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Tag: 2015

  • Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy that no Department be permitted to (a) employ staff at wages below the living wage and (b) sign a contract with contractors who pay their staff less than the living wage.

    Matthew Hancock

    We are the first Government ever to deliver a National Living Wage. Every employer in the country will pay the National Living Wage, including all Government contractors, from April 2016.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the UK sought permission from the government of Syria to deploy manned and unmanned surveillance aircraft over Syria before he made his Statement to the House on 21 October 2014.

    Penny Mordaunt

    No. This activity is conducted as part of the international counter-ISIL/Da’esh Coalition in the self-defence of the UK and the collective self-defence of Iraq, under article 51 of the UN Charter, against the direct threat from ISIL’s heartland in Syria.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current status of the plutonium disposal programme.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) are in the process of submitting advice to support DECC in its considerations. This, together with other sources of information and evidence, will enable DECC to consider options for the way forward. A decision is expected to be made by ministers on how to proceed during 2015/16. Only when the Government is confident that its preferred option could be implemented safely and securely, in way that is affordable, deliverable, and offers value for money, will it be in a position to proceed.

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the introduction of statutory PHSE on the uptake of STEM subjects by girls.

    Edward Timpson

    Through the introduction to the national curriculum, the Government has made clear that all schools should make provision for Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE). PSHE is, however, a non-statutory subject.

    The Government is determined to increase the number of young people studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects, particularly girls. There have been 12,000 more A Level entries in STEM subjects for girls over the last five years.

    PSHE plays an important part in preparing young people for the world of work including dispelling gender stereotyping. Resources to support PSHE include those produced by Siemens in collaboration with the PSHE Association. These resourced explore equality and the world of work which aim to inspire the next generation of female scientists, technicians and engineers.

    We are also supporting schools in other ways to tackle this issue through professional development and enrichment activities, including the Stimulating Physics Network, and the inspiring “Your Life” campaign, which will transform perceptions of science and mathematics.

  • Lord Higgins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Higgins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Higgins on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the effect on air pollution of the construction and use of bicycle lanes, particularly in London.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport has not completed any estimates specifically on the effect of construction and use of bicycle lanes on air pollution. But we recognise that encouraging car users to switch to alternative, more sustainable, forms of transport like cycling can generally have both health and carbon reduction benefits as well as improving local air quality.

    When we appraise cycle schemes for funding, we apply WebTAG unit A5-1. This appraisal looks at outcomes only and does not consider impacts during the construction phase of a scheme. Where a scheme includes shifts away from mechanised modes and changes in congestion levels, we use marginal external costs, including air pollution. This is done at an individual scheme level and reported in the appraisal of each case; therefore no holistic study has been undertaken. This appraisal does not take account of potentially complex changes to motorists behaviour (such as speed and route choice) resulting from the introduction of cycle lanes.

    Transport for London state that during the construction phase some localised short-term slight impacts on local air quality can be expected from the use of plant and vehicles. However, contractors are required to minimise dust and emissions to air and comply with the Greater London Authority and London Councils’ Control of Dust and Emissions from Construction and Demolition Best Practice Guidance.

    Transport for London undertake air quality modelling to ascertain the impacts during operation. Schemes such as the East-West Cycle Superhighway show that the likely impact of the introduction of cycle lanes and changes to the road layout on air quality ranges from adverse to beneficial. The study shows that changes in traffic will redistribute emissions across the study area but will not increase overall emission levels.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what funding his Department has provided to the BBC World Service in each year since 2010.

    Mr David Lidington

    In each year from 2010 the department provided the following funding to the BBC World Service: 2009/2010 – £268,043,000 2010/2011 – £268,523,000 2011/2012 – £255,200,000 2012/2013 – £244,200,000 2013/2014 – £238,480,000

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they anticipate publication of the results of the review of the United Kingdom’s system for the recall of unsafe products chaired by Lynn Faulds Wood.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Review of UK product recalls chaired by Lynn Faulds Wood is due to be published soon.

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many of the NHS vanguard sires are supporting the needs of people with inflammatory arthritis.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is working to support and stimulate the creation of a number of major new care models, led by the vanguard sites, which can be deployed in different combinations locally across England. These models are designed to overcome the traditional divide between primary care, community services and hospitals, as well as social and mental health care, which is increasingly a barrier to the personalised, coordinated and integrated services patients need.

    Improving continuity of care in this way is particularly relevant for patients with long term conditions (LTCs), such as inflammatory arthritis. A number of the vanguard sites (such as those introducing multispecialty community provider models and integrated primary and acute care system models) are focusing on the care of patients with LTCs. More information can be found at the following link:

    www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/futurenhs/new-care-models/

    “

  • Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what ability the Government plans to retain to ensure that the Green Investment Bank operates according to its original purposes after that body’s privatisation.

    Anna Soubry

    Green investment is what the Green Investment Bank (GIB) does and is where its value lies. It is clear from preliminary feedback that potential investors are interested in GIB precisely because of its unique green specialism and its existing forward business plan and pipeline of green projects. Investors will have sound commercial reasons to maintain GIB’s green focus and continue operating in accordance with its clearly stated green principles and highly transparent and robust green reporting practices.

    As a key part of any sale discussions, potential investors will be asked to confirm their commitment to these values and to set out how they propose to protect them. We envisage this would involve new shareholders agreeing to:

    • ensure GIB continues to invest in a way that achieves a positive green impact; and
    • maintain GIB’s existing standards for reporting on its green investment performance as well as continue providing for independent assurance of this.

    It is important to understand Government could not impose binding conditions on future owners of GIB to act in a particular way while also securing our key objective of removing state control over GIB so it can be reclassified to the private sector.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much of her Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Karen Bradley

    The Spending Review announcement set the overall budget for the Home Office. Officials are now going through the detail and will continue to provide advice to the Home Secretary on individual allocations and spending commitments. We anticipate that funding allocations for research and development will be confirmed in the new year.