Tag: 2015

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to enforce prompt payments to small and medium-sized enterprises by large companies.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government is taking forward a suite of measures to tackle prompt payment.

    Through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, currently before Parliament, we will introduce measures to improve transparency on payment practices and policies. Increased transparency, through a tough and transparent new reporting requirement on the UK’s largest companies, will help take significant steps to addressing the current imbalance in economic power between small and large contracting parties. Our consultation on draft secondary regulations to underpin these measures closed on 2 February. We will publish a summary of responses shortly.

    The Government is currently seeking views on how to best give representative bodies wider powers to be able to challenge grossly unfair payment practices on behalf of members. The discussion paper is available online and is open until 9 March.

    The Government is also working to strengthen the impact of the Prompt Payment Code. We are currently considering proposals, including introducing a maximum payment term for Code signatories, more rigorous monitoring of signatory behaviour, and the enforcement of tougher sanctions on bad payers. We will announce our proposals in Spring.

    These measures will drive forward a shift in payment culture that will make it unacceptable for large companies in positions of extreme bargaining imbalances to exploit smaller suppliers.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many young people living in Preston entered higher education in each of the last 20 years.

    Greg Clark

    The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) publishes young participation rates by parliamentary constituency. These show the proportion of young people in each parliamentary constituency who entered higher education by the age of 19, for each cohort of 18 year olds between 1998 and 2011. These can be viewed at the following link:

    http://www.hefce.ac.uk/analysis/yp/trendsyp/pment/

    The statistics will be updated to include the 2012 cohort of 18 year olds in the summer.

    “

  • Katy Clark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Katy Clark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward proposals to increase the island fuel rebate.

    Priti Patel

    The Government keeps all elements of the island rural fuel rebate scheme under review. In 2013, the Government published a report which found the rebate to be effectively reducing prices for motorists.

    The UK required EU approval to introduce the scheme. The EU permission for the island scheme is in place until 2017. Ahead of the scheme’s expiry in 2017, the Government will consider the case for applying to the EU for renewal, along with the case for altering aspects of the scheme.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has undertaken a post-legislative analysis of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The Cabinet Office asked Lord Young of Graffham, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Enterprise, to conduct a review of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

    The report, published on 13 February, shows the Act is having a positive effect where it is taken up. It finds that a number of local authorities have taken a leading role in implementing social value and names Durham Council as an example.

    The report makes a number of recommendations. The Government is considering these to ensure that the Act fulfils its full potential.

  • Lord McColl of Dulwich – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord McColl of Dulwich – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McColl of Dulwich on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 9 February (HL4411), how the draft Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015 make provision for the follow-up studies to investigate how mutations vary in each of the different cells of the resulting children; at what age or ages the children would be when their cells would be examined in that way; how many different tissues and of which type would have to be biopsied to obtain the cells of interest; how informed consent would be obtained from the children for that purpose; and at what point such children would be informed of the techniques used in their conception.

    Earl Howe

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015, if approved by Parliament, will not come into force until 29 October 2015. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) will consider how best to apply a monitoring framework to clinics awarded a licence to carry out mitochondrial donation treatment, against which it would inspect.

    The HFEA will announce its proposals for the regulation and monitoring of mitochondrial donation treatment cycles following the approval of regulations by Parliament.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel undertook phase two training for the Royal Marine Band Service at the Royal Marine School of Music in 2013-14.

    Anna Soubry

    The requested detail for Financial Year 2013-14 is provided below:

    Number of personnel who

    completed Phase Two training

    Cost of providing Phase

    Two training

    Royal Marines School

    of Music (Portsmouth)

    22

    Information is not held

    centrally and could be

    provided only at

    disproportionate cost

    Royal Military School of Music (Army, Kneller Hall)

    66

    £2.8 million (approx)

    No personnel undertook phase two training with the RAF Music Services. The RAF recruits are fully trained musicians who undertake a rigorous audition process and are only admitted once their playing ability is proven.

  • Baroness Byford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Byford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, following the implementation of the new Common Agricultural Policy information technology system, farmers who are prevented from completing their applications for payments by 15 May will be subject to penalties for late submission.

    Lord De Mauley

    Under article 13 of EU regulation 809/2014, Member States must require claims to be made by no later than 15 May, and this is the deadline adopted in the UK. Late claims submitted within the next 25 days are subject to a penalty of 1% of the claim for each working day’s delay. Claims already submitted by 15 May can be adjusted after that in some circumstances. We expect that the Rural Payments system, and our provision of support to those who may face any difficulty in applying online, will ensure that all farmers have every opportunity to claim their direct payments by 15 May. There are force majeure provisions for those that fail to submit on time which can apply in limited circumstances.

    The Secretary of State is also seeking to make such penalties more proportionate in future.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what resources they are providing to the Moving Energy Initiative for Middle Eastern Refugees; to what extent any such assistance will include solar energy for camps; and what other forms of energy, for instance solar ovens, are being planned.

    Baroness Northover

    Over the next two years, DFID’s Humanitarian Innovation and Evidence Programme is providing £2million to develop The Moving Energy Initiative. Initial research and evidence will guide subsequent pilots which will provide renewable and/or sustainable energy for displaced populations. A country in the Middle East will be one of the pilots.

    The initiative will consider the applicability of a range of technologies in addition to solar photovoltaic and solar thermal systems, including clean or fuel efficient cookstoves, anaerobic digestion, appropriate energy efficient buildings, and wind power amongst others. One of the objectives of the research will be to identify the ‘best-fit’ renewable/sustainable energy option(s) for each specific location.

  • Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that young people whose 18th birthdays fall on or before the voter registration application deadline know that they can register to vote before they turn 18.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The Government recently announced that organisations that work with people who are underrepresented on the electoral register will share some £2.5 million of funding to ensure they register to vote. This includes UK Youth and British Youth Council who will target young people.

    In addition, £6.8 million has been shared across every Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) in Great Britain. EROs are best placed to determine the type of activity they deliver through this funding to maximise registration levels in their area according to local circumstances. This could include specific activity aimed at registering attainers or a write out to all households to prompt those missing to register.

  • Mark Durkan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Durkan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the UK’s programme of counter-narcotics assistance to Colombia; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We receive regular updates on our ongoing programme of support to Colombia in the area of counter-narcotics. However, we do not release detailed information as to do so would risk undermining operational effectiveness and could prejudice the capability or security of those undertaking operations. Officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Home Office, National Crime Agency and Ministry of Defence are in regular dialogue to ensure this activity is in line with our international obligations.