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Tag: 2015

  • David Mowat – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Mowat – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mowat on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to increase the number of simple, low risk investment products that are available to charitable organisations; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Charities can invest their funds in a wide range of investment products. Charity trustees should refer to the Charity Commission’s guidance on investments, and should generally seek professional advice before investing.

    There are some specific investment products available only to charities. Common Investment Funds and Common Deposit Funds are collective investment and deposit vehicles open to charities.

    In addition, the government announced at Budget 2015 the introduction of a new Charity Authorised Investment Fund structure. This will bring new investment funds established for charitable purposes under FCA regulation, ensuring they receive the same regulatory oversight and protections as funds for retail investors.

    The FCA is currently consulting on measures to implement the new fund structure. The proposals being consulted on include the registration of the fund as a charity, the role of advisory committees, and provisions on income distribution and capital allocation. The consultation will close on 7 December 2015.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools provide support and guidance to pupils who are victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

    Edward Timpson

    Schools play an important role in safeguarding children from all forms of abuse. Our statutory guidance is clear that schools have an important role in identifying children who may be suffering abuse, or at risk of abuse, and then take necessary action, working with other services where appropriate. Schools also have an important role in raising pupils’ awareness of these issues, thus helping pupils to keep themselves safe.

    The Department for Education has produced statutory guidance for schools, ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, which sets out the roles and responsibilities of schools and their staff, and which contains links to more detailed advice on specific forms of abuse, including domestic violence, teenage relationship abuse and forced marriage.

    Schools can use relevant parts of the curriculum, including sex and relationship education and personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), to raise pupils’ awareness. It is for schools to determine which issues they address and how, and the Government’s statutory guidance on sex and relationship education makes clear that schools should ensure that young people develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgements and behaviour. To complement work done in schools, the Government’s ‘This is Abuse’ campaign has helped to educate young people about damaging behaviours within relationships.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The department does not hold record of this

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what correspondence the Government has had with Lloyds TSB on implementation of the Access to Banking Protocol and the (a) closure of branches and (b) reduction of banking services in the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. From the first of May this year, each participating bank has committed to carry out a number of steps if it is closing a branch. This includes establishing the impact of a branch closure before it takes place; finding suitable alternative provision; and putting in place suitable alternative measures before a branch is closed.

    There is a commitment to review the operation of the protocol after one year. In August, the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise and I wrote to the Chief Executive of the British Bankers’ Association and requested an update on progress towards the appointment of an independent reviewer. A copy of the letter was also sent to the Chief Executives of the banks that are signatories to the Access to Banking protocol.

    Banks and building societies need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy.

    Decisions on the opening and closing of individual bank branches are taken by the management of each bank on a commercial basis without intervention from Government.

  • Caroline Nokes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Nokes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Nokes on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of increasing free childcare provision to 30 hours per week on (a) the number of childcare places, (b) child to adult ratios in nursery settings and (c) the number of nurseries which offer free childcare provision.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Introducing the new entitlement to 30 hours of free childcare for working parents will require growth in the childcare market which the Government is confident can be achieved. We know that many working families with three- and four-year-olds already use more than 15 hours of childcare so many of the required childcare places already exist. We also believe that there is some existing spare capacity in the system to help deliver the new entitlement. The Government is committed to keeping the existing child to adult ratios and has no plans to change them to deliver the extended entitlement.

    We have already made significant progress in ensuring that there are more childcare places available with an increase of 230,000 places since 2009. Furthermore, data from the Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey (2013) showed that 97% of full day care settings that took three and four-year-olds offered funded places. The childcare sector is healthy, vibrant and growing. During the last Parliament, it demonstrated its ability to respond to the extension of the free entitlement to disadvantaged two-year-olds.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps each Anglican church in the Diocese of Blackburn is taking to assist Syrian refugees.

    Mrs Caroline Spelman

    The Diocese of Blackburn is working alongside other dioceses of the Church of England and local faith communities to coordinate their response to assist Syrian refugees. Churches in the diocese have been advised of the type of assistance that can most usefully be offered, working in conjunction with local authorities and other faith communities.

    The three bishops of the Diocese of Blackburn were amongst the signatories to the letter from Church of England bishops to the Prime Minister, which welcomed the commitment of the Government to provide aid and resettlement, while calling on it to resettle substantially more than 20,000, and made clear the Church’s commitment to help in that task.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2015 to Question 13263, whether energy produced by the proposed VikingLink project would be regarded as contributing towards the carbon reduction targets in the Climate Change Act 2008.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The carbon reduction target is defined in terms of the carbon intensity of generation in the UK. As such, energy imported from Denmark over the proposed VikingLink will not contribute towards the target directly. However, the link will contribute to wider decarbonisation goals by providing access to Danish wind power, and by supporting efficient use of renewable generation in the UK. Interconnection provides tools for system balancing and reduces the need for curtailment by enabling exports at times of excess generation. In this way it can maximise the contribution of domestic low-carbon generation to meeting targets and allow the most efficient use of renewable resource between the two countries.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what facilities are provided by Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on its premises for the use of cyclists.

    George Freeman

    This is a matter for the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

    We have written to Stuart Heys, Chair of the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust informing him of the hon. Member’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much total government funding the UK contributed towards the budget of the EU in each year since 1992.

    Mr David Gauke

    Details of UK contributions to the EU Budget are published annually in a document entitled European Union Finances.

    The latest edition (European Union Finances 2014) was published in December 2014 (Cm 8974) and is available in the House library. Table 3A on page 14 provides details of UK contributions, rebate and public sector receipts for the period 2008 to 2014.

    Figures for years prior to 2008 can be found in previous editions of this publication, which are also be available in the House library.

  • Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Tyrie on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Airports Commission estimated the probability that the net present value of the three shortlisted schemes would be zero or negative; and what that probability was for each shortlisted scheme under the carbon capped and carbon traded policy frameworks.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

    The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out, including that on costs, when making a decision on additional runway capacity.