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Tag: 2014

  • Thomas Docherty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Thomas Docherty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thomas Docherty on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether export licences to Syria have been granted for the period since 1 July 2012; and if he will describe any such material so exported.

    Michael Fallon

    Five Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) and one Open Individual Export Licence (OIEL) have been granted.

    The information provided relates to goods or services that have been licensed for export. The licences were granted to international and humanitarian organisations to support and protect staff working in these organisations. The six licences granted authorise export of the following:

    SIEL for: components for body armour;

    SIEL for: NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) protective/defensive equipment;

    SIEL for: body armour, components for body armour, military helmets;

    SIEL for: body armour, military helmets;

    SIEL for: components for all-wheel drive vehicles with ballistic protection;

    OIEL for: cryptographic software; equipment employing cryptography.

    The licences were granted to international and humanitarian organisations to support and protect staff working in these organisations.

  • Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the appropriate age at which people must renew their driving licence; and what evidence his Department took into account when so doing.

    Stephen Hammond

    Increasing the driving licence renewal age was proposed as part of the recent review of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

    No detailed assessment has yet been made about this proposal. Any such decision would not be taken until a full consultation had been carried out and supporting evidence considered.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effects of the shadow banking sector on the UK economy.

    Andrea Leadsom

    When appropriately conducted, shadow banking can benefit the economy by increasing the availability of credit to a range of individuals or firms, and provide a valuable alternative to bank funding. It provides credit and liquidity to the real economy and can improve efficiency and drive innovation in the financial system through firms developing expert knowledge in a particular area.

    However, the Government is aware of the risks shadow banking activities pose to financial stability when things go wrong. The crisis showed that some shadow banking entities created pro-cyclical build-ups of leverage, did not fully transfer credit risk, were susceptible to rapid sell-offs, and were very complex. It also became clear that the shadow banking sector had very complex interconnections with the traditional banking system.

    Recognising the need to improve the transparency and supervision of the shadow banking sector, the Government has taken steps to improve the way shadow banking entities are regulated.

    Domestically, the Government has created new Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed. In September last year, the Committee agreed as one of its medium term priorities the identification and management of potential systemic risks from shadow banking.

    At the international level, the Government is actively supporting the effective regulation of the sector in EU policymaking, and the UK is instrumental in shaping the global regulatory response at the Financial Stability Board.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on the new enterprise allowance in each year since its introduction.

    Esther McVey

    We do not have complete figures for 2013/14 as the yearly accounts have not yet been finalised, and won’t audited until May.

    Spend figures for NEA in the two full financial years to April 2013 are:

    Financial year 2011/12

    Financial year 2012/13

    DEL spend

    £11.4m

    £14.7m

    AME spend

    £5.0m

    £18.3m
  • Maria Miller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Miller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Miller on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers the Forestry Commission has to (a) impose fines, (b) restore woodland and (c) take other enforcement action where a landowner has carried out deforestation contrary to the Forestry Act 1967.

    Dan Rogerson

    Only the courts have the power to impose fines on people convicted of felling trees without a licence where one is required under the Forestry Commissioners’ Power to control felling of trees in Part II of the Forestry Act 1967 (as amended). This can be up to £2,500 or twice the value of the trees, whichever is the higher.

    Where it appears to the Forestry Commissioners that somebody has committed an offence by felling trees without a licence where one is required, the Commissioners can serve them with a Restocking Notice requiring the area to be restocked. Failure to comply with the requirements of a Restocking Notice can result in an Enforcement Notice being issued. It is an offence not to obey an Enforcement Notice, which can mean a possible fine of up to £5,000.

    Where deforestation accompanied by a change of land use has not received the required consent and has a significant impact on the environment, the Forestry Commission can, under the provisions in The Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry)(England and Wales) Regulations 1999, issue an Enforcement Notice requiring the land to be restored to its condition before the work started.

  • Teresa Pearce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Teresa Pearce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, why Remploy Employment Services is now called Remploy; and whether his Department will continue to fund employment services provided by Remploy.

