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Tag: 2015

  • Julian Knight – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Julian Knight – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that small businesses are able to access high speed broadband.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government has provided £780 million to support the roll-out of superfast broadband to 95 per cent of homes and businesses in the UK. In addition we are supporting seven pilot projects to explore ways to extend superfast broadband beyond 95 per cent of UK home and businesses.

  • Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2015 to Question 11117, when speed and capacity improvements will be started between Hebden Bridge and Bradford.

    Andrew Jones

    Network Rail are currently preparingadraftupdate tothe Enhancements Delivery Planfor publicationin due course. This will provide details of individual projects. Following publication,my Department will hold a short period of stakeholder consultation.The works on the Calder Valley, which include the route between Hebden Bridge and Bradford, are currently being planned. The intention is to complete the works in phases, starting at the Western end and finishing in time to provide a diversionary route such that the Transpennine Route Upgrade can be completed by 2022.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian staff support operations at RAF Waddington; and what their payroll costs were in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

    Mark Lancaster

    The table below shows the number of civilian staff supporting operations at RAF Waddington and their payroll costs for the previous five financial years (FY).

    The information for FY2010-11 is not held centrally, and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    FY2011-12

    FY2012-13

    FY2013-14

    FY2014-15

    (£ million)

    Average paid strength

    200

    150

    130

    130

    Total Cost

    £4.880M

    £4.263M

    £3.833M

    £3.728M

    “

  • Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of cleansing the arrears balances of all existing Child Support Agency cases and establishing those costs on the 2012 statutory scheme.

    Priti Patel

    The Department is committed to closing the old child maintenance case management system. In the process of doing this the Department will bring cases up to date, correct obvious inaccuracies, and write off arrears where appropriate, for which there will be a temporary cost within the £236m outlined in the impact assessment that the Department published in 2013.

    The cost of caseworker activity to review and update arrears on the existing systems for the 1.2m CSA cases expected to have an arrears balance is estimated to be £75m. This comprises: bringing all outstanding actions on the case up to date; reviewing the outstanding balance to incorporate those actions and eliminate obvious errors; establish whether the receiving parent wishes to write off any or all of the balance and take write off action if appropriate; and take the control actions to mark the case as closed.

    Establishing those arrears on the new Child Maintenance system is estimated to cost £25m. This comprises: action to add the arrears to the schedule of amounts due produced by the 2012 system; and ensuring that where more than one receiving parent is due maintenance from the same paying parent, outstanding balances from the 1993 and 2003 schemes are correctly allocated.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) guidance she has provided and (b) information her Department holds on which age groups the Sevenoaks Annexe of Weald of Kent Grammar School, recently approved by her Department plans to serve.

    Edward Timpson

    Departmental advice for academies wishing to make a change to their existing arrangements is available on GOV.UK.

    The new annexe will serve the same age range as the existing site of Weald of Kent Grammar School, which is 11-19. The admission arrangements apply across the whole school. It is the responsibility of the academy trust as the admission authority to ensure that admission arrangements are compliant with The School Admissions Code.

    The newly expanded school will better meet the needs of school-age people in the community that it serves, with over 41% of students at the existing site already travelling from the Sevenoaks area.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran concerning the case of Kamal Foroughi.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are very concerned for Mr Foroughi’s health and have frequently raised this with the Iranian authorities, urging them to provide regular medical assistance and access to a lawyer. Iran does not recognise dual nationality, and so will not allow us consular access.

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), personally raised this case with President Rouhani in Tehran, and also with Foreign Minister Zarif. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has written to President Rouhani about this case. On 1 December the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), met Mr Foroughi’s family to discuss the case. We will continue to raise this with the Iranian government at every opportunity.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent steps she has taken to support carbon capture and storage technology to achieve commercial deployment; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) play an important role in meeting our 2050 emissions reduction target.

    The CCS Commercialisation Programme could provide capital and operating support for up to two commercial scale projects, subject to value for money. As part of our support for CCS, we are investing up to £100 million to support detailed engineering studies at the proposed Peterhead and White Rose CCS projects to enable Final Investment Decisions.

    Together with the Scottish Government we have committed, in principle, to provide £4.2 million to support Summit Power to undertake industrial research and development at their proposed CCS Caledonia Clean Energy Plant in Grangemouth, Scotland.

    We have also invested over £130 million since 2011 to support research and development and innovation to foster the next generation of CCS technologies.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether HMS Ocean was designed and built to have a 20-year lifespan.

    Earl Howe

    Yes, HMS OCEAN entered service in 1998 with a specified service life, based on her build specification, of 20 years.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Russian government on full implementation of its obligations under the Minsk agreements.

    Mr David Lidington

    In all ministerial and senior official contacts with Russia, the UK Government continues to emphasise the importance of full implementation of the Minsk Agreements. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge ( Mr Hammond) raised the issue of Ukraine when he met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the margins of the Iran nuclear negotiations in Vienna in July 2015, and again in the margins of the Syria talks in Vienna in October 2015. I raised it when I met the Russian Ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko in June 2015.

  • Lord Robertson of Port Ellen – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Robertson of Port Ellen – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Robertson of Port Ellen on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions are planned in the UK to fulfil the objectives of reducing deaths and injuries on the roads included in the global Sustainable Development Goals.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Conservative Manifesto 2015 had a commitment to reduce the number of cyclists and other road users killed or injured on our roads every year. This commitment aligns with the Sustainable Development Goal of halving the number of road traffic deaths and injuries globally by 2020. We are working closely with road safety groups to consider what more can be done in the UK and we believe that every death is a tragedy and is one too many.