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Tag: 2014

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of diversity in employment in public and private sectors of the media industry.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Promoting greater equality of opportunity in the workforce is a matter the Government takes seriously. The Government is actively engaging with leading organisations in the media industry who are working together through the Creative Diversity Network to help address the under-representation of ethnic minorities in that sector. The industry will outline the steps it intends to take at a roundtable event in early July. Equality data monitoring is among a number of issues that will be discussed. In addition, Ofcom has a number of duties relating to equality of opportunity, as set out in the Communications Act 2003. These include requiring all UK licensed radio and television broadcasters’ licences to have in place arrangements for promoting equal opportunities in employment on the basis of gender, race and disability, and to review those arrangements with regard to any relevant guidance published by Ofcom.

  • Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, when the next Joint Ministerial Council (a) Plenary, (b) Domestic and (c) Europe meeting will take place; and what will be discussed at each such meeting.

    Mr Alistair Carmichael

    The Joint Ministerial Committees take place in their Plenary, Domestic and European forms on a regular basis. Dates for future meetings are subject to agreement with the devolved administrations, as are the agendas which are agreed in advance via the JMC joint secretariat.

  • Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, page eight, when Ministers in his Department first established that reserves cost around 87 per cent of the cost of regulars when mobilised.

    Anna Soubry

    The figures used by the NAO in paragraph 11 of their report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, were taken from Future Reserves 2020: The Independent Commission to Review the United Kingdom’s Reserve Forces. I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 97. This involved considerable work to develop a Regular: Reserve Cost Comparison Model.

  • Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many social enterprises there were in Brighton, Kemptown constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Jenny Willott

    BIS does not have constituency level data on social enterprises. Using data from the 2012 BIS ‘Small Business Survey’ and the ‘Business Population Estimates for the UK and Regions 2013′, BIS estimate that in 2013 approximately five per cent (or 60,000) of small and medium-sized enterprise employers[1] in the UK were social enterprises[2]. It is not possible to provide reliable information for smaller geographical areas.

    [1] Small and medium-sized employers with between 1 and 249 employees.

    [2] Defined as an enterprise that considers itself a social enterprise and that should not pay more than 50 per cent of profit or surplus to owners or shareholders, should not generate more than 25 per cent of income from grants and donations and, therefore, should not have less than 75 per cent of turnover from trading.

  • 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 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the full out-turn cost was of AFC Harrogate in each year since 2006, including (a) building maintenance, (b) staffing costs, (c) training costs and (d) salaries for recruits; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    Financial data is held from financial year 2007-08 onwards. The Ministry of Defence’s budgetary structure is organised into a number of different Top Level Budget areas. This means that the cost of activities at a single location can often be split between a number of different budgets which are not managed centrally. For example infrastructure costs (including utilities) are managed by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation through contracts which do not split out the costs for individual units operating on a particular site. Similarly, equipment costs are managed across whole fleets of items by Defence Equipment and Support, and not by individual location. For this reason the full running costs of the Infantry Training Centre and the Army Foundation College cannot be provided in the format requested. However the costs attributable to the Army can be provided from financial year 2007-08 onwards.

    Unit

    2007-08

    2008-09

    2009-10

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    £million

    £million

    £million

    £million

    £million

    £million

    £million

    Army Foundation College

    54.658

    62.078

    58.435

    60.829

    62.199

    63.486

    62.232

    Infantry Training Centre

    83.172

    90.790

    104.702

    81.471

    103.196

    105.274

    93.046

    The Army’s anticipated outturn for the Army Foundation College Harrogate in 2014-15 is £66.204 million, and for Infantry Training Centre Catterick is £90.793 million.

  • 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 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much in Regional Growth Fund money is currently held by intermediaries; and how much such money has been allocated (a) in each bidding round, (b) to each intermediary and (c) in each region.

    Michael Fallon

    From the four Regional Growth Fund (RGF) bidding rounds, £1.5 billion has been allocated to RGF programmes from which grants are made to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs.)

    Of this, £452 million was allocated to 13 endowment programmes in Rounds 1 and 2 that received the full payment of their RGF grant upfront. These programmes have since invested £144 million to date in individual projects, and of the remaining £308 million held by such endowment programmes, a further £154 million is already committed to specific SME projects.

    Non–endowment programmes are funded a quarter in advance on evidence of credible pipeline projects. These programmes have spent £172 million with a further £151 million of RGF paid to them in the last financial quarter under the expectation it would be spent this quarter. The money held by these programmes is not causing any delay to individual projects as businesses claim the money according to their business needs. A table of RGF funding allocated to intermediaries by each bidding round and region will be placed in the libraries of the House.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 25 March 2013, Official Report, column 940W, on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, whether UK personnel at Creech Airforce base will remain embedded following the cessation of NATO International Security Force missions in Afghanistan.

    Mr Mark Francois

    There are no longer any RAF personnel embedded with 432nd Wing of the US Air Force at Creech Airforce base.

  • Pat McFadden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Pat McFadden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pat McFadden on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish estimates produced by the Government Actuary’s Department for his Department of any additional monies received from extra contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme before 19 March 2014.

    Danny Alexander

    The Government Actuary’s Department did not produce estimates for HM Treasury of additional monies received from extra contributions to the Teachers’ Pension scheme before 19 March 2014.

  • Baroness Uddin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Uddin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Uddin on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 14 May (WA 522), why they do not intend to ring-fence monies identified by the Independent Living Fund as needed to meet the critical and substantial needs of recipients.

    Lord Freud

    The Government’s position on how local authorities manage their finances is clear; local authorities need to be allowed to meet their statutory responsibilities in a flexible and responsive way and the ring-fencing of funding prevents this. Allowing local authorities the flexibility to manage their budgets locally means they can respond to local needs and priorities to deliver more efficient services and better outcomes.

  • Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made in implementing the Military Covenant; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    There is a statutory obligation on the Defence Secretary to report annually on progress in implementing the Armed Forces Covenant. The second annual report was published in December 2013 and contains comprehensive updates on the four major areas specified in the Armed Forces Act 2011, namely healthcare, education, housing, and the operation of inquests.

    I look forward to significant further progress in the coming year, including supporting Service personnel to buy their first home through the £200 milion Forces Help to Buy scheme, improving patient care by establishing a unified defence primary healthcare service, and allocating £40 million to support charities which assist veterans with housing needs.

    The Covenant is not just a matter for the Government; recognising and respecting the specific needs of the Armed Forces community is a duty incumbent on the whole of society. Charities, employers, local authorities and individuals can play their role in providing the support and fair treatment that our Service personnel, veterans and service families so richly deserve.