UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2015

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department provides to its managers on how many days training should be made available to staff.

    Claire Perry

    In line with the Civil Service Reform Plan, the Department for Transport recommends that its entire staff undertake a minimum of five days learning and development per year.

    This includes a wide range of learning for example, on the job training, e-learning, classroom training and coaching or mentoring.

    The department encourages all staff to undertake at least five days a year of development via its internal communications and links this to development opportunities throughout the year.

    Managers are also advised to discuss staffs development needs as part of the performance management process and how to access learning – e.g. via Civil Service learning (CSL).

  • Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Statement of 10 February 2015, HCWS 269, on Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme, what estimate he has made of the (a) additional and (b) total cost of paying awards at 100 per cent of average civil damages in the first year of operation of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme.

    Mr Mark Harper

    Those diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma on or after 10 February 2015 will be eligible for a payment at the increased tariff rate of 100% of average civil claims but no payments can be made at that rate until the regulations which will introduce this change come into effect. Given this timing, this means that there will only be a very small number of claims which will be paid at the increased rate within the first year of the Scheme’s operation.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-02-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of the revenue raised through the O licences of good vehicles is spent by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency on enforcement activity.

    Baroness Kramer

    None of the revenue raised through the Operator licences of goods vehicles is spent on enforcement activity by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

  • The Lord Bishop of Worcester – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Worcester – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Worcester on 2015-02-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking, under the umbrellas of NATO and the European Union, to strengthen commitments and reassurances to Moldova, Georgia, and the Baltic states which could be vulnerable to further destabilising Russian action in those regions.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    At the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Wales Summit, the Alliance launched the “Readiness Action Plan” (RAP). This included an increase to the package of assurance measures for Eastern Allies in response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and aggressive actions in Eastern Ukraine. All 28 Allies are supporting the effort. As in 2014, this year the UK will contribute four Royal Air Force Typhoons to Baltic Air Policing from May and deploy over 3000 troops to exercises in Eastern Europe.

    As part of the RAP, Allies also agreed to establish a new Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), able to deploy at very short notice in response to a range of threats faced by the Alliance. At the NATO Defence Ministers meeting on 5 February the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Mr Fallon), confirmed that the UK will lead the VJTF in 2017 and also contribute to new forward integration units in the three Baltic States, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, and to the regional headquarters in Poland and Romania.

    At the NATO Summit, the Alliance also agreed a ‘Substantial Package’ of support for Georgia to strengthen her defence capabilities, and interoperability with the Alliance, and provide a new “enhanced partnership” status. Separately Allies agreed to establish Defence Capacity Building (DCB) Missions in Georgia and Moldova. The UK will contribute £250,000 to a new Trust Fund to facilitate this and manpower to the Georgian DCB Mission.

    Georgia and Moldova have chosen to pursue closer ties with the EU. These countries have decided of their own free will to sign Association Agreements in order to support their own reform programmes and to seek closer political association and economic integration with the EU. We fully support the sovereign choices of Georgia and Moldova and strongly believe that no third country should have a veto over their decisions.

    The EU provides continuing financial and technical support to the implementation of these reform programmes. Under the European Neighbourhood Instrument, the European Commission currently plans to allocate a minimum of €610 million for each country, with up to €746 million of funding available depending on the pace of reform. On 6 May 2014, the European Commission announced an additional support package for Georgia and Moldova, worth €60 million. The UK is providing technical assistance, in areas such as trade and human rights, to both Georgia and Moldova in their implementation of the Association Agreement reform programmes. In Georgia, the UK Regional Conflict Advisor for the South Caucasus continues to engage in dialogue with the conflict-affected communities. We also fund secondees to the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia. We have a number of projects in Moldova (including in the Transnistrian region) that work to increase engagement and build confidence between the sides of the Nistru (Moldova and the Transnistrian region).

    The UK plans to complete the ratification process for both Association Agreements with Georgia and Moldova before the General Election.

