Tag: 2014

  • 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, how many Freedom of Information requests were rejected by government departments 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.

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  • Catherine West – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of developments in the human rights situation in the Tibet Autonomous Region and ethnic Tibetan prefectures in China since March 2013.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I most recently set out the Government’s position on the human rights situation in Tibet during a Westminster Hall Debate on Tibet on 18 June.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2015 to Question 12217, on judicial co-operation with Saudi Arabia, what the possible areas for co-operation are.

    Dominic Raab

    No work has yet been undertaken by the Ministry of Justice as a result of the Memorandum of Understanding.

  • Chris Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Chris Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Green on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support his Department provides to local authorities seeking a devolution deal.

    James Wharton

    Officials in my Department as well as the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Her Majesty’s Treasury are in regular dialogue with local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships about devolution deals. In addition, a large number of Government departments and agencies are providing more specialist policy expertise both in negotiating and implementing devolution deals.

  • Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much of the proposed apprenticeships levy employers will be able to claim back through the e-voucher.

    Nick Boles

    My Rt hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will announce further details of the apprenticeship levy at the Spending Review, including the scope and rate of the levy and how it will operate with respect to the Devolved Administrations.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment her Department has made of the ability of the UK solar industry to meet service demand; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    As set out in the November 2013 Renewable Energy Roadmap Update, analysis indicated a potential deployment range of 7-20 GW (equivalent to 6-18 TWh) of solar PV at all scales, with 20GW being our estimate of the technical maximum level of solar PV deployment by 2020 on the basis of grid and other constraints. Solar PV in the UK was 8.007GW as of August 20151.

    In the absence of cost effective storage, solar PV can make a contribution to meeting electricity demand but this will be limited by the nature of its diurnal cycle.

    REF:

    1. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solar-pv-deployment-august-2015

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  • Jessica Morden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jessica Morden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government made during recent discussions with the Chinese Prime Minister in agreeing a timetable for closing legal ivory markets at international and domestic levels.

    Rory Stewart

    China is a key partner for the Government to work with in combating the illegal trade in wildlife. In the UK-China Joint Statement on Building a Global Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century, issued on 22nd October on the occasion of the State Visit of President Xi Jinping, the UK and China recognised the importance and urgency of combating the illegal wildlife trade, and committed to take active measures to tackle this global challenge. We warmly welcome the recent announcement by China that it intends, in due course, to close its legal domestic market for ivory, and will continue to work with China to encourage this to happen as soon as feasible.

    The Government is committed to maintaining the current global ban on any new international trade in ivory. In addition, the UK does not permit trade in raw ivory tusks of any age and we are pressing for this approach to be taken across the whole of the European Union.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-10-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of (1) crime against older people, and (2) fear of crime amongst older people; and what steps they are taking to address both the incidence and fear of crime against older people.

    Lord Bates

    The Home Office has made no specific assessment of the level of crime against older people, and fear of crime amongst older people. The attached tablesshow figures from the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) for the year to March 2015 for (1) the percentage of adults in each age group who were victims of crime, and (2) the percentage of adults in each age group who had high levels of worry about crime.

    Police reform is working and the Crime Survey shows that overall crime is down by more than a quarter since 2010. We continue to develop the role of our elected and accountable Police and Crime Commissioners to shape policing services to local needs and priorities, as they are now doing in commissioning victims’ services, setting policing priorities and driving reform.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, 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.

    Joseph Johnson

    Non-consolidated performance related pay is paid to reward excellence, for example to recognise and incentivise those responsible for delivering high quality public services and savings to the taxpayer. These one-off payments are not pensionable. Since 2010-11 the Government has restricted awards for senior civil servants to the top 25% of performers (from 65% in previous years), saving around £15 million overall.

    An element of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills overall pay award for staff below the Senior Civil Service (SCS) is allocated to non-consolidated, non-pensionable pay related to performance. There are two types of award: in-year awards and annual performance awards.

    Performance awards for the SCS are part of the pay system across the whole Senior Civil Service, and are used to reward high performance sustained throughout the year.

    Information in the table shows the cost of each of these type of awards in each of the last three years.

    Year

    Non-SCS End year Annual Performance Awards

    Non-SCS In-Year Awards

    SCS Annual Performance Awards

    Total

    2013

    £1,540,773

    £332,080

    £577,925

    £2,450,778

    2014

    £990,360

    £492,228

    £576,000

    £2,058,588

    2015

    £1,288,474*

    £605,608

    £539,500

    £2,433,582

    * A few end year payments still to be made so this figure is the latest and may increase

  • Paula Sherriff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paula Sherriff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to encourage clinically commissioning groups to share best practice in improving diabetes care outcomes.

    Jane Ellison

    The Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Outcomes Indicator Set provides clear, comparative information for CCGs, Health and Wellbeing Boards, local authorities, patients and the public about the quality of health services commissioned by CCGs and the associated health outcomes. Through publicly sharing this information, CCGs and general practitioner practices can see where they stand in comparison with their peers and take action where improvement is needed.

    NHS England has also recently agreed to extend the roll out of its Right Care programme to all CCGs over the next four years. This will ensure that, where local diabetes services and outcomes are poorer compared to demographic peers, suitable improvement programmes will be implemented, with the learning shared across all CCGs.