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Tag: 2015

  • Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many civil servants in his Department are members of trades unions; how much working hours facility time is claimed by each such civil servant; and what the cost of that facility time is to his Department.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Department does not actively collect information around trade union memberships.

    The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to Civil Service facility time on a quarterly basis. The latest data is Quarter 4, 2014 at and is available athttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time."

    “

  • Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Calder Valley Line will be used as a diversion during the electrification of the Manchester to Leeds via Stalybridge line; and what assessment he has made of the merits of those diverted trains calling at Sowerby Bridge.

    Andrew Jones

    As announced on 30 September, Network Rail are working with the Department and Rail North to develop a new plan for electrification of the TransPennine line to focus on delivering key passenger benefits as quickly as possible. In his letter to the Secretary of State, Sir Peter Hendy, the chairman of Network Rail, stated that the planning of this work will be concluded by the end of 2017. The intention is to use the Calder Valley Line as a diversion during the works on the North Transpennine Line via Stalybridge. The details of the calling patterns of the diverted trainsare not yet determined, as the works need to be planned first. The Department and Rail North will work with the new train operators over the next few years to plan the calling patterns. The new train operators will take over from April 2016.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the costs of infrastructure improvements at RAF Waddington were in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

    Mark Lancaster

    The costs of infrastructure improvements at RAF Waddington in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15 are shown in the following table:

    Financial Year

    Grand Total

    2010-11

    £1,494,929.99

    2011-12

    £2,794,486.46

    2012-13

    £2,503,485.61

    2013-14

    £1,044,565.26

    2014-15

    £18,857,704.44

    Grand Total

    £26,695,171.76

    The significant increase in Financial Year 2014-15 is due to the Waddington boiler replacement work, the upgrade of Single Living Accommodation, and the start of the construction phases of the reconstruction and resurfacing of the runway and hangar refurbishments.

  • Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2015 to Question 228147, by when his Department plans to complete its detailed consideration of the policy and processes for validating the arrears accrued on all existing Child Support Agency cases, including arrears accrued from Interim Maintenance Assessments; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that the final policy and processes arising from that consideration and the timetable for implementation are fully transparent.

    Priti Patel

    As part of the case closure process expected to run until 2017, all existing Child Support Agency (1993/2003) cases with outstanding arrears will go through a series of checks to validate their arrears balance.

    We have already started closing Child Support Agency cases by segments based on case characteristics, prioritising those with on-going liability before closing arrears only cases.

    Where the arrears balance has been validated and the receiving parent has not indicated that they want their arrears written off, the stable balance will then be transferred to the 2012 Child Maintenance Scheme. Our approach to other historical debt, including Interim Maintenance Assessments remains under consideration.

  • Lucy Powell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lucy Powell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers her Department has recruited through its STEM international recruitment programme.

    Nick Gibb

    Schools have always been able to recruit teachers from overseas. Outstanding mathematics and physics teachers are in demand across the globe, and where schools wish to recruit from overseas we want to ensure they are able to do so and from those countries whose education standards are as high as our own.

    The Department for Education is committed to ensuring that schools are able to recruit appropriately to fill their teacher vacancies. We are working to grow a strong pipeline of teachers from within the UK and have a package of measures in place to support both recruitment of trainees and retention of existing teachers.

    The Department for Education recently embarked on an additional £67 million package of measures to target recruitment of 2,500 additional specialist maths and physics teachers and up-skill 15,000 existing non specialist teachers in these subjects. The vast majority of these additional 2,500 teachers will come from within the UK, but the government recognises the valuable contribution made by overseas trained teachers particularly for certain shortage subjects. Therefore a small part of the package is focused on supporting schools to recruit internationally for qualified maths and physics teachers where necessary.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what date the Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland was advised of the impact on the criminal offence of breach of official duty as a result of the changes relating to the correction of procedural error made by the Northern Ireland (Elections) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2015.

    Lord Dunlop

    Northern Ireland Office Ministers took the decision to lay the Northern Ireland (Elections) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2015 on 30 October 2015, following discussions with Ministerial colleagues at the Cabinet Office. Northern Ireland Office officials began work on the Order in May 2015, although work was delayed by the department’s focus on the Northern Ireland Talks process. The Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland was advised of the impact of the proposed changes relating to procedural error by letter on 31 July 2015. The Chief Electoral Officer expressed support for the proposed content of the Order in meetings in June 2015. The Electoral Commission was consulted on the Order on 1 October 2015. As the Explanatory Memorandum to the Order sets out, there are significant differences in the systems operating in Northern Ireland and Great Britain and a one size fits all approach is not justified.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many civil servants in her Department are members of trades unions; how much working hours facility time is claimed by each such civil servant; and what the cost of that facility time is to her Department.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) recognises three Trade Unions for the purposes of collective bargaining: the First Division Association (FDA), the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and Prospect. As not all Trade Union members pay their subscriptions through payroll it is not possible to provide accurate data on the number of employees who are trade union members.

    Local union representatives are elected by the employees who are members of the union in accordance with each union’s rules for filling these posts. In order to fulfil their trade union duties the unions also elect representatives to the roles of Departmental Trade Union Side (DTUS) Chair and Secretary. The DTUS Chair and Secretary are allocated re-approved facility time up to 50% of their working hours. All other representatives must request time off from their line manager.

    Details of the working time claimed by unions representatives in DECC and the cost of the facility time to the Department is provided to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis. The details provided in the latest return covering the period 1 April to 30 June 2015 are as follows:

    Total number of Trade Union representatives

    Total facility time (in working hours)

    Total cost of facility time to the Department

    15

    315.25

    £16,710

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 20 October (HL2592), whether the new offshore patrol vessels Forth, Medway, and Trent will operate in addition to the current four vessels.

    Earl Howe

    The three Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) currently under construction will enter service as replacements for three of the four in-service OPVs. As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review [Cm9161], two further River Class OPVs will be built, resulting in a more modern and more capable fleet of up to six OPVs in the Royal Navy.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Russian authorities about an international tribunal to investigate the destruction of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.

    Mr David Lidington

    I wrote to the Russian Ambassador to the UK in July, prior to the vote in the UN Security Council on a Resolution to establish an international tribunal which would prosecute those found responsible from the criminal investigation into the downing of MH17. I made it clear that there must be accountability for this crime and we expected all UN Security Council Members to cooperate. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials also raised this issue with their Russian counterparts both in London and in Moscow and will continue to do so.

  • Lord Robertson of Port Ellen – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Robertson of Port Ellen – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Robertson of Port Ellen on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why no Minister or senior British representative attended the second global High-Level Conference on Road Safety in Brasilia, Brazil on 18–19 November.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The second global High-Level Conference on Road Safety in Brasilia, Brazil was attended by Deputy Head of Mission, Mr Wasim Mir.