Tag: 2015

  • Jo Stevens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jo Stevens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the FA, the Premier League and the Football League on the cost to supporters of following football.

    Tracey Crouch

    I have raised the issue of costs to supporters with the football authorities but it is important to remember this is a matter for individual clubs. However I am pleased to hear of some excellent examples of clubs reducing ticket prices such as Coventry City and Doncaster Rovers – in line with the Football Supporters’ Federation ‘Twenty Plenty’ campaign, and that Premier League clubs are also considering an extension of the Away Supporters’ Initiative.

  • 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 plans she has to (a) evaluate the piloting of 30 hours free childcare from September 2016 and (b) publish the outcome of such an evaluation.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    We have had 1793 expressions of interest for the pilots of the 30 hours of free childcare for working families. These will commence in September 2016. Innovative childcare providers are being asked to come forward as the first to deliver the offer. We plan to build a strong evaluation strand into the work of the early implementers focusing primarily on qualitative evaluation and capturing and sharing lessons learned and good practice.

  • 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, if his Department will make an assessment of the effect on (a) the cost of passenger fares and (b) passenger demand of each of the Airports Commission’s three shortlisted schemes and the effect of that cost.

    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.

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

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

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she has made an estimate of what the change in electricity bills will be as a result of the withdrawal of market support mechanisms for onshore wind; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government will reintroduce measures for the early closure of the Renewables Obligation (RO) for new onshore wind in Great Britain, when the Energy Bill is in the Commons. The measures will close the RO from 1 April 2016 – a year earlier than originally planned.

    As set out in the impact assessment, it is estimated that the proposed early closure of the RO to onshore wind will reduce household electricity bills.

    The impact assessment is available here:

    http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-007F.pdf

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how her Department took into account the planned Chinese government involvement in the construction of new nuclear energy facilities in its impact assessment on removal of market support mechanisms for wind and solar energy.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Chinese investment in new nuclear power stations was not a factor in our assessment of the impact of changes to government support for renewables.

  • Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2015 to Question 12951, whether all directly employed and contracted staff of his Department are contractually permitted to write to him about their employment conditions or pay without having investigatory proceedings instigated against them.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    Staff directly employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) may write to me on any issue without investigatory proceedings being instigated against them. The FCO obliges its contractors to adhere to all employment legislation and encourages its contractors to have appropriate measures in place to manage its employees. No disciplinary measures were taken against Interserve cleaners who wrote to me.

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Oral Statement of 26 November 2015, Official Report, columns 1489-94, what assessment the Government has made of the potential increased displacement of people in Syria of his proposal to extend military operations to that country; and what the implications of that assessment are for the Government’s policy on the number of Syrian refugees.

    Mr David Cameron

    Coalition airstrikes have been on-going since September 2014. Airstrikes may cause some local level internal displacement and disruption; but it is the conflict that is the main cause of suffering and displacement of civilians in Syria.

    The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. We are the second largest bilateral donor after the US. UK support has reached hundreds of thousands of people in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. By the end of June 2015, UK support inside Syria and in the surrounding region had, for example, delivered almost 20 million food rations that feed one person for a month; over 2.5 million medical consultations; and relief items for 4.6 million people.

    The UK is supporting refugees to remain in host countries in the region, and supporting host countries to accommodate them As part of this, we are working in partnership with host countries to help them to expand job and education opportunities for refugees in a way that will enable them to better support themselves and give them skills for the future, and we are helping host countries to cope with the impact of refugees on local services.

    We will continue the work parallel with proposals to expand military operations in the country.

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

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

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government plans to use its membership of the UN Security Council to facilitate diplomatic negotiations on the protection of civilians in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Protection of civilians in Syria, as well as those who have been forced to flee the country, is a priority for the UK. In the Security Council we have co-sponsored a number of humanitarian resolutions that call for an end of indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including the use of barrel bombs, starvation as a method of warfare, and obstructing the flow of humanitarian aid. Specifically, the UK played a key role in negotiating Resolution 2191, which has allowed the UN and its partners to deliver aid across Syria’s borders to people who were previously denied access, including food for 2.1 million people and medical supplies for 2.5 million people. The UK is the second largest bilateral donor, providing over £1.1 billion to those most in need in Syria and neighbouring countries. This is our largest ever response to a crisis. The long term protection of civilians requires an end to the conflict in Syria and a political settlement based upon the principles of the Geneva Communiqué. We continue to pursue this objective, including through the new political process which began in Vienna on 30 October.

  • 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 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what powers they have to insist that recipients of British development aid should respect freedom of conscience and religion, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK attaches great importance to ensuring that people of all faiths can participate fully in society and live without fear of abuse or discrimination. DFID works closely with the FCO to raise concerns about freedom of religion with partner governments to ensure that all citizens can claim their rights. The UK’s development and humanitarian aid is not targeted at specific groups but at the poorest, regardless of race, religion, creed, or nationality.

    Before providing aid to a foreign government, DFID assesses the government’s commitment to four partnership principles, one of which concerns human rights. DFID provides aid to governments where we are satisfied that they share our commitments to reduce poverty and to respect human rights.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of how many additional GPs will be needed to supply the Battersea-Nine Elms development; and how many such GPs are planned to be provided.

    Alistair Burt

    We are advised by NHS England that it is working with its co-commissioning clinical commissioning groups to assess the requirements of the new development utilising the existing infrastructure and the requirements for an estimated population of in excess of 30,000 over a 10 year plus timeframe.

    We understand that new models of delivery of primary care services are being investigated with an estimate of around 15 additional general practitioners required to serve the final population numbers.