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Tag: 2015

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps are taken by (a) his Department and (b) Ofcom to investigate objections to the content of a UK-licenced radio station made by a foreign government.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Any complaint made by a foreign government about a television or radio station that is licensed in the UK is a matter for Ofcom to deal with.

    Ofcom will apply the same procedures that they use for evaluating any other complaint. Those procedures are available from Ofcom’s website at:

    http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/guidance/complaints-sanctions/standards/

    “

  • Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government (a) has made or (b) plans to make any contribution to the cost of (i) the construction and (ii) the running of the National Tennis Centre at Roehampton.

    Tracey Crouch

    The National Tennis Centre (NTC) at Roehampton is a privately funded enterprise owned by the Lawn Tennis Association.

  • 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 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent (a) in real terms and (b) as a share of departmental spending on (i) temporary agency staff, (ii) consultants, (iii) non-payroll staff, (iv) administration and (v) marketing and advertising for each year since 2010-11.

    Michael Fallon

    This information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I can, however, provide an analysis of non-permanent staff and the Ministry of Defence’s Administration Costs.

    Financial Year

    Budget Element

    Outturn (£ million)

    Outturn (Percentage of Total Departmental Expenditure Limit)

    2010-11

    Contingent Labour

    46.9

    0.12%

    Advisory Consultancy

    23.5

    0.06%

    Other Non-Permanent Staff (1)

    316.8

    0.80%

    Administration Costs (2)

    2,026.0

    5.13% (3)

    2011-12

    Contingent Labour

    49.2

    0.13%

    Advisory Consultancy

    18.3

    0.05%

    Other Non-Permanent Staff (1)

    315.1

    0.85%

    Administration Costs (2)

    2,691.9

    7.24% (3)

    2012-13

    Contingent Labour

    50.3

    0.15%

    Advisory Consultancy

    44.5

    0.13%

    Other Non-Permanent Staff (1)

    270.7

    0.79%

    Administration Costs (2)

    2,178.9

    6.36% (3)

    2013-14

    Contingent Labour

    99.3

    0.29%

    Advisory Consultancy

    90.4

    0.26%

    Other Non-Permanent Staff (1)

    219.5

    0.64%

    Administration Costs (2)

    2,129.2

    6.16%

    2014-15

    Contingent Labour

    118.7

    0.35%

    Advisory Consultancy

    91.2

    0.27%

    Other Non-Permanent Staff (1)

    332.5

    0.97%

    Administration Costs (2)

    1,473.7

    4.29% (3)

    Notes:

    (1) Comprising: fee earners, manpower support, technical support and casual staff.

    (2) HM Treasury define Administration Budgets as covering costs other than the costs of direct frontline service provision; for example, activities such as the provision of policy advice and business support services. Administration costs therefore usually include expenditure on employee costs, accommodation, office services, contracted-out services and relevant depreciation. From financial 2011-12 the Department and HM Treasury agreed that Administration Budgets would in future only include the costs of civilian staff (excluding health-care professionals and staff working in operational areas) and the cost of Advisory Consultancy; the Armed Forces were excluded from this revised Administration Cost Regime as were the MOD’s Arms Length Bodies. The scope of Administration Costs was updated in 2014-15 to include military administration costs and exclude civilian costs where they relate directly to programme or frontline service delivery.

    (3) Elements of expenditure on Contingent Labour, Advisory Consultancy and other non-permanent staff are also included in the MOD’s Administration Costs and there is therefore some duplication with other statistics provided in the table.

  • Steven Paterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Steven Paterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on ensuring the Trident nuclear weapon system from cyber-attacks in each of the last three years; and how much he plans to spend in each of the next five years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence audits the integrity of the UK’s nuclear deterrent regularly for all threats and hazards and acts to ensure that it maintains the highest possible standards. The Strategic Defence and Security Review acknowledges the growing cyber threat and the importance of investing in cyber security across all of our capabilities. The Government has invested £860 million in new technology and capabilities since 2011 and will invest £1.9 billion over the next five years in protecting the UK from cyber attack and developing our sovereign capabilities in cyberspace. Our approach to protecting Defence capabilities against and mitigating the impact of cyber attacks spans technical, organisational, procedural and physical measures benefiting many different systems and networks, and investment is integrated across these measures. Submarines operate in isolation by design, and this contributes to their cyber resilience. I will not discuss further details for reasons of safeguarding national security.

