Tag: 2014

  • Lord Stone of Blackheath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Stone of Blackheath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stone of Blackheath on 2014-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 26 June (WA 177), what were the exact amounts of money given by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development to the Arab Partnership Economic Facility in the financial years 2012–13 and 2013–14; and what are the projected amounts for 2014–15 and 2015–16.

    Baroness Northover

    The FCO and DFID support Egypt through the Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF), which is funded and managed by DFID, the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), which is co-funded by the FCO and DFID and is managed by the FCO, and the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MoD) Conflict Pool. We estimate that since 2011 approximately £17m has been spent in Egypt through regional programmes funded by the APEF; due to the regional nature of this funding we are not able to further disaggregate the amounts spent. A small amount of APEF funding has been spent by the Embassy on local-level economic projects, as follows: £129,538 in 2012-2013; £784,801 in 2013-14; and £629,000 in 2014-2015. All APEF funds for 2014/15 have now been allocated.

    Through the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), £1.5m was provided in financial year 2012-2013; £1.3m in 2013-14; and £1.3m has been allocated for 2014-15.

    Through the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MOD) Conflict Pool (CP) £264,386 was provided in 2012-13; £458,370 in 2013-2014; and approximately £2m is allocated for 2014/15.

    We are not currently able to provide projected amounts for 2015/16. From 2015/16 onwards, the Conflict Pool will be replaced by the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), which will have a global budget of £1billion. CSSF allocations by country and according to government department will be finalised in early 2015. FCO and DFID funding for the Arab Partnership for 2015/16 has not yet been agreed.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many applicants for the Start-Up Loans Scheme have been received from Northern Ireland; and what value of such loans have been provided for new businesses in Northern Ireland since the scheme was launched.

    Matthew Hancock

    To date there have been 913 applications for Start-Up Loans in Northern Ireland including applications that have been withdrawn, declined or still in progress. Of these applications, 120 loans with a value of £562,110 have been drawn down to date.

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the £72.3 billion allocated in the Defence and Equipment Plan 2013 supporting existing in-service equipment, how much of that allocation is devoted to (a) nuclear propulsion and (b) nuclear weapons.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Of the £72.3 billion referred to in the 2013 Equipment Plan we plan to allocate to the support of in-service equipment over the next decade, £1.6 billion is for nuclear propulsion and £13.0 billion for maintaining the Trident Strategic Weapons System, including costs associated with the nuclear warhead.

  • Austin Mitchell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Austin Mitchell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Austin Mitchell on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have been prosecuted for setting intertidal nets in England in each of the last three years.

    George Eustice

    Prosecutions for setting intertidal nets in England are undertaken, for the most part, by the Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authorities (IFCAs). The ten IFCAs manage sea fisheries resources to six nautical miles around the English coast.

    · In 2011, North Eastern IFCA made one prosecution relating to intertidal nets and Cornwall IFCA had one case where a prosecution was commenced alongside another, potentially more serious, non-fisheries offence.

    · In 2012 there were no prosecutions.

    · In 2013, North Eastern IFCA made two prosecutions.

    · To date in 2014, there are two cases under investigation by Cornwall IFCA,

    one case under investigation by North Eastern IFCA, and three pending cases with Southern IFCA. These cases will not necessarily result in a prosecution in a court.

    In all of these years there will be cases where warnings or cautions were issued or seizures were made instead of formal prosecutions.

    Environment Agency records indicate that 12 people have been prosecuted in the past three years for setting an intertidal net which targeted or caught salmon or sea trout for which they did not have an Environment Agency licence to do so in England.

    The River Tweed Commission (RTC) has its own legislation to control netting both in England and in Scotland which is included in The Scotland Act 1998 (River Tweed) Order 2006. In England, the RTC took seven prosecutions relating to intertidal nets in 2011, five prosecutions in 2012, and five prosecutions in 2013.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will include prostate cancer in the next Be Clear on Cancer awareness campaign; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Be Clear on Cancercampaigns are tested at a local and regional level, before a decision is taken on whether to run them nationally throughout England.

    Public Health England is actively considering potential local pilot activity specifically targeting prostate cancer within Black African-Caribbean men, due to their significantly increased risk of developing prostate cancer.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will strengthen levels of protection of elderly and vulnerable people by allowing the Office of the Public Guardian to investigate abuses of power of attorney in cases where these powers have been revoked.

    Simon Hughes

    The Government is committed to protecting elderly and vulnerable people, and to ensuring that anyone responsible for abuse is dealt with appropriately.

    The Public Guardian has power to investigate cases where concerns are raised about the actions of a person acting under a power of attorney, and to apply to the Court to revoke the power of attorney where necessary to prevent abuse. The Public Guardian will refer cases to health and care authorities, who can act under statutory safeguarding powers to protect an individual who may be at risk, and to the police if he suspects a criminal offence has been committed.

    We are currently considering whether the Public Guardian needs additional powers to strengthen his role in safeguarding elderly and vulnerable people, including the power to continue an investigation after a power of attorney or court order has been revoked or disclaimed. This would require changes to primary legislation.

    Data on prosecutions for fraud, or for ill-treatment and neglect under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, do not specify whether the allegation relates to a person acting under a power of attorney. The Government’s response to the House of Lords Select Committee’s report on the Mental Capacity Act includes a commitment to review the use of the criminal offence under s44 of the Act.

  • James Arbuthnot – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    James Arbuthnot – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Arbuthnot on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department intends to acquire aircraft to carry out long range search and rescue at sea; and if he will make a statement.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Department for Transport uses its own search and rescue helicopters and those of the military to provide search and rescue today. The Department for Transport will also draw upon other resources including other military assets and assets from neighbouring states under long established arrangements for international cooperation. The Convention of the High Seas also enables the Department to divert merchant ships to provide assistance to those in distress where it is reasonable to do so.

  • Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2014-06-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements local authorities will have in place, following the abolition of the paper Vehicle Access Duty tax disc from 1 October, to check the status of a vehicle parked in a bay or location authorised only for use by a disabled driver.

    Baroness Kramer

    It is for individual local authorities to decide how to establish the licensing status of vehicles parked in areas restricted to disabled drivers following the abolition of the vehicle tax disc.

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has liaised with local authorities about the abolition of the tax disc and provided a broad range of information to help inform their customers. A specific email address has been established to deal with any queries from local authorities and a workshop has been organised for 2 July.

    The DVLA has also enhanced its online vehicle enquiry system, which now includes information about the taxation class of a vehicle.

  • Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 29W, on gold: prices, and the academic draft report of February 2014, by Professor Rosa Abrantes, Adviser to the EU and International Organisation of Securities Commission on Financial Benchmarks, entitled Gold Price Fix, and her reports of systemic manipulation of the twice daily gold fix over several years, if he will make an assessment of the effect of (a) US regulatory authorities’ interventions in the gold market and (b) such interventions on gold market-related securities in ISAs.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government monitors all aspects of the gold market. Although no specific assessment of US regulatory interventions has been made, the Government is committed to taking action, whenever necessary, to ensure the efficient functioning of these essential markets. In order to raise standards of conduct in the financial system the Government has launched a joint review by the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority into the way wholesale financial markets operate, including commodity markets.

  • Adrian Sanders – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Adrian Sanders – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adrian Sanders on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many foreign visits the Minister for Sport, Tourism and Equalities has made arising from her departmental roles; and if he will make a statement.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    Details of Ministers’ visits overseas are published quarterly and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/expenses-and-hospitality

    The latest data available at this time is:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dcms-meetings-and-hospitality-data-october-to-december-2013

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