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Tag: 2014

  • Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    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 staff (a) in his Department and (b) its executive agencies are currently working wholly or in part on the issue of Sunday trading.

    Jo Swinson

    a) No staff in BIS are currently working full time on the issue of Sunday Trading. There are two policy staff and one lawyer that have Sunday Trading as part of their wider portfolio e.g. providing briefing on policy and employment aspects, answering PQs, drafting responses to Bill amendments and information requests, providing correspondence advice. In addition there are 2 staff that deal with standard correspondence some small proportion of which will include responding to letters referring to Sunday Trading legislation.

    b) We are not aware of any staff in Executive Agencies of BIS that are specifically assigned to work on the issue of Sunday Trading.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what services Healthcare UK offers to organisations based in the devolved regions.

    Matthew Hancock

    As a constituent part of UK Trade and Investment, Healthcare UK has responsibility for the provision of support and assistance to new and existing healthcare exporters of goods and services across the UK and for promoting the UK and all its constituent parts to foreign investors.

    The devolved administrations are responsible for devising and implementing additional programmes to meet the particular needs of companies based in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and for promoting Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to foreign investors.

  • Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlie Elphicke on 2014-07-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when HM Revenue and Customs will next audit the (a) compliance and (b) performance of Mapeley STEPS Contractor Limited in respect of the Five Year Plan under 17.1 (a) of the private finance initiative contract between HM Revenue and Customs and Mapeley STEPS Contractor Limited.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) monitors the performance of its contractor regularly under a range of provisions. Commercial discussions between HMRC and its suppliers are confidential.

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average debt level per capita is of local authorities in (a) England and (b) the North West; and what the level of debt per capita is in Warrington Borough Council.

    Kris Hopkins

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the rt.hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East (Mr Nicholas Brown) on 14 July 2014, Official Report, Column 532W.

    My Department does not publish regional statistics.

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will estimate the cost of restructuring the shipbuilding agreement with BAE Systems.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 November 2013, (Official Report, column 696W).

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Shabana Mahmood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many studio colleges have fallen behind or failed to meet the levels of student recruitment required for them to meet the terms of their funding agreements.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Post-opening student recruitment targets are only included in funding agreements for studio schools where there has been concern about potential pupil recruitment prior to the school opening.

    Five studio schools have specific termination clauses relating to post-opening student recruitment targets in their funding agreements. One school closed on 31 August 2013 and another is due to close on 31 August 2014 because they did not fulfil the funding agreement criteria in respect of the pupil recruitment target. Neither school was given an extension of time to meet the target. The other three schools have not yet reached the deadlines for their pupil recruitment targets.

    The majority of studio schools opening in September 2013 and all those due to open in September 2014 have pre-opening targets for student recruitment included in their funding agreements to ensure that the schools will be financially viable upon opening.

  • Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    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 18 March 2014, Official Report, column 536W, on the Green Deal Scheme, how much of the £200 million announced in November 2011 has (a) been spent, (b) been allocated for expenditure and (c) not yet been allocated for expenditure.

    Amber Rudd

    Of the £200 million announced in November 2011, as of the end of March 2014, £142.98 million had been spent by DECC.

    The figure given for spend in 2013-14 includes the recently launched Green Deal Communities programme – an £88 million fund to support 24 local authority consortia (covering c100 local authorities in total) to deliver Green Deal street by street. In addition, as part of the Autumn Statement, the Government announced that £450 million will be made available to support household energy efficiency incentives over the next three years.

  • Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    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 assessment her Department has made of the success of steps taken to meet the 2013 and 2020 EU Landfill Directive.

    Dan Rogerson

    We are confident that we will have met the 2013 landfill diversion target and will meet the 2020 target set out in the EU Landfill Directive.

    In October 2013 we published an analysis of progress against the 2020 target, which can be found on the GOV.UK website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/forecasting-2020-waste-arisings-and-treatment-capacity-norfolk-county-council-residual-waste-treatment-project . The analysis concludes that there is a high likelihood of meeting or exceeding the 2020 target.

    Landfill tax is a key instrument to meeting the landfill diversion targets along with our policies and initiatives such as support of infrastructure to divert waste from landfill through the Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme.

    “

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support religious tolerance of Christians in India.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Our High Commissioner to India, Sir James Bevan recently met India’s Minister of Minority Affairs, Dr Najma Heptulla, on 16 June to discuss a range of minority issues, including the protection of religious freedoms. Our High Commission in New Delhi also discusses minority issues, including religious tolerance of Christians, with the Indian National Commission for Minorities and with other relevant State level authorities. Minority rights were also discussed at the EU-India human rights dialogue on 27 November 2013. We will continue to maintain a dialogue with the new Indian government about minority rights issues.

  • John Hemming – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    John Hemming – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    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 has taken to tackle offences of child abuse on St Helena.

    Mark Simmonds

    Territory Governments have the principal responsibility for ensure the safeguarding of children in the Overseas Territories, for which 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). Although tangible progress was made in earlier programmes to raise awareness and build capacity, the new programme will focus on gaining a deeper understanding of the problem including how to detect, prevent and address child abuse.

    In St Helena, the SCOT programme has helped encourage revised and updated legislation to protect children, established professional protocols and procedures for those involved in child services, improved the provision of training for St Helena officials, and helped to promote local ownership of the safeguarding agenda. Support has been provided to St Helena through a Lucy Faithfull Foundation review (2013) and technical expertise to take forward a robust child safeguarding action plan arising from review recommendations.

    The FCO and DFID have been working closely with the UK police who have investigated reports into child sex abuse of St Helena and continue to do so.