    Esther McVey

    Remploy has formally always existed as a single company, Remploy Ltd. Remploy Ltd managed the operation of its business through two different arms: Remploy Enterprise Businesses, the factories, and Remploy Employment Services. Following the completion of Remploy’s commercial process to exit its factory businesses it has decided that there is no longer a need to differentiate between the businesses, and it is now using Remploy only, as previously.

    The Department agrees Remploy funding and performance targets, including Work Choice job outcome targets, on an annual basis. Remploy’s performance targets for 2013-14 were published on 31 October 2013, Official Report, column 60WS, by written ministerial statement confirming publication of Remploy annual report and accounts 2013. Remploy performance targets and funding for 2014-15 will be published alongside the 2014 accounts later this year.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of establishing new Combined Cadet Force detachments in state schools on recruitment to existing community-based cadet forces.

    Anna Soubry

    The cost of setting up a new Combined Cadet Force (CCF) unit under the Cadet Expansion Programme depends largely on the number of cadets in the unit.

    Decisions on opening new CCFs in schools are made jointly by the Department for Education and Ministry of Defence (MOD). The key criteria for deciding which schools can establish a new CCF are the ability of the school to fund the new unit and provide sufficient adult volunteers to run it. However, we are particularly interested in establishing CCFs in areas of deprivation.

    No assessment has been made of the effect of establishing new CCFs in state schools on recruitment to community cadet units. However, it should be noted that CCFs and community cadet units deliver different but complementary elements of the MOD’s youth engagement strategy.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-04-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the passage of Human Rights Council Resolution (A/HRC/25/L.17) on human rights violations in North Korea, what assessment they have made of the suggestion by Amnesty International to increase pressure on North Korea; and whether they are taking any action along such lines.

    Baroness Warsi

    The UK played a leading role in ensuring a strong UN Human Rights Council Resolution and will continue to work with partners to ensure the issue remains in the spotlight. We agree with the view expressed by Amnesty International that the message sent to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) authorities by the resolution could not be clearer. As both Amnesty International and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have said, crimes against humanity will not be tolerated and those responsible must face justice. As the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), outlined in his Written Ministerial Statement of 31 March, we welcome the final text of the resolution which includes a specific request that the UN Security Council consider referral of the situation in the DPRK to the appropriate international criminal justice mechanism. As a first step, the Commission of Inquiry will give an informal “Arria” briefing to the Security Council on 17 April. Other elements of the resolution which reflect earlier calls from Amnesty International include concrete measures to ensure the work of the Commission of Inquiry is continued. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur has been extended and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is requested to provide the Rapporteur with increased support, not least through a new structure to strengthen monitoring and documentation of the human rights situation in the DPRK, as well as through capacity building of others working to address this issue. These measures will ensure that whenever and however the DPRK regime is brought to account, the material will be there to build a strong case against those responsible for violations.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his policy is on the question of who retains ownership of the land in cases where freehold interest in local authority land is granted to an academy trust.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    When community schools convert to academies, the freehold is retained by the local authority and a lease is granted to the academy trust. In some circumstances, where the school governors or supporting foundation already hold the freehold, my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may allow publicly-funded school land to be transferred to an academy trust, which will have satisfied the Secretary of State as to its ability to operate a state-funded school.

    There are strict rules protecting publicly funded land used by academies, regardless of who holds the freehold. This is set out in published guidance, which is available online:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice

    A copy of the guidance has been placed in the House Library.

    The Department does not hold information about the average value of land used for academies on a freehold or leasehold basis. Information about the number of academies that occupy land on a leasehold and freehold basis is not held centrally.

    “

  • – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2014-04-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Astor of Hever on 27 March (WS 49–50) regarding a contingent liability for nuclear indemnity, whether, in the light of the statement in the Departmental Minute that the value of the contingent liability is unquantifiable due to the potentially catastrophic nature of a nuclear incident”

    Lord Astor of Hever

    It is our intention to proceed with the Contingent Liability as this work is an essential enabler in allowing the Ministry of Defence to deliver its projects and estate maintenance requirements on estates where nuclear assets are sited.