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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the debate on the North Sea on 30 November (HL Deb, cols 1002–1024), whether they will provide definitions of the different types of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in the UK’s coastal waters, the locations of those MPAs, of each type; and where new MPAs are to be introduced, to which type those belong.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Marine Protected Area (MPA) network is made up of different types of designations, made under national law, EU directives and international agreements. As designation of MPAs is a devolved matter, Defra is responsible for designations in Secretary of State waters only, which are, English inshore and offshore waters, Northern Irish offshore waters, and Welsh Offshore waters, with responsibility for conservation in the latter proposed to be devolved to the Welsh Government in the Wales Bill. In these waters, the MPA network is made up the following types of sites.

    • Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs), which are designated under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. They protect marine habitats and species that are either typical of the life in our seas, or are rare or vulnerable.
    • Two types of MPA can be designated under European legislation: Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), which protect habitats listed in Annex I and species listed in Annex II of the Habitats directive (92/43/EEC); and Special Protection Areas (SPAs), which protect birds listed in Annex I of the Wild Birds directive (2009/147/EC) and migratory species.
    • Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which are designated under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. These sites can be designated for either biological or geological interest.
    • Ramsar sites, which are wetlands of international importance, designated under the Ramsar Convention. This includes marine areas with a water depth at low tide of less than six metres. Ramsar sites are generally also underpinned by designation as SSSIs.

    Together, these sites contribute to the Blue Belt, a network of sites around the coasts of the UK, which forms our contribution to an ecologically coherent network of MPAs in the North East Atlantic.

    We have already made good progress in designating a network of sites in the Blue Belt. Over 16% of UK waters and almost a quarter of English inshore waters are now within MPAs.

    Based on current evidence the SAC network contribution for habitats can be considered complete. UK governments are considering advice on SACs for harbour porpoise, although no decision with regard to consultation has yet been taken.

    Defra and the devolved administrations in the UK plan to complete the identification of SPAs for birds in the UK marine area during 2016.

    Defra is seeking to fill the remaining gaps in the Blue Belt through two more tranches of MCZs. Details of this will be announced shortly. A map showing the existing network of MPAs in the waters for which the Secretary of State is responsible is attached.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide support for women who have been affected financially as a result of changes brought about by the Pension Act 2011.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government will not be revisiting the State Pension age arrangements for women affected by the Pensions Act 1995 and Pensions Act 2011. These women will receive their State Pension either at the same age as men or earlier as we remove current gender timetable inequality.

    The equalisation of State Pension age was necessary to meet the UK’s obligations under EU law to eliminate gender inequalities in social security provision. The Pensions Act 1995 contained legislation to equalise women’s State Pension age and, since April 2010, women’s State Pension age has been gradually increasing. Following sharp increases in life expectancy projections, and therefore the increase in the number of people living longer in retirement, this timetable was accelerated by the Pensions Act 2011.

    A concession was made prior to the passing of the 2011 Act which reduced the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their State Pension, relative to the previous timetable, to 18 months. This concession benefited almost a quarter of a million women, who would otherwise have experienced delays of up to two years. A similar number of men also benefited from a reduced increase, and the concession was worth around £1 billion in total.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff worked for the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation on 1 April 2015; and what the budget of that organisation is for 2015-16.

    Anna Soubry

    At 1 April 2015 the UK Trade & Investment Defence and Security Organisation had 140 staff-in-post. As at 1 April the 2015-16 budget for UKTI DSO was £9.75M NET.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations or advice he has received on the expectation of current students and graduates to repay their student loans under the terms of the current scheme.

    Joseph Johnson

    A consultation on freezing the student loan repayment threshold closed on the 14th October. Responses are being analysed and we will publish the Government’s response in due course.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the level of awareness among (a) micro, (b) small and (c) medium-sized enterprises of the Cyber Essentials programme.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have carried out an extensive range of activity to promote Cyber Essentials since the scheme launched in June 2014. This includeswork with trade organisations (such as the Federation of Small Businesses and the British Chambers of Commerce); inclusion of Cyber Essentials in Government cyber security guidance; the requirement for suppliers to hold a Cyber Essentials certificate for certain Government contracts; marketing and communications activity, including Cyber Essentials embedded in the Cyber Streetwise campaign for small businesses; plus an ongoing programme of events, conferences, industry engagement and Ministerial activity.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Answer of 30 October 2015 to Question 13346, if he will make it his policy to introduce a dedicated team at the tax credit office in Preston constituency to deal with tax credit cases referred to them by hon. Members.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) already has three units which deal specifically with representations from hon. Members in relation to their constituents’ concerns: a dedicated MP hotline for Tax Credits, an MP complaints team that deals with tax credit complaints, and an HMRC Ministerial correspondence team.

    The dedicated MP hotline is a telephone helpline to assist MPs, MEPs, MSPs, Welsh Assembly Members and their staff when dealing with constituents’ Tax Credit issues. Advisors deal with around 11,500 calls per year.

  • Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received from (a) the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington and (b) the Labour Party on reform of EU state aid rules; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Chancellor receives a large number of representations on a wide range of issues including both the EU Budget and EU State Rules. As has been the case with previous administrations, it is not normal practice to release details of such representations.

  • Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13951, which foreign military awards have been approved for members of the UK armed forces to wear; and what criteria are applied in determining such approval.

    Mark Lancaster

    The UK Armed Forces have a distinguished history of serving with great courage and professionalism in a wide-range of conflict situations; over the years various foreign military awards have been approved for acceptance and some of these have also been approved for wearing. A full list of the qualifying criteria for, and permission to wear, campaign medals, foreign medals and medals awarded by international organisations is available in Joint Service Publication 761 which can be found at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/396186/JSP761_honours_awards.pdf

    Information on the numbers of UK Service personnel or veterans who have been awarded the NATO Africa Medal is not held by the Ministry of Defence as this is administered by NATO.

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  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to his Department’s rural satellite broadband voucher scheme, what estimate he has made of the average cost of (a) installation and (b) a 12 months subscription to 2 megabit rural satellite broadband services.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The initiative will be administered by local authorities who will provide a code to eligible homes and businesses upon request. The code does not have a specific fixed value, but when used to obtain a satellite broadband service from one of the selected retail service providers, the use of the code will reduce the total cost (i.e. installation and commissioning costs plus 12 monthly subscriptions) by around £350.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of additional teachers that will be needed to accommodate the predicted population rise over the next 25 years; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education uses the Teacher Supply Model (TSM) to estimate the demand for qualified teachers in active service within state-funded schools in England each year using a range of assumptions including projections for the numbers of pupils in schools. The TSM then estimates the number of postgraduate Initial Teacher Training (ITT) places required in England to meet this demand, given the number of entrants expected through routes other than the Newly Qualified Teacher route; for example through returning to teaching.

    The TSM estimates the number of postgraduate training places required one year in advance and is updated each year to take account of the most up-to-date data – for example, the population projections published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) – which means our estimates change each year. As with any long-term forecast, the further into the future the forecast the more uncertain the estimates become. For this reason, the department does not produce 25 year forecasts of teacher demand. The forecast period of the current TSM provides the department with estimates of the broad trend in likely future demand for teachers which is sufficient for our policy development needs.

    The 2016/17 version of the TSM, which was used to inform the 2016/17 ITT recruitment process, along with a user guide explaining the methodology in detail, is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-supply-model.

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