The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-07-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people for whom Youth Contract wage incentives have been paid since April 2012 have been (a) male, (b) female, (c) disabled and (d) Black and minority ethnic.
Esther McVey
The information is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many firms have received assistance under the Direct Lending Scheme to date.
Matthew Hancock
There has been significant interest in UK Export Finance’s (UKEF) Direct Lending Facility (DLF) since its enhancements were announced in the Budget. Since it was relaunched on 30 June 2014, the pipeline of potential export contracts has developed and now involves 28 UK-based exporters of varying size and export experience. As it stands, the pipeline has 35 potential export contracts that range from £3m to over £350m. Most importantly, the DLF pipeline is growing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when (a) due diligence will be completed and (b) funds will be drawn down by winning bidders under the Local Growth Fund.
Greg Clark
Growth Deals were announced with all 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) on 7 July. This followed a highly competitive process in which the Government assessed LEP Strategic Economic Plans against the published assessment criteria including value for money and deliverability. The funding for these deals will be in place for all LEPs by April 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2014-07-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what extra revenue HM Revenue and Customs has received since entry into force of the UK-Swiss Confederation Taxation Co-operation Agreement; and what discussions the Government is having with other jurisdictions on similar agreements on tax avoidance.
Mr David Gauke
The Exchequer has received over £1.1bn it would not have received without the agreement. This includes Swiss yield that has been disclosed in the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility since entering into the Agreement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Northern Ireland Executive’s offer to firefighters on pensions is cost neutral.
Penny Mordaunt
The pension arrangements to apply to firefighters in Northern Ireland are a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive. Northern Ireland is not covered by the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 which requires a Normal Pension Age of 60 to apply to firefighters in England, Scotland and Wales.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department will spend on the D-5 missile life extension programme in each of the next five years.
Mr Philip Dunne
Forecast and planned expenditure on the D5 missile life extension programme for the current and next financial years (FY) are as follows:
FY 2014-15 £27.1 million (Forecast)
FY 2015-16 £35.0 million (Planned)
Spending plans for 2016-17 and beyond have not yet been agreed and will be set as part of the Government’s spending review process. Therefore, I am withholding details of the proposed spending beyond 2015-16 as to release this information would be likely to impact upon the formulation of Government policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Annette Brooke on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is in the remit of Ofsted to investigate pupils’ safety from asbestos in school buildings when it inspects schools; and if she will make a statement.
Mr David Laws
It is not in Ofsted’s remit to assess asbestos management in schools. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the lead regulator on managing asbestos.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 305W, on housing energy, what programmes, projects and policies were funded under the financial support allocated to the Green Deal Programme in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14.
Amber Rudd
Financial support allocated to the Green Deal Programme has chiefly funded the following projects and policies:
Delivery of these schemes was, or is, funded by the obligated energy companies, not Government, and administration is undertaken by Ofgem. Ofgem is funded by DECC for the administration of CESP and ECO.
Delivery of the Energy Saving Advice Service – a telephone response service taking calls from the public and the industry, providing advice to people enquiring about information on the Green Deal or household energy efficiency measures. This service remains in operation.
Funding for the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body – the independent governance body for the Green Deal supply chain. This remains in operation.
DECC’s investment in The Green Deal Finance Company.
Core Cities – a project to enable bids from Local Authorities of the Core Cities to install energy-saving measures in their housing stock, mostly in 2012/13. This has been completed.
Green Deal Cashback – a scheme to provide grant funding to support households in the installation of energy-saving measures. The scheme opened in January 2013 and closed to new applicants on 30th June 2014.
Green Deal Communities – a scheme to provide funding for Local Authorities to implement energy-saving measures in their housing stock. Funding was available in 2013/14.
Supporting IT development and systems – the procurement, supervision and control of IT systems to enable Energy Performance Certificates, Green Deal Assessments and Green Deal financing to be delivered to applicants.
Funding the administration by Ofgem of:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to restore upland peat sites.
Dan Rogerson
Defra has a range of measures in place to support the restoration of upland peat sites. These include protection through statutory area designations such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). In addition there are specific incentives for peatland restoration in agri-environment schemes. In 2013 we committed £31.2 million through Environmental Stewardship (covering around 98,000ha) to management options for the maintenance and restoration of moorland habitats. A further £4.1million was committed in capital grants for grip blocking. These are the key options in Environmental Stewardship that contribute to the management of upland peat. This support will continue to be provided under the new environmental land management scheme.
The Dark Peak Nature Improvement Area (NIA) in the Peak District, one of the twelve NIAs announced in 2012, is focused on improving upland peatland habitats across an area of 25,000ha.
In September 2013 we launched the pilot UK Peatland Code which provides a basis for business sponsorship of peatland restoration. An initial suite of restoration projects from across the UK have been identified covering over 25,000 ha of mainly blanket bog.
Upland peat restoration is also being addressed through Defra’s Research and Development Programme, with over £1 million committed between 2010 and 2015 to identify restoration techniques with the best environmental outcomes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Hemming on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the opening of the airport on St Helena does not lead to the development of child sex tourism in that territory.
Mark Simmonds
Safeguarding children in St Helena is a critical priority for the St Helena Government and the UK. Whilst Territory Governments have the principal responsibility for ensure the safeguarding of children in the Overseas Territories, the UK provides practical assistance and support. DFID and the FCO have been supporting child safeguarding initiatives in the OT’s for the last nine years, most recently through the Safeguarding Children in the Overseas Territories (SCOT) programme (2013-2016), which followed on from an earlier SCOT programme (2009-2013) and a regional Child Protection Programme (CPP, 2005-2008). This new programme will focus on gaining a deeper understanding of the problem including how to detect, prevent and address child abuse.
Following recent further allegations relating to child abuse in St Helena, the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs agreed to establish an independent panel of experts to investigate these specific allegations and related matters. In response to these allegations the island’s Executive Council said: “We have taken great steps on St Helena to protect our children and vulnerable people against abuse of any kind. We know that there are concerns, as there are in any community, but solid progress has been made in improving our safeguarding capabilities. We know there is still more to do, and we will continue to strive for further improvements