  • Lord Davies of Stamford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Davies of Stamford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Davies of Stamford on 2015-02-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the power and propulsion systems of the Type 45 destroyer; what actions they plan to take and to what timescale in order to remedy any problems that may have been identified; what is the estimated cost of any necessary remedial work; and what share of this cost will be borne by public funds.

    Lord Astor of Hever

    As a new class of warship the Type 45 has experienced some equipment reliability issues. Most of these have been resolved. Work is continuing to resolve the remaining issues. This is being funded from within existing Ministry of Defence (MOD) support budgets.

    In addition, options to undertake a Diesel Generator upgrade are being considered. This would add greater resilience to the Power and Propulsion system by increasing electrical generation capacity. The feasibility phase for this work, which is being co-funded by BAE Systems and the MOD, will conclude at the end of March 2015. A decision on whether to proceed with the upgrade programme will then be considered against wider Defence priorities and would be funded by the MOD.

    I am withholding information about the potential costs for the Diesel Generator upgrade as releasing such information at this stage would prejudice the commercial interests of the MOD.

    We have six in service, and the Type 45 class has demonstrated its capability, supporting operations in the Gulf and the South Atlantic.

  • Jesse Norman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jesse Norman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jesse Norman on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of savings related to PFI contracts in the NHS since 2010.

    Mr Jeremy Hunt

    Since May 2010, £179 million of signed savings on National Health Service private finance initiative (PFI) contracts has been reported by the Department of Health to HM Treasury.

    Our reforms have made it illegal for any government to drive the private sector into the NHS as Labour did, as Labour’s PFI deals are costing the NHS more than £1 billion a year.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Cathy Jamieson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been spent on (a) advertising and (b) recruitment of staff to provide telephone and face-to-face contact for the Pension Wise service since the introduction of that service was announced.

    Andrea Leadsom

    All guidance specialists working for Pension Wise will receive high quality and rigorous training, whether they are delivering guidance face to face or over the phone. They will be required to pass a certificated test to demonstrate they have the necessary technical knowledge and guidance skills to deliver the guidance. The training programme is designed in accordance with FCA standards, and will be accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute, a well-respected professional standards body in the financial services industry.

    HM Treasury’s delivery partners, TPAS and Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland and Citizens Advice Northern Ireland are currently recruiting guidance specialists. Recruitment strategies and the setting of pay scales is the responsibility of individual delivery partners.

    At Budget 2014, the Chancellor allocated a development fund of up to £20m to establish the initial guidance service. Spending on advertising will be published as part of the government’s Transparency Agenda. Initial funding to The Pension Advisory Service (TPAS) and the Citizen Advice organisations will be included in the HM Treasury Accounts to be published in July.

  • Steve Baker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Steve Baker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Baker on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to arrange for licensing of the Wycombe Sound radio station to be expedited.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Ofcom is responsible for licensing community radio stations and has awarded over 270 licences to date.

    Ofcom conducts licensing in rounds and invites applicants from each region of the UK in turn. Ofcom has published timetables for the latest round of community radio licensing and anticipate inviting applications from the South East of England outside the M25 in the first half of 2015.

    For reasons of fairness, Ofcom assesses all the applications it receives in a region before awarding any licenses.

  • Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much land required for (a) nuclear licensed sites, (b) operational purposes, (c) NDA offices and (d) other purposes is currently owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (i) directly and (ii) through subsidiaries including NDA Properties Limited.

    Matthew Hancock

    The land holdings of NDA Properties Ltd have been set out in the answers to Questions 224207 and 224187. Two further subsidiaries, Direct Rail Services Ltd and INS Property Holdings, own land but do not hold the information requested in the form specified.

  • Derek Twigg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Twigg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cumulative efficiency factor for NHS foundation trusts and trusts in 2015-16, taking into account (a) the proposed 3.8 per cent efficiency factor, (b) the proposed marginal rate for specialised services, (c) the marginal rate for urgent and emergency care and (d) other cost pressures; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 10 February 2015, to question 223008.

    “