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Tag: 2015

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alistair Carmichael – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2015-10-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the introduction of a tax on food with a high sugar content; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect of food taxes on improving dietary choices.

    Mr David Gauke

    At present the Government has no plans to introduce new taxes on food and drinks.

    The Government is using a range of approaches to promote health outcomes, including working with the food and drink industry to encourage the reformulation of products. A comprehensive ‘childhood obesity strategy’ will be launched later this year.

  • Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to ensure that women’s refuges (a) have a sustainable source of funding and (b) continue to enable women to move between local authority areas after 31 March 2016.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government is committed to a secure future for refuge provision, as set out in our Manifesto, and is determined to ensure that no victim is turned away from the support they need. At Budget the Chancellor announced an additional £3.2 million to increase specialist accommodation support for victims, including refuges, and provide more help for victims to access that support. This is in addition to the £10 million announced in 2014 to enable local authorities to strengthen refuge services. Our significant investment shows our clear commitment to maintaining and boosting refuge provision. Future funding arrangements are a matter for the Spending Review.

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate the Government has made of the number of people in Easington constituency who have never used the internet.

    Matthew Hancock

    Information provided by ONS for the period January to March 2015 shows that 11% of adults in the UK (5.9 million) had never used the internet. In 2015 14% of households in Great Britain had no internet access.Official data at local constituency level is not available.

    The Digital Inclusion Strategy launched in 2014 outlined that by 2016 we will have reduced the number of people who are offline by 25% and by 2020 everyone who can be online should be online. 85 partners work with government to reach this goal, including the Tinder Foundation, Post Office, Argos, Barclays, LGA, Go ON UK, Society of Chief Librarians, Digital Unite and Age UK.

    The government recognises that there are many reasons for not being online. We will always provide assisted digital support for people who need help accessing government services.

    Many of these partners have local delivery networks, and work with hard to reach groups. Details of local resources can be found from a number of sources, including libraries and the Post Office. A range of services are available in Easington, including Easington Colliery Library, which provides internet and email facilities; and there are a number of UK Online Centres in the Easington area.

  • Robert Jenrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Robert Jenrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Jenrick on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average cost of building a primary school in England was in 2014 excluding the cost of land.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education does not centrally collect data on building new primary schools across all local authorities in England. The cost of building schools varies significantly depending on local factors, including the size of the school. Local authorities report the cost per place of providing new school places through the annual School Capacity data collection. For primary schools this data has been used to produce basic need scorecards. The scorecards detail the cost per place, including for new schools, for each local authority. The latest published scorecards are for the academic year 2013/14 and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/primary-school-places-local-authority-basic-need-scorecards-2014.

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  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much schools have spent renovating, replacing or installing new kitchen equipment prior to the introduction of the universal infant free school meals programme.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Government has provided significant support for schools to improve kitchen and dining room facilities for their infant pupils. We have allocated £184.5 million capital funding in total specifically for this purpose, and an additional £32.5 million UIFSM funding to support small schools in improving their infant meal provision, which can be used to purchase equipment or fund minor capital works.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many households will not be reimbursed for the funds they paid for a Green Deal Assessment; and what (a) total and (b) average sum is paid by such households.

    Andrea Leadsom

    598,612 Green Deal Assessments had been lodged by the end of August 2015.

    This has played a part in the installation of around 1.6 million energy efficiency measures in around 1.3 million properties.

    The Department’s Green Deal Customer Journey Survey, published in March 2015, showed that 80% of householders did not pay to have a Green Deal Assessment, and that of those people who did pay in full or in part for their assessment, half paid £150 or less.1,2 Consumers have obtained Green Deal assessments for a number of reasons, these include: saving money on their energy bills; the prospect of a warmer home; the offer of free assessments; having improvements done for free or at a reduced price; and concerns over rising energy bills. Assessments have allowed householders to access a number of different Government schemes or fund work themselves. The Government does not offer reimbursements for assessments which are payments to companies or private individuals.

    [1] Page 10 of report at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/414170/green_deal_customer_journey_survey_report.pdf

    2 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/414176/green_deal_customer_journey_topline_data.xlsx (Table D7)

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  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make it her policy to commit her Department to a long-term energy efficiency programme for buildings including the provision of solid wall insulation during this Parliament in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change set out in its 2015 Progress Report to Parliament.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government is committed to working closely with industry and consumer groups on a new value for money approach to the future policy framework for energy efficiency, learning lessons from past approaches. Alongside its specific manifesto commitment of supporting low cost measures on energy efficiency with the goal of insulating a million more homes over the next five years, supporting our commitment to tackle fuel poverty, this Government is also committed to keeping energy bills as low as possible as part of a long-term, coherent and affordable policy framework. That framework, which will take full account of our legally binding commitments on climate change and on fuel poverty, will focus on enabling consumers to take up the measures that are right for them and their home, whether solid wall insulation or other measures. We are soon to see Peter Hansford’s Review on Solid Wall Insulation for the Green Construction Board and that will help inform policy affecting the technology as will the recommendations from the Committee on Climate Change.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Greyhound Forum has been consulted over the forthcoming review of the 2010 Greyhound Regulations.

    George Eustice

    Defra plans to consult on the initial findings of the Review of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 this autumn. The Greyhound Forum and members of the Forum have contributed to the initial findings exercise and, as part of the initial stages of the Review.

    Defra officials have also had discussions with UKAS.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) visits to the affected area and (b) meetings with United Utilities management Ministers of her Department held respectively during the cryoptosporidium outbreak in Lancashire in summer 2015.

    Rory Stewart

    The Secretary of State spoke with United Utilities (UU) Chief Executive, Steve Mogford, regularly throughout the incident, both over the phone and in person. Defra officials and Drinking Water Inspectors (DWIs) participated in regular meetings (several per day) convened by Defra and the Local Resilience Forum, all of which were attended by senior level representatives of UU. Defra Ministers were briefed similarly frequently.

    The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) team in the area attended the relevant UU sites to liaise with company officials and to carry out their monitoring and inspection duties on behalf of the Department.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for the security of sensitive nuclear information of the agreement announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 21 September 2015 on commercial nuclear co-operation with China.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Security in the civil nuclear industry is of paramount importance to the Government. The UK has in place, robust security regulations which are enforced by an independent regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation. These regulations cover sensitive nuclear information as well as holdings of nuclear material and nuclear sites. The Government keeps the regulatory framework for security in the civil nuclear industry under continuous review. The Government welcomes Chinese investment to the UK, including in the nuclear energy sector.