The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2014-06-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2013-14.
Andrea Leadsom
The 2013-14 appraisal data is not available yet.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Wallace on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will amend paragraph 98 of the National Planning Policy Framework to require applicants for onshore wind energy developments to demonstrate an overall national need for renewable energy.
Kris Hopkins
Inappropriately sited wind turbines can cause significant harm to the local environment. Hence, last year, we changed planning guidance to strengthen the protection of landscape and heritage in relation to onshore wind.
Looking forward, we are keeping planning policy on renewable energy under review and will consider whether any further steps are appropriate in the light of this monitoring. We are open to representations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Gibb on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what current contracts (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department’s executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies hold with the Educational Testing Service or any of that organisation’s subsidiaries.
Anna Soubry
The Ministry of Defence, including Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies, does not currently have any contracts with the Educational Testing Service or its subsidiary companies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Reckless on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teacher training bursaries for (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15 have been allocated to high-priority subjects of physics and mathematics at each of the four bursary tiers.
Mr David Laws
Provisional figures on the number of trainees and proportion with a first or second class honours degree by subject are published in the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Census in November each year. Finalised figures are published the following year. Provisional figures for 2013-14 are available at:
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the average turnaround is on applications for funding under the Green Deal scheme.
Gregory Barker
Applications made to the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund which comply with the scheme terms and conditions will typically be turned around and a voucher issued within 5 working days. Vouchers are redeemable once the customer has completed their installation of energy saving home improvements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterparts in the Israeli government about the treatment of Palestinian child detainees in Israel.
Hugh Robertson
The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Mr Grayling) raised the treatment of child detainees with the Israeli Supreme Court President during his visit to Israel in May. I wrote to the Israeli Attorney General on this issue on 31 March 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 384W, on Western Sahara, if the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa will meet representatives of POLISARIO, the administering power de facto in the area east of the Berm dividing Western Sahara, to discuss security and terrorism.
Hugh Robertson
Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials regularly meet POLISARIO Front representatives to discuss Western Sahara. Officials also undertake visits to the region, and to the refugee camps at Tindouf. British Ministers do not have direct contact with the POLISARIO Front.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2014-06-30.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure gender equality in civil service salaries.
Mr Francis Maude
The median gender pay gap for full-time civil servants has narrowed since 2010 but we must continue to press to narrow the gap further, including by reminding departments of their clear legal obligations on equal pay and conducting equal pay audits. Salaries for new appointments must be justified on the basis of the skills and experience necessary to do the job. For staff below the Senior Civil Service (SCS), this is for individual departments to manage. For the centrally-managed SCS, pay proposals have regard to the impact on women.
More widely, the Government is concerned that a long-standing majority of women in the overall civil service, does not translate into a similar proportion in the SCS. I have commissioned work to address this issue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Walley on 2014-06-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he has made in reducing levels of tax avoidance in the UK’s Overseas Territories.
Mr David Gauke
The UK Government is at the forefront of the global response to international aggressive tax planning and cross-border evasion, driving the international tax, transparency and trade agenda forward under the UK’s G8 presidency in 2013, and fully backing the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project.
Under the Prime Minister’s leadership of the G8, the UK has led a global leap forward in international tax transparency, meaning there are fewer places to hide. We are imposing tough new sanctions for those who do not come forward under HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) offshore disclosure facilities. There will be serious consequences for those who continue to believe they can hide wealth offshore, when later on this year HMRC will consult on a new strict liability criminal offence that could mean jail for those who do not declare taxable offshore income. HMRC will also consult on tougher civil sanctions. In addition, last year the Government entered into a series of Intergovernmental Agreements with the overseas territories which will ensure that from September 2016 HMRC will receive details of UK residents who have bank accounts and other investments in the overseas territories.
HMRC co-operates with tax authorities in other countries, in areas such as exchange of information and recovery of tax. Following the commitments made at the G8, all of the UK’s Overseas Territories with financial centres and the Crown Dependencies have taken significant steps forward on tax transparency putting them at the forefront of this agenda globally. In addition to signing agreements with the UK for the automatic exchange of tax information, they have also agreed to be early adopters of the new global standard for automatic exchange of tax information, committing to an ambitious timetable of implementation as members of a group of 44 countries and jurisdictions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in (a) York, (b) North Yorkshire, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) England received free school meals in 1995-96 and in each year since.
Mr David Laws
Information on the number and percentage of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in York local authority, North Yorkshire local authority, Yorkshire and the Humber region and England for 2002 to 2014 has been placed in the Library of the House.
Comparable data for earlier years are not available.