The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2015 to Question 15020, for what reason his Department’s outstanding spend data over £25,000 has not yet been published.
Matthew Hancock
The data is being compiled and will be published as soon as is practicable.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with VisitEngland on fiscal support for the Great Places Fund; and what the outcome of those discussions was.
David Evennett
The British Tourist Authority received a very positive Spending Review settlement, with a stable budget over the next four years for both Britain and England activity, an increase in overall GREAT funding and the new £40million Discover England Fund. The Fund will be administered by VisitEngland and will benefit both domestic and international tourism, making it easier for all visitors to book, access and enjoy our tourism offer.
Following the floods caused by storms Desmond and Eva,, £1million has also been provided for a promotional campaign to encourage British families to take holidays in the North of England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to respond to the increase in the number of flood related emergencies.
Rory Stewart
We have announced a National Resilience Review to better protect the country from future flooding and increasingly extreme weather events. The Review will consider how we calculate flood risk in light of recent events, and will be delivered by a new cross-Government team.
The Review will also cover ‘worst case scenario’ planning and the future impacts of climate change. It will also carry out a risk assessment of critical infrastructure like electricity substations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a computer games studies qualification within the education curriculum.
Nick Gibb
We are reforming qualifications to make them more rigorous so that they better equip students for further academic study and the world of work.
The new computing curriculum was introduced into schools in September 2014. The 2011 “Next Gen” report from leading figures in the creative industries informed the development of the new computing programmes of study. The report made a compelling case to replace the old ICT curriculum with a new curriculum that would give young people the skills to become makers rather than consumers, opening up careers in video games or other digital arts.
Students who wish to go on to further study can develop specialisms in information science before progressing to higher education or employment, including technical certificates and tech levels to develop the knowledge and skills that enable entry to employment.
We have no plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a computer games studies qualification at GCSE or A level.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans she has for pre-legislative scrutiny of proposals to implement new bodies to deal with the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
The UK Government remains committed to establishing the new bodies contained in the Stormont House Agreement and I will continue to work with the political parties, Northern Ireland Executive and victims groups to achieve the consensus needed for legislation. I will give consideration as to whether further drafting or documentation should be published as part of engagement on how to move forward on this issue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to (a) promote the installation of domestic solar photovoltaic systems and (b) provide funding streams for such installations.
Andrea Leadsom
In 2014, renewables provided nearly one fifth of the UK’s electricity needs[1] and we are on track to reach our aim of delivering 30 per cent by 2020. Generation from solar PV is making a significant contribution to achieving this aim, partly due to the support the technology receives through the small-scale Feed-in Tariff (FITs) scheme, and partly through the support to larger, mostly ground mounted solar PV, through the Renewables Obligation (RO); as of the end of October, we had a total of nearly 8.2GW of solar PV deployed across the UK.
We are required by our EU state aid approval to carry out a review of FITs this year to ensure that tariff levels provide sufficient incentive to potential generators whilst not over-compensating applicants to the scheme. The Government proposed changes to FITs as part of that review, on which we consulted widely between 27th August and 23rd October. We are currently analysing feedback submitted during the consultation and intend to publish a Government response in due course.
This review, along with other measures to control costs under the levy control framework, should help ensure that renewables deployment remains affordable. Consultations have closed and we expect to provide the government responses in due course.
[1] Energy Trends
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether revenue received from the criminal courts charge has exceeded the cost to the public purse of running such courts since that charge was introduced.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The principle underlying the Criminal Courts Charge was for offenders to contribute towards the cost of running the Criminal Courts, not to cover the full running costs.
Data on the amount of the Criminal Courts Charge imposed and collected from April to September can be found here – https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the cost benefit analysis of the year 1 and 2 badger cull pilots; for what reasons the roll-out to Dorset of the badger culls went ahead prior to the publication of that cost benefit analysis; and if she will make a statement.
George Eustice
The expected benefits of the policy remain in line with those in the ‘Measures to address bovine tuberculosis in badgers’ impact assessment published in 2011.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on the NATO Ballistic Missile Defence network in each of the last five years; and how much it plans to spend on that network in each of the next five years.
Mr Philip Dunne
The UK’s contribution to the NATO Ballistic Missile Defence network for future years will form part of our contribution to NATO in accordance with our agreed cost share. As outlined in the SDSR, we will support research, development initiatives and multinational engagement through the UK’s Missile Defence Centre. The specific expenditure for the years requested has not yet been identified
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with his counterparts in (a) China, (b) Vietnam and (c) South Korea about the dog meat trade in those countries.
Mr Hugo Swire
The Government is committed to raising the standards of animal welfare at home and abroad. Whilst there are no international norms, laws or agreements governing the trade and consumption of dog meat, we believe it is necessary to work with governments to gain agreement on animal welfare standards and phase out cruel and inhuman farming practices.
I raised the importance of animal welfare with the Vietnamese government during my visit in February. Our Ambassador in Seoul has raised the issue of cruelty related to the dog meat trade with the South Korean authorities, explaining that UK Parliamentarians and the public would like to see regulation that would bring this to an end. Ministers have also raised the issue with Chinese counterparts, and we continue to work alongside the authorities there to help protect the welfare of stray animals.
I will be writing to all relevant Ambassadors about this issue in due course and the Government will consider a review of how we interact with various international organisations on dog meat consumption, specifically on the issue of health.