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Tag: 2015

  • Valerie Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Valerie Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Walsall South; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.

    As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.

    The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.

    It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposal to reduce the employment and support allowance work-related activity group rate on patients recovering from cancer.

    Priti Patel

    The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/documents.html

    “

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information he received about risks connected with the proposed right to buy scheme during the planning of that scheme.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government has a manifesto commitment to extend the Right to Buy to 1.3 million housing association tenants.

    The deal we have made with the National Housing Federation ensures that housing associations will give their tenants the opportunity to buy their home with an equivalent discount to the Right to Buy, delivering the manifesto commitment.

    The Government is in discussion with the National Housing Federation and the housing association sector to ensure that the right arrangements are put in place to support the implementation and delivery of the proposals.

  • Tim Farron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tim Farron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding has been allocated to supporting people in migrant camps in Calais since August 2015

    James Brokenshire

    The provision of humanitarian assistance for people on French soil is a matter for the French authorities. However, both Governments are committed to identifying and helping those people who are especially vulnerable or potential victims of trafficking. This is why the Home Secretary and French Interior Minister agreed in the UK-France Joint Declaration in August 2015 to set up a project to increase observation in the camps to identify those people; to provide medical help and protection where required; to put in place a system to transfer them to places of safety; and to ensure they are offered the appropriate advice and support from the French system. The project will assist with our commitment to tackle the organised criminal gangs who facilitate human trafficking, and we are working together with French law enforcement partners to identify and target these gangs to prevent this occurring in the first place. The UK has contributed almost £550,000 towards this project as part of the Joint Fund announced in September 2014. The 2015 Joint Declaration also commits the UK to a further financial contribution of £3.6 million per year for two years to support the French Government in a range of activities to reduce the numbers of migrants in Calais and the incentives for them to stay there.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many training places were commissioned in England for new entrants to become (a) nurses and (b) midwives in each year between 2010 and 2015.

    Ben Gummer

    The following table shows the number of pre-registration nursing and midwifery places (degree and diploma courses) that were commissioned by year, for the period 2010/11 to 2015/16.

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    Nursing

    20,327

    18,069

    17,546

    18,056

    19,206

    20,033

    Midwifery

    2,493

    2,507

    2,578

    2,588

    2,563

    2,605

    Source: multi professional education and training budget monitoring returns

    The latest planned training commissions for 2015/16 were published in December 2014 by Health Education England as part of their Workforce Plan for England.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator has amended his advice on when high security vehicles for transporting special nuclear materials should be withdrawn from service; and for what reasons those vehicles continue to be used after their retirement date.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The High Security Vehicle was withdrawn from service on 31 July 2015 and has therefore not been used for operations since that date. The decision to withdraw the vehicle was taken by Defence Equipment and Support. I am withholding further information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Bridgend; and whether she has been subject to surveillance.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.

    As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.

    The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.

    It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans her Department has on funding for onshore wind energy development.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We are delivering our election commitment to end subsidies for new onshore wind. We are seeking to legislate through the Energy Bill to close the renewables obligation (RO) to new onshore wind capacity from 1 April 2016, one year earlier than planned. To protect wider investor confidence we are proposing to allow projects which meet certain criteria extra time to accredit under the scheme.

    Fifteen onshore wind projects, with a combined installed capacity of around 750MW, signed a Contract for Difference (CfDs) earlier this year following the first CfD allocation round. These projects are expected to commission between 2016/17 and 2018/19. We will be setting out our plans for delivering a new generation of cost effective, secure, electricity supplies and confirming decisions in relation to allocations of further renewables contracts in due course.

    Small-scale onshore wind projects up to 5 megawatts in scale are eligible for support under the feed-in tariff (FITs) scheme. DECC has proposed action, through the FITs review consultation, to control spending and put FITs onto an affordable and sustainable footing. Further information can be found online at:

    https://econsultation.decc.gov.uk/office-for-renewable-energy-deployment-ored/fit-review-2015.

    “

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of Feed in Tariff component of the Levy Control Framework cost is accounted for by the cost of ongoing support for the installations made before 2012.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The cost to consumers of the feed-in tariff scheme (FITs) in 2014/15 will be around £850m (in 11/12 prices). Our central estimate of the cost to consumers of FITs in 2020/21 is £1600m (11/12 prices) in the ‘do nothing’ option of the consultation impact assessment. The FITs levelisation fund in 2011/12, indicating total annual spend on the scheme at that point, was £151m (also in 11/12 prices). Therefore installations accredited in 2011/12 or before are forecast to make up approximately 18% of current spend on the scheme and 10% of the FITs LCF estimates in 2020/21.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer to Question 9571 of 14 September 2015, whether the Attorney General was clear there was a legal basis for this action in domestic law.

    Mr David Cameron

    As I said in my oral statement of 7 September 2015, Official Report, column 23, the action we took was entirely lawful.