  • William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations she has received from representatives of Greave Primary School on the process through which the funding for that school’s building extension project from the Education Funding Agency has been arranged by the Stockport Local Education Authority.

    Edward Timpson

    School building baseline designs were introduced in October 2012 to help finalise briefs for school building projects and for discussion with local planning departments. It is for contractors to develop them into detailed schemes, or propose alternatives. Guidance on the designs is available online[1].

    Officials from the Department have had regular dialogue with the local authority, the school and its representatives as part of ongoing work to monitor and progress the project.

    While there has been no representation, the Secretary of State and the Department will work with all parties to support the successful delivery of this school’s expansion project.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/baseline-designs-for-schools-guidance

    “

  • Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans she has for her Department’s Office of Carbon Capture and Storage.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government continues to view Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as having a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors. The detailed design and implementation of CCS policy changes are currently being assessed.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which power plants are due to come offline in March 2016; and what plans she has to ensure peak energy demands are met after those plants come offline.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The following plants have announced that they will no longer be connected to the Transmission Grid from April 2016:

    • Eggborough;
    • Ferrybridge;
    • Longannet.

    These withdrawals have been announced over the past year. It is possible that they may still be available for winter 16/17 if they choose to bid, and are successful, in National Grid’s Supplemental Balancing Reserve. It should also be noted that these withdrawals are partly offset by new or increased thermal generation during 2016 from Wilton and Keadby CCGT plants. A large amount of renewable generation is also due to enter the market in 2016.

    Our priority is to ensure that British families and business have access to secure affordable energy supplies that they can rely on and we are taking prudent steps to manage the margins in winter 2016/17. Since 2014 National Grid have had the ability to procure a Contingency Balancing Reserve (CBR), which consists of the Supplemental Balancing Reserve (SBR), where existing power stations stand by ready to generate additional electricity and the Demand Side Balancing Reserve (DSBR) where companies bid for contracts with National Grid to receive payments in return for reducing their electricity usage times of peak demand should National Grid so require. National Grid and Ofgem agree that we should retain the ability to procure CBR for the next two winters. Government supports this position and we expect confirmation later this month following an Ofgem consultation. Beyond winter 2017/18, the Capacity Market will take over as the long term solution for security of supply.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Turkey on its commitment to (a) improving the human rights situation in that country and (b) meeting the criteria for entry to the EU.

    Mr David Lidington

    We continue to monitor closely human rights developments in Turkey. British officials regularly raise human rights issues in their contacts with Turkish political leaders and officials at all levels. I discussed human rights and EU accession with my Turkish counterpart when he visited my constituency in August. We strongly encourage Turkey to continue work towards the full protection of fundamental rights, especially in the areas of women’s and minority rights, freedom of religion and freedom of expression. We welcome progress made thus far, and as the EU Commission highlights, further sustained work is needed to meet EU standards. The UK Government continues to support Turkey’s EU accession process and is working closely with Turkey, EU Member States, and European institutions on this. It is a positive sign that Turkey-EU relations have been reinvigorated following the successful Turkey-EU summit in Brussels on 29 November.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the amount of £4 to £19 billion referred to in her Departmental Minute of 21 October 2015 as the total support to HPC is (a) the actual total cash amount or (b) the present value of the total cash amount of the support to be paid to EDF.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Total support to HPC through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) is expected to be in the range of £4bn to £19bn (real 2012 prices, discounted to 2012) depending on the level of future wholesale prices. The Department has presented discounted figures for these costs to consumers relating to support payments for Hinkley Point C based on guidance set out in The Green Book published by HM Treasury.

  • Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plan to respond to the Accelerated Access Review: Interim Report, published in October 2015; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    The Interim Report of Sir Hugh Taylor’s Accelerated Access Review (AAR) is a deliberately high level document that indicates direction of travel; as such, government will be responding to the AAR’s conclusions when its final recommendations are published early in the spring of 2016.