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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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the implications for her policies on support for community-based renewable generation projects are of the proposed changes to the feed-in tariff scheme and HM Treasury’s decision to remove such projects from tax relief.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Part of the purpose of the feed-in tariff (FIT) review consultation was to gather views on the broader economic impact of the proposed changes. We also sought views on whether the scheme should be focussed towards specific groups or sectors which might, for example, include households or communities. We had a strong response from community energy groups via the consultation and workshops.

    The actual impact on the community sector will depend on the options taken forward after all responses to the consultation have been considered. We are currently analysing feedback submitted during the consultation and intend to publish a Government response as soon as possible.

    The purpose of the tax-advantaged venture capital schemes is to provide funding to smaller higher-risk companies that would otherwise struggle to access finance to develop and grow. To ensure that the schemes are well targeted and deliver value for money, the government announced at the Autumn Statement the exclusion of all remaining energy generation activities from the schemes. This follows the exclusion of certain types of energy generation in 2012, 2014 and 2015, including most recently the announcement that the provision of reserve energy generating capacity and the generation of renewable energy benefiting from other government support by community energy organisations would be excluded from the schemes with effect from 30th November 2015, as well as from Social Investment Tax Relief when that scheme is expanded. These changes help to ensure that higher risk investments are not crowded out by lower risk investments.

    We will continue to work with the community energy sector over the coming months to develop a joint approach that addresses the priorities of the sector and satisfies our overarching objective of cost-effective emissions reductions.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints his Department has received about the DVLA from people resident in Northern Ireland since 1 July 2014.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency received 327 complaints from customers with a Northern Ireland postal address between 1 July 2014 and 16 December 2015.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will provide financial support to village halls to ensure that they are able to continue to operate after the closure of the National Village Halls Forum.

    Rory Stewart

    Community and Village Halls play an important role in many communities. We continue to consider the best ways to help the people who run them have the skills and support they need. Defra provided ACRE with £2,312,000 for 2015-16 to distribute amongst Rural Community Councils, allowing them to continue their role in sustaining rural villages and communities, and in operating their network of village hall advisers.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on the Mandatory Work Activity scheme in each of the last four years.

    Priti Patel

    The Department’s expenditure in respect of Mandatory Work Activity in each of the last four financial years is as follows:

    2011-12 £9.2m

    2012-13 £13.7m

    2013-14 £15.0m

    2014-15 £12.8m

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    On 4 November the The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond) and I met President Khoja and other representatives of the Syrian National Coalition of Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (National Coalition) in London. We discussed the urgent need for political transition in Syria as the only way to solve the conflict and defeat ISIL. We were clear that Assad has no place in Syria’s future and that the new political process in Vienna offers the opportunity to make progress towards Syrian-led negotiations. The National Coalition expressed their readiness to reach out to other moderate political and armed groups in Syria and agreed that the opposition negotiating team must be able to speak for the Syrian people. The UK’s special representative for Syria maintains regular contact with the National Coalition. The UK will continue to work with the National Coalition and our international partners in pursuit of a political solution to the Syrian conflict.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 18747, if he will publish the eligibility criteria for advance universal credit payments.

    Priti Patel

    To be eligible for a Universal Credit (UC) Advance payment, the claimant has to have an underlying entitlement to UC, be in financial need, and be able to afford to repay the Advance. These criteria are contained within the Social Security (Payments on Account of Benefit) Regulations 2013.

    If during the initial work search interview, a work coach identifies a claimant is in financial need, or cannot manage until they receive their first UC payment, they will advise them about advance payments.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the findings of its Innovation, Health and Wealth report, published in December 2011, were taken into account in the terms of reference of the Accelerated Access Review.

    George Freeman

    The Accelerated Access Review (AAR), chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor, will make recommendations to government on reforms to accelerate access for National Health Service patients to innovative medicines and medical technologies making our country the best place in the world to design, develop and deploy these products. The terms of the reference for the review focus on faster access to innovations, which may include certain off-patent repurposed drugs, as opposed to the routine availability of medicines or medical technologies.

    Prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR, the Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS including the Innovation, Health and Wealth report. As a result, building upon the lessons of previous reviews is explicit with the terms of reference of the AAR.

    The AAR has regular meetings with senior officials from NHS England via a steering group as recommendations are being developed. In addition, some staff from NHS England have been assigned to support the review team.

    Sir Hugh is still in the process of developing final recommendations which will be published in spring 2016. In his Interim Report published in October, Sir Hugh sets out a proposition on “galvanising the NHS”. This involves supporting the NHS to adopt innovation, more rapidly through better practical support, stronger incentives and the potential streamlining of local structures.

    The Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR. It was clear that whilst progress has been made on the uptake of innovation in the NHS there is still much to do. Sir Hugh and the head of the External Advisory Group, Professor Sir John Bell, set out the case for uptake of innovation in the recently published AAR Interim Report.

    The AAR has senior level contact with officials working on Lord Carter’s review of NHS efficiency to ensure that information is shared between the two teams.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent aid agencies, including both UN and voluntary organisations, are working in the Greek islands nearest to Turkey; and whether they plan to encourage those agencies to do further work.

    Baroness Verma

    Meeting the humanitarian needs of the huge numbers of refugees arriving in Greece this year is a major challenge. The UK has so far provided £4.5 million to trusted partners working in Greece in support of the Greek authorities. With our funding, the Red Cross is providing assistance and emergency first aid to refugees and migrants arriving on the beaches. We are also providing assistance through the International Organisation for Migration and UNHCR, who are delivering essential coordination, reception and registration support, direct physical assistance, and protection services for the most vulnerable people. UK support is also being delivered via a consortium of NGOs led by the Start Network, and via the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, through which we have provided in-kind assistance of blankets, sleeping bags and tents.

    The scale of the response by aid agencies has been impressive but we continue to push for greater coordination, both between agencies and with the Greek government. We are holding discussions with major agencies and NGOs to assess the best way to do this and to plan effectively for 2016. We remain committed to responding in the most effective and comprehensive manner. DFID officials have also recently travelled to Greece to assess the current situation on the ground and how to further scale up support. We will consider further support as needs emerge.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications his Department has received for the (a) Innovation Excellence and Strategic Development Fund and (b) Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund; and when he plans to announce the 2015-16 grant allocations from those funds.

    Alistair Burt

    321 applications were received to the 2015-16 Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development Fund and 283 to the 2015-16 Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund scheme.

    Decisions on allocating funds have not yet been finalised. We will let applicants know the outcome as soon as possible.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the hospital bills sent to the Palestinian Authority for medical treatment of Ahmad Dawabsha.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not made representations to the Government of Israel on this issue. However, the Government of Israel has confirmed to us that they covered the cost of the medivac. We had also previously understood from contact with the Dawabsheh family that their hospital fees were being met by Israel.