The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 2 May 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Amila Dar.
James Brokenshire
I wrote to the Rt. Hon. Member on 16 June 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-03-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to section 42 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 which (a) corresponds to an offence contrary to any provision specified in part 1 of the table in paragraph 1 of the Schedule to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Prescribed Criteria and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2009 and was committed in circumstances specified in the entry in the second column of that part of that table which corresponds to the relevant entry in the first column of that part of that table or (b) corresponds to an offence contrary to a provision specified in part 2 of that table in each of the last four years.
Anna Soubry
The information will take time to collate, I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-06-12.
To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, when Saxton Bampfylde was appointed for the search for a successor to the Clerk of the House and Chief Executive.
John Thurso
Following a competitive tendering process, Saxton Bampfylde was appointed on 29 May 2014 to support the recruitment of the next Clerk of the House and Chief Executive, in particular by providing executive search services. Three bids were received and evaluated by Mr Speaker and the Director General of HR and Change. The fee for these services is fixed at £18,000. The contract will be monitored by the Department of HR and Change. The recruitment brief to which Saxton Bampfylde are working will be placed in the Library.
The Clerk of the House is appointed by the Crown by Letters Patent, on the recommendation of the Speaker to the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister to the Crown. Short-listed candidates will be interviewed by a panel chaired by Mr Speaker, three other members of the House of Commons Commission, a senior backbencher and an external member.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2014-03-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remark by Lord Nash on 9 July 2013 (HL Deb, col 225), that they are focusing heavily on ensuring that teachers have the resources to deliver the new curriculum
Lord Nash
The new national curriculum sets out very clearly what should be taught to pupils. However, it deliberately gives teachers the flexibility to decide how to teach it. We expect schools to identify the support that they need to prepare for the new curriculum, recognising that different schools will face different challenges.
The Department for Education has provided funding to teaching schools to work with their alliances and beyond, and we have been signposting schools to the range of free support that is available in English and mathematics including the resources developed by the National Literacy Trust and the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics. The sector-led expert subject groups have been providing audit tools and guidance, and publishers are bringing a variety of new materials to market.
The Government is funding a national network of around 30 Maths Hubs to drive up the quality of mathematics teachers. Each hub will be led by an outstanding school and will provide support to all schools in the area, across all areas of mathematics education. Systematic phonics has been emphasised in the teaching of early reading in the new national curriculum because evidence shows that it is the most effective way of teaching all children to begin to read. We have provided match-funding of £23 million to primary schools to purchase high quality phonics resources.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Prime Minister, if he will discuss climate change with his Chinese counterpart during his visit to the UK.
Mr David Cameron
I plan to hold wide-ranging discussions with Premier Li. We have a foreign policy that is based on our values, and we consistently raise them with the Chinese government, including during high level dialogues.
I am very supportive of the business and human rights agenda, and action against climate change is a priority for the government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2014-03-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action has been taken against those responsible for the abandoned case involving eight South Wales police officers charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice in the 1988 Lynette White murder inquiry.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
This case is the subject of civil litigation. HM Government is, therefore, unable to comment at the present time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will review the effect of the maritime fuel sulphur regulations earlier than 2019.
Stephen Hammond
In October 2012, and again in March 2013, I chaired ‘round table’ meetings of industry stakeholders (from the shipping, ports, exhaust gas cleaning system technology, oil refining and logistics sectors) to consider the best way forward for compliance with the new international and EU sulphur requirements. The potential for reverse modal shift, the maturity and efficacy of scrubber technology and the scope for financial assistance to industry were all key to those discussions. The report commissioned by the UK Chamber of Shipping was produced as a result of those meetings, and officials have taken it into account in producing the Government’s Impact Assessment on the draft UK Regulations to implement the sulphur limits in national law.
The Government went out to an eight-week public consultation on 29 April 2014 on those draft UK Regulations. Meanwhile, Government officials continue to work closely with the industry and to explore the scope for securing EU finance, possibly under the Trans-European Network (commonly known as TEN-T) programme and affordable capital from the European Investment Bank, for shipowners and ports who wish to invest in scrubber technology or in technology associated with the use of an alternative fuel, such as liquefied natural gas, to comply with the new limits.
The UK Regulations will be reviewed in accordance with normal Government practice and consistent with the principles of better regulation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of local authorities which registered for emergency financial assistance under the Bellwin Scheme as a result of recent flooding have received payment within 15 working days.
Brandon Lewis
[Holding Reply: Monday 31 March 2014]
Bellwin provides emergency financial assistance to local authorities to help them meet uninsurable costs they incur when responding to a major emergency in their area. The level of funding over time is casually linked to the scale of flooding or other emergency. It operates by local authorities retrospectively claiming spending back.
As at 27 March 2014, only five local authorities have submitted Bellwin claims in respect of the recent flooding. One of these claims was paid within 15 days. The other four claims have only been received in the last few days and should also be paid within 15 days. Local authorities have until the end of June 2014 to apply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Clarke on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will create an independent panel to review and assess the effectiveness of the employment and support allowance and work capability assessment tests.
Mike Penning
The department has already conducted four independent reviews of the WCA, the most recent of which was completed on 12 December 2013 and is published online at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-capability-assessment-independent-review-year-4
A fifth and final independent review is currently underway and is due to be completed by the end of the year.
In addition to these independent reviews the Department has conducted an Evidence Based Review of the WCA in which the descriptors for mental health and fluctuating conditions were examined by an independent panel against an alternative assessment designed in conjunction with representative groups and charities. On 12 December 2013 the Department published the results of this online at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-capability-assessment-evidence-based-review
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps the Government plans to take to deliver the commitments on nuclear security contained in paragraph 21 of the Hague Nuclear Security Summit Communiqué of the Nuclear Security Summit held in the Hague on 24 and 25 March 2014 to keep the national stockpile of separated plutonium to the minimum level.
Michael Fallon
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has published strategies for the management of spent Magnox and Oxide fuel; it is from these spent fuels that plutonium is separated. These strategies are aligned with UK Government policy and their implementation is expected to see cessation of reprocessing in Magnox and THORP facilities during this decade.
With respect to Magnox fuel, the intent is to reprocess all of it. Only a finite amount of Magnox fuel remains, which limits the amount of further separated plutonium that could be produced from reprocessing. Reprocessing is the only approved process for managing this metal fuel.
With respect to Oxide Fuel management, an NDA paper sets out the strategy which is to complete the reprocessing contracts in THORP, as far as is reasonably practicable, and place the remaining fuel and any future arisings into interim storage pending disposal. The paper can be found at http://www.nda.gov.uk/documents/upload/Oxide-Fuels-Preferred-Options-June-2012.pdf
Both these strategies see the amount of plutonium separated in the future being limited in line with national requirements.
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