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Tag: 2014

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will break down by component elements the increase in the RAB charge from 33 per cent to 45 per cent.

    Mr David Willetts

    The increase in the RAB charge has been due to:

    – macroeconomic effects – earnings growth has been lower than expected since the £21,000 threshold was set making it more generous in real terms than was expected at the time it was set; and

    – modelling changes – we have made methodological improvements to our modelling of individual borrower’s earnings over time. We have done this through a new approach that takes greater account of an individual’s past earnings and of Student Loans Company data on actual loan repayments.

  • Lucy Powell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lucy Powell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many jobs have been transferred from the public to private sector from (a) his Department and (b) the Office of the Leader of the House as a result of privatisation or outsourcing since May 2010.

    Mr Francis Maude

    The Leader of the House’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

    Since May 2010, twenty-two jobs have been transferred to the Private Sector.

    Six posts through the SWIRL joint venture and 16 posts with the mutual joint venture of the Behavioural Insights Team.

    We know that joint ventures and mutuals can help drive up productivity and we will continue to support innovative business models.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gordon Marsden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2014-04-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times failure to pay the minimum wage has been (a) reported, (b) prosecuted and (c) penalised in the maritime sector since the Equality Act 2010 came into force.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government takes the enforcement of national minimum wage (NMW) legislation very seriously and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforce the NMW legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and has done so since the introduction of NMW in April 1999.

    HMRC investigates all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, in addition carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK.

    Since 2006, HMRC started considering prosecution for minimum wage offences. Since then, there have been 7 investigations into employers in the Water Transport sector. None of these were identified as having failed to pay the minimum wage.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) trucks for bridging, (b) medium girder bridges, (c) medium over girder bridges, (d) air portable ferry bridges, (e) pontoon sets, (f) LSB bridge and ramp sets and (g) launch sets are owned by his Department; how many are stored at MoD Ashchurch; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The following table summarises the requested vehicles and bridging equipment, and the quantity currently held by the Defence Support Group at Ashchurch:

    Equipment Asset

    Total Assets Held

    Quantity Held by DSG at Ashchurch

    Automotive Bridge Laying Equipment

    29

    11

    Bridging Vehicle

    64

    28

    Truck Bridge Transporter

    45

    12

    Pontoon Set

    3

    3

    Air Portable Ferry Bridge

    11

    2

    Air Portable Ferry Bridge Trailers

    66

    23

    Air Portable Bridge Powered Pontoons

    22

    10

    Air Portable Ferry Bridge Pontoons

    44

    16

    Medium Girder Bridges

    9

    1

    Medium Girder Over Bridges

    33

    3

    Logistic Support Bridge

    18

    7

    Logistic Support Bridge Adjustable Ramp

    17

    9

    Logistic Support Bridge Pier Set

    3

    2

    Logistic Support Bridge Foot Walk

    3

    2

    Logistic Support Bridge Distributions Beam

    5

    4

    Logistic Support Bridge Span Junction

    7

    4

    Logistic Support Bridge Launching Set

    17

    9

    Logistic Support Bridge Long Span Set

    8

    3
  • Tom Greatrex – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Tom Greatrex – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Greatrex on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the Supplemental Balancing Reserve on energy bills for the year (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

    Michael Fallon

    The cost of procuring Supplemental Balancing Reserve and Demand Side Balancing Reserve is a matter for Ofgem and National Grid. In its draft Impact Assessment Ofgem estimated the cost of buying these services would be less than £1 a year for the average domestic customer. Ofgem’s final Impact Assessment did not revise or update this estimate. DECC has not carried out a separate assessment.

    Ofgem’s draft Impact Assessment can be found at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/84629/nationalgridsproposednewbalancingservices-draftimpactassessment.pdf

    A final Impact Assessment is available at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ofgem-publications/85278/decisiontoacceptngetapplicationtointroducetwonewbalancingservicesandsubsequentconsultationonfundingarrangements.pdf

    “

  • Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for his Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them.

    Mr David Lidington

    All contingent labour (provision of temporary workers) procured by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is provided by Hayes Specialist Recruitment. In the last financial year (2013/14) £476,000 was paid to Hays in agency fees.

  • Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Teather on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the number of individuals held at HM Prison The Verne solely for immigration purposes as part of the quarterly immigration statistics.

    James Brokenshire

    Published figures on people detained in the United Kingdom solely under
    Immigration Act powers include those held in short term holding facilities, pre
    departure accommodation and immigration removal centres. However, figures
    exclude those held in police cells, Prison Service establishments, short term
    holding rooms at ports and airports (for less than 24 hours), and those
    recorded as detained under both criminal and immigration powers and their
    dependants.

    The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of
    people detained in the United Kingdom for immigration purposes, within
    Immigration Statistics: October – December 2013, from the GOV.UK website:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-stati
    stics-quarterly-release.

    The provisional date for HMP The Verne to become an
    Immigration Removal Centre is September 2014 and following that change specific
    figures for the Verne would be regularly published alongside those for other
    Immigration Removal Centres.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-05-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions officials in his Department have had with High Speed UK about alternatives to High Speed 2.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We are not aware of any request from High Speed UK for a discussion with officials in the Department engaged on HS2, nor of any such discussions having taken place. We are, however, aware that High Speed UK have responded to consultations on issues related to HS2.

  • Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2014-05-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the potential contribution of solar farms to the Government’s 2020 renewable energy target; and if he will make a statement.

    Gregory Barker

    As set out in the Solar PV Strategy, published in April 2013, solar PV is an important part of the UK’s energy mix. In the EMR delivery plan we estimated a total of between 10 and 12GW of solar photovoltaic across all scales would be installed by 2020. Of this we anticipate that 2.4-4GW will be large scale solar PV installations greater than 5MW.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-05-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Highways Agency will be subject to the Government’s public sector pay policy when it is transformed into a government-owned company.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government intends to transform the Highways Agency into a government-owned company, as confirmed in the response to consultation published on 30th April. In accordance with TUPE principles, we expect the pay and terms of employment of all staff to remain unchanged once transferred except for the necessary technical amendments to reflect the change to company status.

    Staff management arrangements for the company following transition, including pay and reward, are still being worked through within government. We aim to establish appropriate conditions to allow the company to fulfil its functions efficiently and effectively, whilst keeping costs down for the taxpayer. This will reflect the Government’s pay policy, as well as support the delivery of a substantially increased investment programme.

    There is no intention to encourage or create opportunities for legal tax reduction schemes as part of Highways Agency transformation.