significant infrastructure projects (including offshore wind farms over 100MW). My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made decisions on three offshore wind farms under that regime, all within the statutory deadlines.

    The time taken to construct the offshore wind farm following consent is a matter for the developer.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, for what reasons he deleted Question 10 in the current consultation exercise on the reductions in the size of the Energy Company Obligation; and what his policy is on the Obligation and its size after March 2017.

    Gregory Barker

    As stated on page 6 of the consultation document, the Government has confirmed that ECO is intended to be ambitious and long term, extending through at least until 2022. The precise shape of the obligation beyond 2017 will be consulted on in due course, and is not in scope of the current consultation exercise which focuses on the period through to 2017.

    The original question 10 was unclear, in that it requested views on the proposed ECO target in the obligation period to March 2017, but followed a series of specific questions (now questions 10, 11, 12 and 13 in the amended consultation document) seeking views on targets for each of the ECO sub-obligations in that period. As explained on the DECC website, the question was therefore removed in the interests of clarity and to avoid unnecessary repetition.

  • Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the estimated value of the contract of Dounreay Site Restoration was at the time of the award in April 2012; what the estimated savings to the public purse were; what the estimated value of the contract is to date; and what the estimated savings to the public purse are to date.

    Michael Fallon

    The estimated Target Cost at the time of contract award in 2012 was approximately £1.5 billion in 2012/13 money values. It covered all of the scope in the Dounreay Lifetime Plan to bring the site to its Interim End State which was capable of definition at the time of tender; it excluded scope that was not capable of definition at the bid stage. The contract contained provisions for change control for new scope and also for indexation for inflation. The Target Cost at 31 March 2014 is £ 1.7bn. The estimated saving to the public purse arising from the Preferred Bidder’s target costs compared to the extant Lifetime Plan was, and remains, well in excess of £1 billion.

  • Paul Maynard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Paul Maynard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Maynard on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the DSM-5 diagnosis method for autism.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education has made no assessment of the Diagnostic and Statistical 5 (DSM-5) diagnosis for autism. Diagnostic methods are matters for appropriately qualified professionals. Schools and local authorities have duties to identify, assess and make suitable provision for children with special educational needs whether they have a medical diagnosis or not.

  • Khalid Mahmood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Khalid Mahmood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Khalid Mahmood on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will direct the Park View Educational Trust to disclose the sources of other income, donations or fundraisers as identified in their accounts.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Under the terms of their funding agreements with my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, all academy trusts are required to prepare annual financial statements in accordance with company, charity and public accountability requirements. Academy trusts are required to have their financial statements audited by a registered auditor, including the regularity of income and expenditure. Disclosure requirements are set out in the Academies Accounts Direction, which is available at:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-accounts-direction-2013

    “

  • Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the additional financial contributions made by parents to top up care for children with statements of special educational need.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education has not made such an estimate. Where a child has a statement of special educational needs (SEN), it should detail the provision that the child requires to meet their SEN. The local authority has a duty to ensure that the provision set out in the statement is made.

    Where a parent feels that the provision specified in a statement is no longer sufficient, they can request a reassessment. They can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal for Special Educational Needs and Disability against any decision not to re-assess, or if they do not agree with the provision set out in the resulting statement.

    The Children Act 2014 makes provision for education, health and care plans (EHC plans) to replace statements. EHC plans will cover the full range of the child’s needs. They will be subject to the same protections and rights of appeal as statements. In addition there will be a new duty on health commissioners to arrange health provision set out in the EHC plan.