Tag: 2015

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of green belt land in the East Dorset District Council area has been redesignated in the last five years as community land trust.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not hold information centrally on the amount or type of land held by community land trusts.

    The Department’s annual Green Belt statistics monitor the amount of land designated as Green Belt in England and any changes to the designated area since the previous year. The statistics record the change by local planning authority.

    Of the local planning authorities for which information was requested, the following have made changes to the Green Belt in the last five years:

    East Dorset reduced the area of designated Green Belt in 2014-15 by 160 hectares to 16,720 hectares, a reduction of 1 per cent; and

    Purbeck increased the area of designated Green Belt in 2012-13 by 460 hectares to 8,200 hectares, an increase of 6 per cent.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to improve trade relations with Commonwealth countries.

    Anna Soubry

    Her Majesty’s Government is represented across the Commonwealth and, as one of its priorities, is committed to helping UK business succeed overseas. UK Trade and Investment itself is represented in around half of all Commonwealth countries. There is therefore a range of services that business can benefit from, dependent on the scale of the opportunities in each country.

    A strong Commonwealth, with enhanced economic prospects for all Commonwealth members, is good for UK business. My noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Lord Maude of Horsham, said in a debate in the other place on 11 November, “We underestimate the strength of the Commonwealth as a network for business.” My noble Friend is scheduled to attend the forthcoming Commonwealth Business Forum at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. This will provide an opportunity to discuss how to develop further our trade relationship with Commonwealth markets.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department’s policy remit on off-street parking includes parking for healthcare facilities, railway stations and local authority housing estates.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Responsibility for off-street parking transferred to DCLG in March of 2015, including Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and those aspects of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the Traffic Management Act 2004 which relate to off-street parking.

    The Department of Health have responsibly for setting the policy contect by which hopsital car parks operate and the Department of Transport retain an interest in railway parking. My Department has reponsibility for Local Authority housing estates.

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which companies have signed decommissioning relief deeds with his Department.

    Damian Hinds

    At Budget 2013, the government announced it would begin signing decommissioning relief deeds. These deeds represent a new contractual approach to provide oil and gas companies with certainty on the level of tax relief they will receive on future decommissioning costs.

    Since October 2013, the government has entered into 72 decommissioning relief deeds. Oil & Gas UK estimates that these deeds have so far unlocked more than £3.5bn of capital, which can now be invested elsewhere.

    The government committed to report to Parliament every year on progress with the deeds. The report for financial year 2014-15 can be found at:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2015-07-21/HCWS162/.

    The government does not publish the names of companies with which it has entered into decommissioning relief deeds as this information is commercially sensitive.

  • Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the feed-in tariff scheme will be paused in January 2015; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We will be publishing the Government response to the review of the feed-in tariff as soon as possible detailing the changes we will make to the scheme.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many children have been registered as homeless in (a) Ashfield and (b) Broxtowe in each of the last five years.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The numbers of households with dependent children (including expected children) accepted as homeless in Ashfield and Broxtowe in each of the last five years is shown in the table below. It is not possible to give precise numbers of children in accepted households.

    The figure for Broxtowe for 2011/12 is less than five and has been suppressed to avoid the risk of disclosing personal information.

    Data are collected on the numbers of households accepted as being in priority need as a result of the applicant being aged 16 or 17. There were less than 5 such cases in Ashfield and Broxtowe during the last five years combined.

    Period

    Ashfield

    Broxtowe

    2010/11

    15

    6

    2011/12

    9

    *

    2012/13

    12

    7

    2013/14

    40

    5

    2014/15

    35

    8

  • Robert Flello – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Robert Flello – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has received from diplomatic representatives in the UK of states where the trade of dog meat for consumption is active subsequent to the debate in the House on the dog meat trade of 5 November 2015.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Since the debate on 5 November my Department has not received any representations from any diplomatic missions in the UK on the dog meat trade, nor have Ministers made representations to their counterparts abroad. As highlighted during the debate by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), I am contacting our Ambassadors in the countries concerned to review our activities in this area.

    The Government is committed to raising the standards of animal welfare at home and abroad. I raised animal welfare issues during my visit to the region in February and will continue to make representations when appropriate.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value of weapons owned by his Department was in each of the last five years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Net book values for military weapons, platforms and support equipment are published in the MOD’s Annual Reports and Accounts which are routinely placed on the gov.uk website at the following link: htpps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mod-annual-reports under the heading Single Use Military Equipment (SUME).

  • Heidi Alexander – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has received (a) since his appointment as Secretary of State and (b) since the appointment of his predecessor in that post expressing concerns about Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.

    Alistair Burt

    A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified 40 items of correspondence expressing concerns about Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust. This figure represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only.

    In 2014, NHS England initiated action including an investigation of the deaths of all patients of the trust who had been in receipt of mental health or learning disability services since 2011.

    We are advised by NHS England that a first draft of the Mazars report was shared with it and Southern Health Foundation Trust in September 2015. The Department has not received a copy of the report and the report is still to be finalised before publication.

  • Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations she has received from heads of special educational needs schools on the increase in costs from national insurance and pension scheme contributions.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Department has received a large number of letters from headteachers about the increase in national insurance and pension scheme contributions, some of which have been from special schools.

    We are committed to protecting schools funding, as we pledged in our manifesto. Throughout this Parliament, as pupil numbers increase so too will the amount of money for our schools.