UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2014

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was paid in (a) year-end and (b) in-year bonuses to officials of his Department in each of the last three years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    In line with Civil Service pay guidance, DWP rewards employees for their performance through either end of year non-consolidated payments and/or in-year payments. In year payments are limited to 0.23% of the total DWP paybill.

    Employees who have attained agreed performance levels as part of their performance review may receive an end of year non-consolidated payment based on their grade and end of year performance marking. End of year payments are limited to 1.9% of the total DWP paybill

    At the end of the 2012-13 performance year DWP employed 104,864 staff
    (a) End of year non-consolidated payments
    £44,758,579 paid to staff in delegated and SCS grades
    (b) In-year voucher or cash payments
    £6,515,427 paid to staff in delegated grades (SCS grades not eligible)

    At the end of the 2013-14 performance year DWP employed 95,923 staff
    (a) End of year non-consolidated payments
    £41,488,229 paid to staff in delegated and SCS grades
    (b) In-year voucher or cash payments
    £5,030,126 paid to staff in delegated grades (SCS grades not eligible)

    At the end of the 2014-15 performance year DWP employed 90,018 staff
    (a) End of year non-consolidated payments
    £38,141,345 paid to staff in delegated and SCS grades
    (b) In-year voucher or cash payments
    £3,991,001 paid to staff in delegated grades (SCS grades not eligible)

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what further work remains to be undertaken before he takes a final decision on the future of funding of insolvency litigation.

    Dominic Raab

    The Ministry of Justice is in the process of considering the way forward in relation to the application to insolvency litigation of the no win no fee reforms in Part 2 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of shale gas extraction on aquifers in East Yorkshire.

    Andrea Leadsom

    In the UK, we have been successfully regulating for gas and oil drilling for over 50 years and have tough regulations in place to prevent water contamination.

    All hydraulic fracturing operations will require a groundwater activity permit. The Environment Agency will not grant a permit where the risks to groundwater are unacceptable. They have powers to impose conditions to ensure proper protection or to prohibit activities which they consider to pose unacceptable risks.

    The Infrastructure Act 2015 required the Government to specify protected groundwater source areas within which hydraulic fracturing cannot take place, which we did in draft regulations debated in the House on 27 October. They define these areas as being equivalent to Source Protection Zones 1, which applies to those areas close to drinking water sources where there is the greatest risk associated with groundwater contamination. This will reinforce the regulatory approach, as it is consistent with the approach taken by the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales to control the risks from other groundwater activities.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps she has taken to promote the importance of access to safe water and sanitation to improve climate change resilience.

    Grant Shapps

    Through the International Climate Fund (ICF) the UK government is providing significant investment to help improve water security and support sustainable growth to reduce poverty.

    For example, a UK-funded programme in South Asia is enabling seven countries to manage their shared water resources more effectively and to reduce the risk of conflict. This will help improve the lives of the 700 million people living beside the great Himalayan Rivers of the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra.

    Last month the Prime Minister announced that UK climate funding will increase by at least 50% over the next five years. The UK also reaffirmed its commitment to achieve a 50:50 balance between adaptation and mitigation spend over this period.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Attorney General, what steps he is taking to promote the use of credit unions in the work of the Law Officers’ Departments; and if he will make a statement.

    Jeremy Wright

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to question 13524 on the 2nd of November by my Hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to promote the use of credit unions in the work of the Government Equalities Office; and if she will make a statement.

    Caroline Dinenage

    I refer The Hon Member for Harrow West to the reply given by Her Majesty’s Treasury to PQ 13524 on 2 November 2015.

  • Ian Paisley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Paisley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to preserve the teaching of Design and Technology within school curriculums.

    Nick Gibb

    Design and Technology (D&T) is compulsory in the national curriculum in England at key stages 1 to 3. By introducing a new, more rigorous D&T curriculum in 2014 and reforming the subject’s GCSE and A level qualifications, we have taken important steps to make D&T a more attractive subject to study, paving the way for young people to progress into careers in a vast range of engineering and design fields.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that people involved in the conflict in Yemen are able to access humanitarian and commercial aid,

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Intense fighting and insecurity on the ground in Yemen has resulted in restrictions being placed on commercial and humanitarian shipping, and difficulties in distributing food and fuel to those who need it. The most important action to address the humanitarian situation, beyond a ceasefire, is to facilitate access for commercial and humanitarian goods, which all parties to the conflict have a responsibility to ensure. The UK continues to monitor this issue, and has engaged frequently with the Government of Yemen and members of the Saudi Arabian-led coalition on facilitating access. We have emphasised with all parties to the conflict the importance of the non-politicisation of aid. There has been some recent progress on shipping access, which we welcome, but this needs to be maintained and increased in the future. We will continue to work with the Government of Yemen, members of the coalition, and the UN to see sustained progress.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much additional funding his Department will make available to support the retraining of steelworkers recently made redundant.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is continuing to work closely with local Task Forces in Redcar and Scunthorpe to support individuals and businesses affected by SSI’s closure and Tata’s recent announcement.

    In Redcar, as part of a support package worth up to £80 million, we have agreed over £40 million of support aimed at skills and jobs creation following proposals put forward by the Task Force chaired by Amanda Skelton:

    • £3m has been made available to four Further Education colleges in the region to support re-training activity, as well as a further £2.65m skills funding to plug any gaps in skills provision not available via the Further Education Offer;
    • £1.7m to ensure that the fifty apprentices who were with SSI can continue their apprenticeships with alternative employers;
    • A £16.5m Jobs and Skills Fund to help local firms employ former SSI workers or their spouses in full-time or part-time jobs for a minimum of three years;
    • £16m support for firms in the SSI supply chain and wider Tees Valley impacted by the Redcar steelworks closure, to safeguard jobs, provide the stimulus to create new posts and provide expert assistance to help them expand their business
    • £750,000 to fund advice and grants to start up a new business.

    In Scunthorpe, we have announced a package, worth up to £9 million, jointly with Tata, to support Tata steelworkers, the local economy and supply chain. We are working closely with a local Task Force, chaired by Baroness Liz Redfern, to deliver this support.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of times his Department has missed the statutory time limit for responding to Freedom of Information requests in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015 to date.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government publishes statistics on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within central government, including on timeliness and the number of requests rejected by each government department. These reports can be accessed at the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.

    “