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Tag: 2015

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Government’s decision to withdraw £1 billion in funding from carbon capture and storage projects on the future of energy-intensive industries in the UK.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The provision of ring-fenced capital support for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) was judged against other Government funding priorities as part of the Spending Review. Government has not taken the Spending Review decision lightly. The Government continues to view CCS as having a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors. Neither CCS Competition project proposed to capture CO2 from energy intensive industries.

    The detailed design and implementation of CCS policy changes have yet to be determined. The Industrial 2050 Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency Roadmaps reports published in March 2015 identified a potential role for industrial CCS technologies in decarbonising the steel, oil refining, chemicals and cement sectors. DECC and BIS continue to engage with the energy intensive industries and academics to develop decarbonisation Action Plans by the end of 2016 as the second phase of this process.

    The Government remains committed to working with energy intensive industries including those in the Northern Powerhouse area. DECC provided £1million funding to Tees Valley Unlimited as part of the 2013 City Deal agreement to undertake an Industrial CCS feasibility study based on the chemicals and steel industry in the Teesside cluster and we continue to support that work. The devolution deal for Tees Valley, published in October this year, also included a commitment to explore how it can continue to develop its industrial CCS proposals.

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department will provide a definition of the term vulnerable group for the purposes of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill; and with whom his Department will consult on that definition.

    Priti Patel

    Our reforms aim to ensure that work always pays more than a life on benefits; that the system is fair to those who pay for it, as well as those who benefit from it; and that support is focused on the most vulnerable which is why we are protecting pensioner benefits and payments for the additional costs of care and disability.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits to tourism of using daylight saving time all year.

    Tracey Crouch

    The Government has not made any recent assessments of the potential benefits of using daylight saving time all year. The Government has no plans to consider any changes in this area in the absence of consensus across the UK.

  • Stewart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stewart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart McDonald on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the £2,000 employment allowance is not allotted to NHS dentists employed as independent contractors.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Employment Allowance is an annual cut of up to £2,000 from the employer National Insurance Contributions bill of businesses and charities throughout the UK. As announced by the Chancellor in his Summer Budget, the allowance will increase to £3,000 from 2016-17.

    The allowance is designed to back businesses looking to grow and take on new people by reducing the costs of employment. Where businesses are already funded wholly or mainly by the public sector, they already benefit from public funds and as a result are not eligible for the Employment Allowance.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lisa Nandy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by what date her Department has instructed SERCO to no longer house asylum seekers in hotels.

    James Brokenshire

    The use of hotels is permitted under the terms of the COMPASS contract as a contingency accommodation when usual accommodation cannot meet demand. The Home Office is clear that this is only ever acceptable in an emergency and providers must move clients into suitable accommodation quickly. No instruction has been given to Serco to cease use of hotels, however we and the housing providers are pursuing all options to reduce hotel use and put in place alternative contingency options.

  • Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Marie Morris on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the number of businesses in Newton Abbot constituency which have download speeds of 10Mb/s.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government has committed to achieving availability of superfast broadband to 95% of homes and businesses in the UK by the end of 2017. 88 per cent of homes and businesses in Newton Abbott are estimated to have coverage by the end of 2016, and additional funding sources, including the clawback funding that BT have offered in response to the high levels of take-up, will allow coverage to be extended further in Newton Abbot and the rest of the area covered by the Devon and Somerset broadband project. The Government will also launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadband USO by 2020,with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps, no matter where in the country they live.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to seek the views of pensioners on (a) his Department’s policies and (b) concessionary travel since the closure of the UK Advisory Forum on Ageing.

    Andrew Jones

    Since the final meeting of the UK Advisory Forum on Ageing in September we have continued to consider the priorities of older people and to consult with relevant organisations where appropriate.

    We are working with the Disabled People’s Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) to revamp the Department for Transport’sAccessibility Action Plan, which was initiated for the first time under the Coalition government, to meet the growth in demand for a more inclusive transport system as a result of an aging population.

    We have also met with the National Pensioners’ Convention (NPC) at “round table” events for the upcoming Buses Bill, and welcome engagement with all organisations representing older people regarding policies including the national bus concession.

    The national concession provides almost ten million older and disabled people with free off-peak bus travel throughout England, helping them to maintain their independence and remain active in society. This Government has committed to maintaining this national concession through this Parliament.

  • Stewart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Stewart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart McDonald on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to encourage energy providers to join the Warm Home Discount Scheme.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Participation in the Warm Home Discount Scheme is mandatory for energy suppliers with 250,000 or more domestic customer accounts. The scheme includes a provision which allows non-obligated energy suppliers to voluntarily provide rebates to a Core Group of low income pensioners.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps will be taken to ensure that individuals with learning disabilities have access to good quality healthcare, in the light of reports by Mencap that there are 1,200 avoidable deaths of people with a learning disability in the NHS annually.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government’s response to the recommendations in the report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry included a wide range of measures aimed at improving safety and quality as well as ensuring compassionate care for everyone who uses National Health Service services, including people with disabilities.

    NHS organisations should comply with existing legislation, frameworks and guidance aimed at ensuring they identify and meet the needs of people with learning disabilities in commissioning and delivering safe, high quality care to all individuals, groups and communities of their populations.

    From June 2016, the Department will publish independently assured, ratings of the quality of healthcare offered to people with learning disabilities in all clinical commissioning group areas, to highlight variations and to allow rapid action to be taken when improvement is needed.

    NHS England continues to work to improve access to good quality healthcare for people with learning disabilities, including:

    ‒ improving identification of people with learning disabilities in health care records to ensure that reasonable adjustments can be made, communication needs addressed and crisis plans developed;

    ‒ encouraging the use of health passports when people access services so that professionals and staff are aware of their needs;

    ‒ improving identification on cancer screening information systems;

    ‒ ensuring that people with learning disabilities are identified as a priority group to receive flu vaccinations;

    ‒ improving access to NHS 111, Accident and Emergency and other services; and

    ‒ increasing the number of people who are eligible getting an annual learning disability health check from their general practitioner.

    NHS England has also commissioned a learning disabilities Premature Mortality Review programme led by the University of Bristol from June 2015 to review and learn from deaths of people with a learning disability with the aim of improving services, care and support nationally.

    These initiatives will help to raise awareness and to tackle the inequalities experienced by those with learning disability, including where associated with Down’s syndrome.

    In addition, the Care Certificate, which was introduced in April 2015, is helping NHS service providers to ensure that their new healthcare assistants have the right fundamental skills and knowledge, including in communication and awareness of learning disability.

    Health Education England will work with healthcare providers to ensure that the continuing personal and professional development of staff continues beyond the end of formal training to enable staff to deliver safe and high quality healthcare and public health services both now and in the future.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress has been made on establishing marine protection zones in British Overseas Territories; and whether each such zone will require the consent of that Territory’s national assembly prior to its creation.

    James Duddridge

    Overseas Territory Governments are constitutionally responsible for the management of their marine resources, therefore any additional marine protection will have to be agreed, and implemented, by the Territory. In addition to the existing Marine Protected Area designations around South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands, the British Indian Ocean Territory and the British Antarctic Territory, we intend to designate the world’s largest contiguous no-take marine protection area around Pitcairn, and are working with Ascension Island to close at least 50 percent of their waters to fishing activities. For other Territories we are at an early stage of scoping whether further marine protection measures are desirable and scientifically justified.