Tag: 2015

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what evidential basis there is for there being a link between enabling students from low and middle income backgrounds to attend university and improving UK productivity set out in his report, Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, published in July 2015.

    Greg Hands

    The link between productivity as measured by wage returns and higher education is well established. Academic evidence shows that a woman can expect on average to earn £252,000 more over their lifetime after studying at university, net of taxes and loan repayments. For a man the equivalent figure is £168,000. This government believes that people from all backgrounds should be able to benefit from a university education. UCAS data suggests that those from disadvantaged areas are 38% more likely to apply to university now than they were in 2009.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the co-operation between highway authorities and statutory service providers who need to dig up the highway and footway to maintain, repair and replace their services.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government has not undertaken an assessment of the co-operation between highway authorities and statutory undertakers.

    However, section 59 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 places a duty on local highway authorities to co-ordinate works on the highway and section 60 provides a mirror duty on statutory undertakers to co-operate with them in that role.

    Additionally the Traffic Management Act 2004 introduced the Network Management Duty which requires local authorities to manage their networks with a view to making the most effective use of them. The 2004 Act also introduced permit schemes, which enable highway authorities to have a more proactive role in the management of their road networks.

  • Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her objectives are for the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The World Humanitarian Summit will provide a major opportunity to set out an ambitious vision for humanitarian and development action to guide our work until 2030.

    The Secretary of State for International Development has four priorities for the Summit:

    • Strengthen the protection of civilians in a crisis and improve compliance with International Humanitarian Law;
    • Deliver a step change in how the humanitarian community approaches resilience to natural disasters, moving from managing crises to managing risk and ensuring Governments and communities have the capacity to do this themselves;
    • Address the growing gap between need and available resources through smarter financing that delivers better outcomes at lower cost and is more accountable to people in need;
    • Focus on women and girls throughout the summit to ensure existing commitments are translated into action.
  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether a new HS3 fast line from Manchester and across the Pennines should pass through Leeds.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    In November 2015 the Government and Transport for the North jointly published a progress report on the Northern Transport Strategy, including our work to transform rail in the North. Our vision is an integrated network of rail services providing fast, frequent, comfortable and convenient connectivity between the main centres of the North.

    We have commissioned Network Rail and HS2 Ltd to identify options to meet, or move towards meeting this vision. This includes development of infrastructure options, including between Manchester and Leeds, as part of a wider network also encompassing Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle and Hull.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many men in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Glasgow and (d) Glasgow East constituency who are aged (i) 60, (ii) 61, (iii) 62, (iv) 63, (v) 64, (vi) 65, (vii) 66, and (viii) 67 are in receipt of pension credit in the 2015-16 financial year.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information as requested for 2015/16 is not available.

    Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:

    http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

    “

  • – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 2 November (HL3216), whether that answer takes into account that EH40/2005 Workplace Exposure Limits states that workplace exposure limits (WELs) are British exposure limits and are set in order to help to protect the health of workers and apply only to people at work, and that the final report of the Cranfield cabin air study of 2011 stated that WELs are appropriate for the protection of the health of a working adult exposed in a workplace and are not applicable to other groups such as children or elderly persons or to other environments that are not workplaces”; and if not

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The previous answer (HL3216) took account of the relevant national and international guidelines and the relevance of various chemicals to human health. For example, two of the substances measured (tolulene and carbon monoxide) are the subject of a European standard for safety, health and comfort limits (BS EN 4618:2009). In addition to this, for the substances that do not have a European standard, other limits and guidelines have been considered in assessing the significance of any health risk of exposure to the concentrations measured in cabin air. Several of the substances monitored during the research, for example TBP, TOCP and tetrachloroethylene, have workplace exposure limits (WEL). For substances that do not have a WEL, a number of guidelines were used that have been recommended by the World Health Organisation as well as different groups in the UK and EU. These groups include Kotzias et al, Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the Committee on the Medical Effect of Air Pollutants (COMEAP).

