Tag: 2014

  • Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department takes to support parents whose children attend a school in special measures; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The Government is clear that the best way forward for any school judged inadequate by Ofsted is for it to become an academy with the support of a strong sponsor. We consider that sponsored academy arrangements will safeguard the long-term future of such schools and will secure rapid and sustained improvement, which should reassure parents.

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether his Department had discussions with the Welsh Government regarding the use of public funds by the Cabinet Office to produce and send an anti-Scottish Independence pamphlet to every house in Scotland.

    Greg Clark

    There are regular discussions between UK Government and Welsh Government Ministers on matters of mutual interest.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many meetings the Minister of State for Europe has held with the European Commission with the sole purpose of discussing incursions by Spanish government vessels into British Gibraltar territorial waters.

    Mr William Hague

    We are confident of UK sovereignty over British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW) under international law, a matter over which the European Commission has no locus to intervene. As a result the the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), the Minister responsible for Europe, has not had any meetings with the EC in the last two years where the sole purpose was discussing Spanish incursions into BGTW.

    However, my right hon. Friend has raised on a number of occasions, at a senior level in the European Commission, the adoption by the European Commission of a proposal from the Spanish government to designate a site of community importance (SCI) under the EU habitats directive (92/43/EEC). The SCI in question overlaps virtually the whole BGTW area. Spain has used this fact to justify certain incursions on the grounds that they are enacting obligations in relation to EU environmental legislation.

    The British Government maintains that the purported site known as the Estrecho Oriental was unlawfully designated and, in any event, cannot have any legal effect in BGTW due to UK sovereignty over this territory. We have made our position on this clear to the European Commission and the Spanish government.

  • Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the budget for enforcement of the National Minimum Wage was in 2013-14; and what that budget will be in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

    Jenny Willott

    The National Minimum Wage enforcement budgets for 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 in principal were set out in Parliamentary Question 174284 on 7 November 2013, Official Report 7 Nov 2013, Col 351W.

    The 2014/15 budget was reviewed at the start of the financial year and will be considered again at mid-year and may be subject to change.

  • Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the annual cost to her Department is of providing UK border control services at (a) Paris Gare Du Nord station, (b) Bruxelles Midi station and (c) Calais port and Eurotunnel terminus.

    James Brokenshire

    The annual costs of providing UK border control services are as follow:
    Paris Gare Du Nord station – £4.6 million
    Bruxelles Midi station – £3.3 million
    Calais port – £21.8 million
    Eurotunnel terminus (Coquelles) – £21.2 million

    The above resource costs are based on the last financial year’s data(2013/14)
    and are taken from the Home office accounting system Adelphi. These have not
    yet been audited. Publication of the annual set of accounts will not present
    these costs in this level of detail.

  • David Nuttall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Nuttall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many inspections each local authority has carried out to ensure compliance with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 in each of the last three years.

    Michael Fallon

    The data in the detail requested is not held centrally. The total number of inspections carried out by local authority trading standards across all products, which would include those for furniture and furnishings, was 9,674 in 2011.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Heidi Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2014, Official Report, column 591W, on Southeastern network, what estimate he has made of demand on routes on the Southeastern network; which routes his Department believes require increased capacity provision on peak services; and when he expects capacity to be increased on these routes.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Department holds information collected by Southeastern about the level of demand on each of its routes. However, this data is held by DfT on a commercially confidential basis and so cannot be released. As part of its Long Term Planning Process, Network Rail will undertake a Kent Route Study during 2015/16 to identify which routes may require increased capacity provision. On the basis of this work, Ministers will consider priorities for funding capacity enhancements during railway Control Period 6 (2019-2024).

  • Gavin Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gavin Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Williamson on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local education authorities have procedures in place to protect whistleblowers.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 16 June 2014, Official Report, col 411W, on local education authorities: disclosure of information.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they will take to preserve Palestinians’ rights to worship at their own holy sites within Jerusalem.

    Baroness Warsi

    We regularly urge the Israeli authorities to comply with their obligations under international law as an occupying power in East Jerusalem, including with regard to the protection of holy sites. We will continue to raise with the Israeli authorities our concerns over restrictions on movement and access and the Separation Barrier that limits access for Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza to holy sites in Jerusalem.

  • Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the cost has been of the visit of his Department’s officials ahead of the completion of the agreements on energy collaboration with China signed on 17 June 2014; and if he will publish the dates and purpose of each such visit.

    Michael Fallon

    From April 12th-15th, three officials from the Office for Nuclear Development visited Beijing to discuss the Joint Statement on Civil Nuclear Energy Co-operation and Memorandum of Understanding on Enhanced Co-operation on Civil Nuclear Industry Fuel Cycle Supply Chain with the Chinese Government. Officials also attended various other meetings to understand Chinese civil nuclear capability and to explain UK regulatory requirements. The cost of this visit was £11, 787.38.