The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government response to the Environmental Audit Committee’s Eleventh Report, on Plastic Bags, HC 861 will be completed and sent to the Committee.
Dan Rogerson
The Government is considering the Committee’s recommendations and will respond as soon as details have been finalised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Philip Davies on Communities and Local Government.
1
Brandon Lewis
Numbers of firefighters are collected annually from each fire and rescue authority, and this includes profiles by age and by sex. The latest data are shown in the tables.
These show that in England in March 2013 there were 1,755 female firefighters, and 1,040 firefighters over the age of 55. Separate age profiles for males and females are not currently collected.
Firefighter numbers by rank and sex, England, March 2013
|
Men |
Women |
|
|
Brigade Manager |
138 |
4 |
|
Area Manager |
176 |
6 |
|
Group Manager |
552 |
13 |
|
Station Manager |
1,453 |
40 |
|
Watch Manager |
5,111 |
143 |
|
Crew Manager |
5,782 |
172 |
|
Firefighter |
25,822 |
1,377 |
|
Total |
39,034 |
1,755 |
Firefighter numbers by rank and age, England, March 2013
|
17-24 |
25-35 |
36-45 |
46-55 |
56-65 |
66+ |
Age Not Stated |
|
|
Brigade Manager |
0 |
0 |
29 |
102 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
|
Area Manager |
0 |
2 |
55 |
120 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
|
Group Manager |
0 |
7 |
185 |
347 |
26 |
0 |
0 |
|
Station Manager |
0 |
47 |
534 |
875 |
37 |
0 |
0 |
|
Watch Manager |
1 |
353 |
1,974 |
2,651 |
273 |
1 |
1 |
|
Crew Manager |
11 |
1,107 |
2,607 |
2,023 |
202 |
3 |
1 |
|
Firefighter |
1,389 |
9,222 |
9,803 |
6,290 |
478 |
4 |
13 |
|
Total |
1,401 |
10,738 |
15,187 |
12,408 |
1,032 |
8 |
15 |
The proportion of firefighters who are women has risen since 2010.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adrian Sanders on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Russian annexation of Crimea on the Moldovan government’s commitment to signing an Association Agreement with the EU.
Mr David Lidington
The Government of the Republic of Moldova began to negotiate an Association Agreement with the EU in January 2010. Negotiations concluded in June 2013 and the text was initialled at the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit in November 2013. Throughout this period, the Moldovan government has been clear in its wish to achieve signature of the Association Agreement as early as possible. This position has not changed in recent weeks.
The Conclusions of the European Council held on 20 and 21 March 2014 confirmed the aim of the EU to sign the Association Agreement no later than June 2014. The UK is working with our European partners to ensure the conditions are in place to meet this deadline, including through the appropriate Parliamentary scrutiny.
The UK supports Moldova’s choice of European integration, which will help to bring greater stability, prosperity and democracy to all Moldovan citizens. We have been clear in dealing with Russia that Moldova should be able to make its own choices, including on European integration, without pressure from third countries.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by col 970).” on Energy and Climate Change.
2
Baroness Verma
We anticipate that some generators will seek to establish the terms of any PPA and financing arrangements before they participate in the CfD allocation round, in order to understand better their likely costs. Such conditional PPAs could take a number of forms, from indicative terms to a signed contract.
In 2013, DECC officials established an industry Market Readiness group to prepare the market for offering CfD PPAs. There are now a number of PPA providers discussing terms with potential developers but these discussions are commercially sensitive.
The Offtaker of Last Resort will allow generators to develop their projects using shorter-term PPAs with smaller suppliers. We are on track to introduce enabling regulations to have the OLR mechanism in place ahead of the first CfD allocation in Autumn 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to allow the most vulnerable Syrian refugees to come to Britain.
James Brokenshire
The first group of Syrian refugees arrived in the UK on 25 March as part of the
Government’s Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) Scheme. The next group of
refugees
is expected to arrive this month, with further groups to follow on a regular
basis. We continue to work with UNHCR to establish a steady flow of cases.
Whilst there is no set quota we predict that the VPR scheme will support
several hundred people over the next three years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Jason McCartney on Culture, Media and Sport.
1
Mr Edward Vaizey
Further legislation is not necessary, as both the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Office of Communications (Ofcom) can issue substantive monetary penalties of up to £500,000 and £2 million respectively to any organisation that deliberately continues to contravene the regulations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent representations he has received from organisations concerned about the inclusion of books in the Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect the inclusion of books in that scheme will have on prisoner rehabilitation.
Jeremy Wright
There have always been controls on the sending of parcels into prisons, and allowing parcels to be sent in unrestricted would be operationally unmanageable and would lead to a significant risk of drugs and other illicit items being smuggled into prisons.
We have always recognised the importance of reading and literature in the rehabilitative process, and the positive effects this has on prisoners’ welfare. The National Offender Management Service works closely with schemes such as the Shannon Trust reading network, which includes peer mentoring to improve reading levels.
The Howard League for Penal Reform, English PEN and Liberty have made representations concerning prisoner access to books. There have been no changes in the availability of books in prisons. Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access. Up to 12 books may be held by prisoners in their cell at any one time and additional volumes may be stored locally at the prison.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Andrew Bridgen on Health.
1
Jane Ellison
Public Health England is not responsible for policy on cancer, but does ensure the delivery of several cancer related functions including NHS Cancer Screening Programmes, Be Clear on Cancer campaigns, cancer screening quality assurance, the National Cancer Intelligence Network and the National Cancer Registration Service. National strategic oversight and policy on cancer screening, early diagnosis and cancer informatics remains with the Department with 3.5 whole time equivalent posts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there are plans for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to accept Army Personnel Centre records of driver qualifications as proof of army personnel having passed driving tests.
Stephen Hammond
Legislation provides, under delegated authority, for military personnel to carry out driving tests. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) following a notification from the Military of Defence records the test pass and applies the new entitlement to the driving record. Letters from the Army Personnel Centre are also accepted, provided it confirms that the driver has passed an appropriate driving test that allows them to drive on public roads.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that paid employees are not being replaced by unpaid staff under the Work Experience scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Esther McVey
All potential host businesses must sign an agreement with Jobcentre Plus, confirming that the work experience opportunity they wish to offer is on top of (not instead of) current and future vacancies.
If there is any suspicion that a host is not complying with this agreement, the matter will be fully investigated.
If doubts remain about the host employer’s integrity, Jobcentre Plus will immediately terminate the agreement.