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of progress on Total Transport pilots.

    Andrew Jones

    In March this year 37 rural local authorities in England were allocated £7.6m funding to pilot Total Transport Schemes in their areas. This initiative is examining how existing resources can be allocated and co-ordinated more efficiently.

    The pilots are being run over a two-year period and individual schemes are currently in progress. There will be a review around April next year.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they define moderate” in the context of opposition in Syria.”

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The moderate opposition in Syria, the majority of whom use the brand of the Free Syrian Army, call for a pluralistic political system in Syria that respects the rights of all Syrians (including minorities) and rejects terrorism and terrorist tactics. They have repeatedly condemned Islamic extremism, and have been fighting, and beating back Daesh in Syria for over two years while also protecting their communities from vicious attack from the Assad regime. They have scored significant victories in Idlib and Aleppo in Northwest Syria and in Dera’a province in the South.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take to improve broadband services in urban areas (a) generally and (b) for small and medium-sized businesses in 2015-16.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Access to broadband is of vital importance to small and medium-sized businesses, which is why the Government-funded Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme has provided over 50,000 small and medium sized enterprises with access to high speed broadband.83 per cent of homes and businesses already have access to superfast broadband services, and thanks to the Government’s investment in the superfast broadband rollout, this is set to rise to 95 per cent by the end of 2017. In addition, the Government is supportingseven pilot projects exploring options for delivering superfast broadband services to the hardest to reach parts of the UK.

  • Emma Lewell-Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Emma Lewell-Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to encourage (a) UK-owned and (b) UK-based private sector companies to invest in UK energy and manufacturing supply chains.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has worked jointly with Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) and UKTI to encourage investment in UK energy supply chains, in both UK-owned and UK-based companies, and to achieve higher levels of UK content in energy infrastructure. We have worked constructively with project developers to enhance the opportunities for UK-based companies to win contracts and with top tier suppliers to encourage them to invest in the UK.

    BIS continues to work with DECC and the Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) to encourage investment in the UK Continental shelf (UKCS) and these arrangements include the formation of a Supply Chain Board to promote development of the oil and gas supply chain. Subsequent to the Oil & Gas Skills Analysis Report we maintain a regular dialogue with Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation (OPITO), the oil and gas skills body, who advise on skills gaps.

    For large renewable energy projects, developers are required to have their Supply Chain Plans approved by Government, setting out how they will boost competition, innovation and skills, before they are eligible to apply for price support under the Contract for Difference regime. BIS has supported the GROW: Offshore Wind programme to help SMEs in England to compete in the offshore wind supply chain and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult to help companies bring new technologies to market.

    Open competition is important to bring down the costs of energy and, in open competition, UK bidders do not always win the contracts. We have made no specific assessment of the impact of UK contractors failing to win contracts on the UK economy, including the Scotland economy, and on the UK skills base.

    More widely, the Government is taking a number of steps to strengthen UK manufacturing supply chains and help these businesses compete in global markets.

    First and foremost, we are building a strong economy and a competitive business environment. We are backing manufacturers by cutting corporation tax, slashing red tape by a further £10billion and investing £6.9billion in the UK’s infrastructure. This is creating the right economic conditions to encourage the business investment crucial to UK manufacturing productivity growth and jobs.

    Through the sectors councils we are working closely with manufacturing companies to understand their needs and remove barriers in their path. The Government continues to invest in our world leading aerospace, automotive, defence and transport sectors and has reformed procurement rules so the supply chain can reap maximum benefit; whilst the High Value Manufacturing Catapult shows how companies can adapt to new technologies reduce their costs and boost productivity. One in six manufacturers have reshored production over the past three years and around one third of the 2,000 new Foreign Direct Investment projects landed in 2014/15 were in the areas of advanced manufacturing and life sciences. Business has the confidence to invest and make things in the UK again because the Government is getting the fundamentals of the economy right and creating a highly competitive, pro-business environment.