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Tag: 2015

  • Wendy Morton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Wendy Morton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wendy Morton on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the prospects of a long-term global carbon reduction goal being agreed at the Paris Climate Conference in December 2015.

    Amber Rudd

    My Hon. Friend, the UK Government firmly supports the need for a long term global carbon reduction goal in the Paris Agreement.

    It would send an important signal to business and investors on the global direction of travel.

    We have been pleased with the progress made at a political level, including through the G7 and our recent joint statement with South African in October and that by the US and China in September.

    We will continue to press for its inclusion in the Paris deal.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of those eligible service personnel who have left the reserve forces have participated in the Reservists Employment Support Programme of the Careers Transition Partnership in each year since 2010.

    Mark Lancaster

    Following the commencement of the Career Transition Partnership on 1 October 2015, the Reservists Employment Support Programme is expected to be trialled from April 2016.

  • Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many times he has (a) met and (b) corresponded with a minister of the Welsh Government on the draft Wales Bill in the last 12 months.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Wales Office is the lead Government department on the draft Wales Bill, and is the primary point of contact with the Welsh Government on matters related to the draft Bill.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the economic benefits to Todmorden and Hebden Bridge following the planned improvements to the railway stations in both towns as part of the new Northern rail franchise.

    Andrew Jones

    The Calder Valley route between Manchester and Bradford will see more trains and faster journeys, with the weekday service frequency between Bradford and Manchester being enhanced by 50% (from two to three trains per hour), a significant increase in evening services, a doubling of Sunday service frequency from one to two trains per hour, and new direct links from Bradford to Manchester Airport and from Bradford to Liverpool.

    These enhancements will bring benefits to Calder Valley towns such as Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. Taking these improvements alongside other existing services, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden will each be served by a total of four trains per hour for the main part of the day (Monday to Saturday) and three trains per hour (Sundays). In addition, both Hebden Bridge and Todmorden will also become “Northern Connect” stations, benefiting from new or refurbished trains on longer-distance services, faster journeys and stations staffed daily with catering services and free Wi-Fi.

    Add this to the withdrawal of all Pacers by the end of 2019, an investment of £400 million in 281 brand newcarriages (some of which will operate on the existing Blackpool-York services and the new Bradford-Manchester Airport and Bradford-Liverpool services), and the refurbishment of the rest of the Northern fleet, we expect these enhancements to result in very substantial economic benefits for the area.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Hodge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will ensure that any agreement on a central registry of beneficial ownership in Montserrat includes access for the public with legitimate reason.

    James Duddridge

    I refer the Right Honourable Lady to the answer given by my Hon Friend the member for Hertfordshire South West (David Gauke), the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 16 October to questions 10437, 10438 and 10448, which sets out the criteria we expect the Overseas Territories to meet in relation to their central register of company beneficial ownership, or similarly effective system. We are in discussions with the Montserrat authorities on this and are offering technical assistance as they develop their proposals.

  • Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of UK aid spending in reducing levels of illiteracy in Pakistan.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The Pakistan programme is DFID’s largest bilateral investment in education worldwide. More than 6.3 million primary school children and 3.7 million secondary school children have benefited since 2011. Working in partnership with provincial governments and the private sector, we aim to get more children into school, staying longer, and learning more.

    DFID has funded the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) for the last three years. The report includes a wide range of data on education, including pupil enrolment, provision of facilities, and learning outcomes. In their 2015 report, published on 17 December 2015, ASER reports on national progress on literacy in rural areas for example it shows that grade 5 literacy levels in English have improved by 7 per cent. DFID interventions in the education sector since 2011 are likely to have had a positive impact on literacy levels in Punjab and Khyber Phaktunkhwa, given the focus on improved facilities and teaching, and pupil and teacher attendance. It is not however possible to claim a direct correlation between the ASER data and DFID’s investment.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assistance his Department plans to give to local authorities to ensure that they are able to provide new affordable housing to people on low incomes.

    Brandon Lewis

    More council housing has been built since 2010 than in the previous 13 years. 2014 saw the highest number of council housing starts for 23 years.

    Almost £222 million of extra borrowing headroom has been allocated to 36 councils in England to support over 3,000 new affordable homes in 2015/16 and 2016/17.

    The 2011-15 Affordable Homes Programme exceeded expectations – delivering 186,000 new affordable homes -16,000 more than the target. In addition, this Government is committed to delivering a further 275,000 new affordable homes by 2020. Through the 2015-18 Affordable Homes programme, we have already allocated around £1.4 billion to support this delivery

    The Government is committed to helping hard working people across the country to own their own home. We believe that shared ownership has an important role to play in helping those who aspire to home ownership but may be otherwise unable to afford it.

    We launched a one-off £36 million funding package in August to pave the way for the first wave of Starter Homes on brownfield sites that would otherwise not be built on to help more young people into discounted home ownership. Of this, up to £10million will be made available to councils in England. 200,000 Starter Homes will be built by 2020/21.

    Right to buy additions are due within 3 years of sales: 3,694 new Right to Buy addition starts and acquisitions were delivered against 3,054 additional homes sold in the first year of the scheme. Receipts from the sale of Right to Buy homes will continue to help authorities to build new additional properties.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he expects applicants for payments under CAP to be able to register their identity using GOV.UK Verify as planned under the new CAP regime.

    Matthew Hancock

    Applicants can already register and sign in online for Rural Payments with GOV.UK Verify.

    “

  • Sammy Wilson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Sammy Wilson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sammy Wilson on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what total amount of funding has been allocated to the Superconnected Cities project.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Super Connected Cities Programme had an allocation of up to £150m, to support broadband and digital projects across 22 citiesup to March 2015. The Chancellor extended the connection voucher scheme to 50 cities from April 2015 on a first come first serve basis, with up to £40m of that funding available for this.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether UK universities are required to admit support dogs for adults with autism.

    Joseph Johnson

    Higher Education Institutionsare autonomous and independent bodies, and have clear legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support their students, including those with autism.

    Under the Equality Act 2010 institutions have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people to ensure students are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled students.