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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Tanlaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Tanlaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tanlaw on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the prime meridian can be correctly identified and correlated with GPS by the construction (with permission) in Greenwich Park of a suitable marker located at zero longitude.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    As the reference frame for the Global Positioning System (GPS) is established through a mathematical interpretation of satellite radio signals, rather than a physical meridian, it is not conceptually appropriate to represent it in the same way as other meridians have historically been marked at Greenwich.

    We do not see any practical benefit in changing the reference point for UT1 even if it was a decision the UK Government could make unilaterally. Such a change could cause confusion as could use of the term “Greenwich Meridian Time”. In line with the International Telecommunication Union Radio Regulations, all time‑signal broadcasts in the UK transmit. the international timescale UTC, and so any change to UT1 or GMT would have no impact on the time-signal available to the UK public.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered a comprehensive mandatory ban on the supply of arms and equipment to all of the combatants in Syria.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We do not consider that a comprehensive mandatory ban on the supply of arms and equipment to all of the combatants in Syria would be advisable. EU-Syria trade embargoes prohibit the exportation of jet fuel, chemical weapons (and precursors) to Syria. EU sanctions have denied many of the regime’s pre-war funding streams, limited its supply of non-conventional arms, reduced its access to key resources and increased pressure on Assad from those close to him. UN Security Council Resolution 2170 prohibits the direct or indirect supply, sale, or transfer of arms and equipment to ISIL, Al Nusra Front and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with Al-Qaida. The UK supplies non-lethal goods to the Moderate Opposition to protect civilians and save lives. We assess all export licence applications on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, and have one of the most robust export licensing systems in the world.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to introduce proposals to give prison governors more power; and whether any such proposals will be subject to consultation.

    Lord Faulks

    As the Secretary of State made clear in his speech on 17 July, we need a new and unremitting emphasis on reform and rehabilitation in prisons – and we need to put the tools to drive this change in the hands of those who work with prisoners on a day-to-day basis. Prison Governors need greater freedoms so they can innovate and find new and better ways of rehabilitating offenders. With these freedoms will also come sharper accountability, so prisons are judged and rewarded according to how well they perform. This will make sure that that prisons are best equipped to help prevent reoffending. Further details of our proposals will be provided in due course.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was paid in (a) year end and (b) in-year bonuses to officials of his Department in each of the last three years.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Information on Non-consolidated performance related pay for HM Treasury is publically available on gov.uk as part of the Transparency agenda. The information is up to date for the last 2 financial years 2012-13 and 2013-14.

    Non-consolidated performance related pay is only paid to reward excellence, for example to recognise and incentivise those responsible for delivering high quality public services and savings to the taxpayer. These one-off payments are not pensionable. Since 2010-11 the Government has restricted awards for senior civil servants to the top 25% of performers (from 65% in previous years), saving around £15 million overall.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel of each (a) rank and (b) branch, specialisation and arm left the Royal Navy in the first (a) three months, (b) three to six months, (c) six to nine months and (d) nine to 12 months of their service in each year from 2005-06 to 2014-15.

    Mark Lancaster

    The information requested in respect of rank and branch is provided in the tables attached.

    Notes:

    Source: Defence Statistics (Navy).

    A financial year includes all outflows from 1 April to 31 March.

    Length of Service is recorded when someone completes that month.

    Specialisations have been excluded from these tables due to the need to protect sensitive small figures.

    All totals are rounded in accordance with the Defence Statistics rounding policy. All numbers are rounded to the nearest 5 with numbers that would be rounded to 0 represented by ‘~’.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the cost to the public purse was of the solar industry feed-in tariff in (a) the UK and (b) London in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Feed-in-Tariff is not financed through the public purse. The cost of the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme is paid for through a levy on consumer electricity bills and managed within the Levy Control Framework (LCF).

    The table below shows total payments for all technologies under the FITs scheme as reported by Ofgem. Payments made under the FIT scheme are not available by technology, but the majority of deployment is solar photovoltaic. We do not hold this data by region.

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    FIT Total Expenditure

    £14,526,123

    £151,147,686

    £511,137,737

    £690,991,283

    Below you can find a link to Ofgem’s webpage of Annual Reports:

    https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/feed-tariff-fit-scheme/feed-tariff-reports-and-statistics/annual-reports

    Ofgem’s Annual Report reporting generation payments for 2014/15 will be released in the next few months.

    “

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many training places in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies service there were in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    There were 756 training places commissioned for improving access to psychological therapies (IAPT) programmes in 2014/15. In addition 509 trainees attended Child and Young People’s (CYP) IAPT courses in 2014/15.

    The following table contains an aggregate of the number of training places that have been commissioned in each of the last four financial years for the IAPT programmes. Comparable information relating to the IAPT programmes is not held centrally for the 2011/12 financial year.

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    IAPT training places commissioned

    634

    859

    756

    946

    Source: multi professional education and training budget monitoring returns

    The following table details the number of trainees attending CYP IAPT courses per year of the programme in the last five years.

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    Trainee Therapist

    97

    142

    252

    372

    537

    Supervisor

    30

    45

    88

    86

    113

    Service Lead

    35

    48

    73

    51

    114

    TOTAL

    162

    235

    413

    509

    764

    Source: NHS England

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will introduce a clause into the conditions relating to grants made by his Department to third parties to ensure that they are not used to fund activities intended to influence (a) parliament, government or political parties, (b) the awarding or renewal of Government contracts and grants and (c) legislative or regulatory action.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department will consider the hon. Member’s representation.

  • Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department takes to monitor how aid disbursed by the UK to the Palestinian Territories is used.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID’s Operational Plan for the Occupied Palestinian Territories contains a results framework which is monitored annually to ensure results being delivered are in line with those planned. We assess that UK aid is on track to deliver key results as set out in our Operational Plan.

    Each new project is approved on the basis of a value for money assessment. This involves assessing the strength of the evidence provided in each business case for the intervention, and comparing the efficiency and cost effectiveness of different delivery options. All projects are reviewed annually, and at project completion, to monitor the results that have been delivered. All reviews are publicly available on the Development Tracker website: http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) funding his Department is undertaking and (b) projects his Department has planned as part of the Government’s Digital Inclusion Strategy.

    Justin Tomlinson

    There are a number of projects in the Department that include elements of Digital Inclusion. The funding for these projects is agreed at the appropriate time during the project’s lifecycle.

    Every DWP digital transformation project is designed around user needs. In researching these needs throughout the projects’ development we determine the volumes and requirements of those people who are not digitally included, and ensure that there are solutions in place to cater for them.

    IT access will be available to those without it in Jobcentres and through partner organisations such as libraries as well as through other local providers. Universal Credit provides support for those without digital skills to gain them.

    DWP is also partnered with many third party organisations with an aim to raise digital capabilities within the Department and across the UK. One such partnership is with Barclays, with whom we have run a joint exercise, pairing their Digital Eagles with our Business Coaches, as well as evaluating the usefulness of their Digital Driving Licence in identifying digital capability gaps and requirements amongst DWP’s employees.

    DWP is a contributory Department in the Digital Friends initiative. This initiative is intended to up-skill staff within the Department and in wider society through sharing existing digital skills with colleagues, friends, family and neighbours.