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  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 20 January 2016, Official Report, column 1411, if he will set out the specific activities being undertaken by British military personnel in providing training, advice and help to the Saudi Arabian military.

    Penny Mordaunt

    We have provided education and training courses to Saudi Arabian Military personnel under existing government-to-government arrangements including the Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context, the Strategic Leadership Programmes, and Initial Officer training courses. These courses expose Saudi Military personnel to UK policy, and promote concepts of accountability, compliance with International Humanitarian Law and transparency. They are important in building skills which enable Saudi Arabia to deal appropriately with their own security problems, thereby contributing to regional security

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of steel used in projects and in equipment procured by his Department in each of the last six years was manufactured in the UK.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Steel has been sourced by our contractors from a range of UK and international suppliers, reflecting the need to ensure a competitive price and delivery at the required time and quality, and UK suppliers have made a significant contribution to this.

    Supply chains are complex and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold a complete, centralised record of steel procurement for projects and equipment, either in terms of quantity or country of origin, over the past six years. But for the largest defence procurement project during this period, construction of the two Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers, some 77,000 tonnes out of a total of 82,000 tonnes of steel used was manufactured in the UK.

    Our new Government guidelines, which have been implemented in the MOD, will help UK steel suppliers to compete effectively for future defence projects.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what process the trade supplement for an RAF weapon technician was decided under Armed Forces Pay Reform.

    Penny Mordaunt

    For Other Ranks, the Ministry of Defence uses a long-standing and rigorous process of Job Evaluation (JE) to determine the pay treatment of each trade. In the current binary pay model which consists of High and Low Pay Bands, JE evidence assigns the role of the RAF Weapon Technician to the High Pay Band. In the new pay system, with its four supplements and greater flexibility, the same JE evidence assigns the Weapon Technician to Supplement 2, while other trades in the RAF’s Trade Group 1 (TG1) (Aircraft Engineering) are assigned to Supplement 3. This does not mean there has been a reduction in the Weapon Technician’s technical status or intrinsic value. It reflects the fact that the other trades in TG1 continue to score higher in the JE process and therefore continue to be treated differently in pay terms.

    No-one will take a pay cut on transition to the new model and Service personnel will continue to be eligible for any Government approved pay award. Incremental progressions will also continue to be a feature of the new pay model, though rationalised.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the trade supplement for a RAF weapon technician is no longer grouped with aircraft engineering trades under Armed Forces Pay Reform.

    Penny Mordaunt

    For Other Ranks, the Ministry of Defence uses a long-standing and rigorous process of Job Evaluation (JE) to determine the pay treatment of each trade. In the current binary pay model which consists of High and Low Pay Bands, JE evidence assigns the role of the RAF Weapon Technician to the High Pay Band. In the new pay system, with its four supplements and greater flexibility, the same JE evidence assigns the Weapon Technician to Supplement 2, while other trades in the RAF’s Trade Group 1 (TG1) (Aircraft Engineering) are assigned to Supplement 3. This does not mean there has been a reduction in the Weapon Technician’s technical status or intrinsic value. It reflects the fact that the other trades in TG1 continue to score higher in the JE process and therefore continue to be treated differently in pay terms.

    No-one will take a pay cut on transition to the new model and Service personnel will continue to be eligible for any Government approved pay award. Incremental progressions will also continue to be a feature of the new pay model, though rationalised.

  • Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the continued delivery of essential mobile telephone infrastructure to rural areas after the completion of the Mobile Infrastructure Project on 31 March 2016.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Improving mobile coverage remains a priority for the Government, and our landmark agreement in December 2014 with the four mobile network operators (MNOs) to provide voice and SMS text coverage to at least 90% of the UK landmass by 2017 will significantly improve coverage in the UK. It guarantees £5 billion of investment in mobile infrastructure, and as a result mobile services will come to some areas for the first time. It will halve partial not-spots (where the is coverage from at least one MNO, but not all four), and cut total not spots by two thirds by end 2017. Additionally, Telefonica has a licence obligation to deliver indoor 4G coverage to 98% of premises in the UK by 2017. Other MNOs have indicated that they will match this commitment.

  • Meg Hillier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Meg Hillier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Hillier on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to enable special circumstances to be taken into account when making the decision to withhold housing benefit from people who are away from their homes for a period of more than four weeks.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The temporary absence rules allow Housing Benefit to continue where under the normal conditions of entitlement it would not do so. They are therefore extensions of entitlement rather than withdrawals of it.

    It is the intention from April 2016, that Housing Benefit claimants who leave Great Britain for longer than 4 weeks will no longer be able to get Housing Benefit while they are away. This aligns the Housing Benefit rules with other benefits including Universal Credit.

    We intend that the period of 4 weeks could be extended in exceptional circumstances (for example, if their reason for being abroad is due to the death of a family member).

  • Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to reduce the council tax referendum level from 2 per cent to take account of his policy on the social care precept; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    My rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark) set out his proposed Council Tax Referendum principles for 2016-17 alongside the provisional local government finance settlement on 17 December 2015 [Official Report, Column 1722]. The full proposals are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/council-tax-in-2016-to-2017. Final referendum principles for 2016-17 will be laid before the House for approval in due course.

    “

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of his Department’s right to buy pilots.

    Brandon Lewis

    I refer the rt. hon. member to the Written Ministerial Statement of 19 January, HCWS476, which sets out the Department’s intention to fund administration costs.

    The Statement can be viewed at:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2016-01-19/HCWS476/

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the number of housing association tenants who will become eligible for the right to buy by January 2017.

    Brandon Lewis

    As stated by my rt. hon. Friend, the Prime Minister in his speech of the 7 October, the voluntary agreement between the sector and Government will make Right to Buy equivalent discounts available to 1.3 million housing association tenants.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the thresholds for council homes to be taken into account when calculating the levy on councils contained in part 4 of the Housing and Planning Bill.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Housing and Planning Bill requires the Secretary of State to define ‘high value’ in regulations.

    We are currently in the process of updating data that will be used to help inform the high value threshold. Further details will be available shortly.