UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2015

  • Catherine West – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Catherine West – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) starter and (b) affordable homes the Government plans to build over the next five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government is committed to building 200,000 starter homes over the course of this Parliament to provide affordable homes for purchase with 20% discount are available to first time buyers under 40.

    The Government remains committed to delivering 275,000 new affordable homes between 2015 and 2020. This means we will build more new affordable homes than during any equivalent period in the last twenty years.

  • Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many transgender prisoners received into prison in the last 12 months have been held in the segregation unit.

    Caroline Dinenage

    This information is not held centrally. As my Honourable Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation, committed to the House on 20 November, my Department will publish data on the number of trans people in prison in due course.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the passage into law of the Five Mile Act 1665.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    My Department has no plans to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the passage into law of the Nonconformists Act 1665.

    The Nonconformist Act was rightly repealed in 1689.

    Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, democracy, the rule of law, and equal rights define us as a society. The Government is determined to promote these values actively, working in partnership and alongside all communities.

  • Liz Kendall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Liz Kendall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many (a) men and (b) women have been promoted within the Government Equalities Office in each year since 2010.

    Edward Timpson

    The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, 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.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) no longer holds data on employees who are members of Trades Unions (TUs), following the removal of automatic TU subscription-fee deductions from employees’ salary in January 2015.

    The MOD makes certain facilities available to civilian employees who are accredited representatives, but not paid officials of, TUs recognised by the Department. The amount of time off and the purposes for which it is allowed is in accordance with the ACAS Code of Practice Time off for Trade Union duties and activities. This is recorded as facility time (FT).

    In FY 2014-15 some 9,865 staff days were spent on FT at a cost of £1.13 million, which is significantly lower than comparable figures for FY 2011-12 when an estimated 27,060 staff days were spent on FT at a cost of £3.65 million. The number of Departmental staff who were recorded as being 100% FT has also fallen from 53 in 2013 to zero in 2015.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of (a) the extent to which UK pension funds are investing in fossil fuel and high carbon industries and (b) the potential effect of climate change on the stability of the UK pension sector; and if he will make a statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Investment of UK pension funds is a matter for the trustees of the scheme. Trustees are required to take advice on investment from a suitably qualified person to ensure they are appropriate. Trustees make investments according to a statement of investment principles they prepare after taking advice. The statement will set out the extent to which the trustees take into account environmental considerations when making investments.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) guidance she provides and (b) information her Department holds on the admissions arrangements for the Sevenoaks Annexe of Weald of Kent Grammar School, recently approved by her Department.

    Edward Timpson

    Departmental advice for academies wishing to make a change to their existing arrangements is available on GOV.UK.

    The new annexe will serve the same age range as the existing site of Weald of Kent Grammar School, which is 11-19. The admission arrangements apply across the whole school. It is the responsibility of the academy trust as the admission authority to ensure that admission arrangements are compliant with The School Admissions Code.

    The newly expanded school will better meet the needs of school-age people in the community that it serves, with over 41% of students at the existing site already travelling from the Sevenoaks area.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, as penholder on the UN mission in Darfur in the UN Security Council, the UK is pressing for the introduction of community liaison assistants who would follow the model provided by MONUSCO in the DRC and would aim to provide camp residents with support in giving their views on their protection needs.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The mandate for the African Union/UN Hybrid Mission operation in Darfur (UNAMID) will be reviewed by June 30 2016. We will continue to work to strengthen the mission, including its engagement with vulnerable communities. We will assess the effectiveness of the use of community liaison assistants in the Democratic Republic of Congo and explore whether UNAMID’s community engagement would be improved by following a similar model.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she has made to the European Commission on difficulties faced by milk farmers because of the low price of milk.

    George Eustice

    UK Ministers and officials have regularly drawn the Commission’s attention to the difficulties facing UK dairy farmers. The Commission has listened to the concerns raised by the UK and other Member States and has introduced a €500m package of targeted support for EU farmers. The UK has been allocated the equivalent of £26.2m as part of this aid package and this will be shared between dairy farmers on the basis of their milk production. Northern Irish farmers will receive a boosted payment in recognition of the very low prices in Northern Ireland. Payments are expected to be made in December 2015.

  • Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that tunnelling engineering skills in the UK are not lost.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    .

    In 2012, the Government published “Tunnelling: A Capability Analysis” which identified the tunnelling skills essential to deliver key projects, including Crossrail, HS2 and the Thames Tideway Tunnel.

    To help meet this demand and maintain the UK’s skills base, the National Construction College delivers training at a purpose-built facility: the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy in East London.

    In September, the Government published the National Infrastructure Plan for Skills, to ensure the UK has the right skills base to deliver and maintain world-class infrastructure. This report sets out the scale of the challenge and is just the first step. The Government is now consulting with stakeholders across industry, academia and training providers to build a series of detailed actions to address the skills challenge.