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Tag: 2015

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to arrange for a review of the operation of her powers under Section 40, Subsection 4A of the British Nationality Act 1981.

    James Brokenshire

    The number of people who have been deprived of citizenship under section 40 subsections (2), (3) and (4A) in each of the last 5 years is as follows:

    Year

    Section 40(2)

    Section 40(3)

    Section 40(4A)

    2010

    5

    0

    –

    2011

    6

    0

    –

    2012

    5

    1

    –

    2013

    8

    10

    –

    2014

    4

    15

    0

    This information has been provided from local management information and is not a national statistic. As such it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.

    The Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, David Anderson QC, is currently undertaking the review of the operation of the power under Section 40(4A) of the British Nationality Act 1981, as required by section 40B of the Act.

  • Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of including producers of aviation fuel in the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport ran an Advanced Fuels Call for Evidence in 2013/14 to examine the potential of advanced fuels in aviation and other transport sectors that cannot be easily decarbonised without low-carbon fuels. A summary of the evidence received was published with the Department’s response to the consultation on the post-implementation review of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) in April 2014. Amendments to the RTFO earlier this year increased rewards for gaseous fuels, such as biomethane used in freight, to better reflect their energy content.

    The Department also commissioned an independent feasibility study to examine the economic benefits and potential of advanced biofuels in the UK, published in February 2014, the study informed the design of the Advanced Biofuels Demonstration Plant Competition for £25m of matched grant funding. Winning projects were announced on 7th September 2015.

    The Department for Transport and the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership established a Transport Energy Task Force in September 2014 to examine options to meet our renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets, including through the wider deployment of sustainable biofuel. The Task Force included input from representatives of the Sustainable Aviation group.

    The Task Force’s report was published in March 2015 by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership. The Task Force acknowledged that sustainable biofuels have a valuable role in reducing carbon emissions from transport, particularly in sectors where there are limited alternatives such as aviation and I met with Task Force representatives, including Sustainable Aviation, in July to discuss that report.

    Following the report of the Transport Energy Task Force, we are assessing the benefits of making aviation biofuels eligible for certificates under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and support under that scheme for synthetic fuels from renewable electricity. We aim to include proposals in a public consultation next year on potential amendments to the RTFO scheme.

  • Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they had with council leaders about their proposals to fund the extension of right to buy to housing association tenants through the sale of council assets.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Ministers and senior officials have engaged widely with local authorities and other key stakeholders regarding the planned sale of high value vacant council housing, and this engagement is continuing.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the proposed new police forces funding formula is weighted to reflect the importance of (1) historic crime levels, (2) historic clear-up levels, and (3) preventative and educative work; and in what ways it reflects policy relating to the maintenance of a network of neighbourhood policing.

    Lord Bates

    Our proposed funding model is based on a set of four indicators which correlate well with long term patterns of crime. The indicators cover population, population characteristics and environmental characteristics. They are used as proxies for police demand and are based on objective, robust and reliable data that can be compared across all force areas.

    Decisions about the size and composition of the police workforce are an operational matter for chief officers, working with their Police and Crime Commissioner.

    We continue to strongly support neighbourhood policing, and are committed to the principle that tackling local crime and anti-social behaviour should be a priority for the whole force – not just neighbourhood policing teams – working collaboratively with other local agencies, businesses and residents to respond to the problems they face.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have asked, or plan to ask, Hitachi to equip the trains that will be provided for the Great Western Mainline with diesel as well as electric engines.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The first 36 Intercity Express Programme (IEP) trains deployed on the Great Western lines from 2017 will be bi-modes capable of running in diesel or electric mode. The Department for Transport is actively looking at a range of options to ensure passenger benefits are delivered on time. No final decisions have been made.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that all evidence, and not just scientific studies, is presented to the inquiry into the safety of hormone pregnancy tests.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The terms of reference for the inquiry into the safety of Hormone Pregnancy Tests (HPTs) state that the Expert Working Group (EWG) of the Commission on Human Medicines will consider all available evidence on the possible association between exposure in pregnancy to HPTs and adverse outcomes in pregnancy (in particular congenital anomalies, miscarriage and stillbirth). This will include scientific studies as well as wider sources of evidence.

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is providing the secretariat to the review and is compiling all the available information. To date, the MHRA has requested relevant published and unpublished information from all companies whose predecessors marketed HPTs and has conducted a search of the National Archives with a view to obtaining a complete set of historical documents relevant to this issue. The MHRA will also search for all relevant published literature and review all suspected adverse drug reactions that have been submitted in association with HPTs in the United Kingdom. All of this information will be made available to the EWG.

    Interested individuals and organisations were invited to provide any information relevant to a possible association between the use of oral HPTs and adverse outcomes in pregnancy through a public call for evidence between 25 March and 30 June 2015. In addition, the EWG will hear evidence from a number of individuals who feel their lives have been adversely affected by HPTs.

    The report of the review and all documents will be made public subject to the usual legal requirements.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many officials in his Department are working on the review of post-16 education and training institutions.

    Nick Boles

    The Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), along with respective funding agencies, have re-prioritised staffing resources to support the review of post-16 education and training.

    There are seven reviews in the first wave of area reviews which have either launched since September or will launch in the next few weeks. Each review will take 3-4 months to complete and will be supported by resource from the DfE, BIS, Education Funding Agency and Skills Funding Agency.

    The area reviews of post 16 education and training are being undertaken in waves and can be triggered by either the local area requesting a review or the FE Commissioner or Sixth Form College Commissioner identifying the need for a review because one or more colleges in an area are at risk of failing. The first wave is underway now and details of the following reviews have been announced and can be found on the gov.uk website :

    Birmingham and Solihull

    Greater Manchester

    Sheffield City Region

    Tees Valley

    Sussex Coast

    Solent

    West Yorkshire

    The second wave will start in January 2016 and we aim to announce details in November 2015. We are currently looking at the geographies and phasing for other areas and will aim to issue further information on this before the end of the year but in doing this we recognise that the position should remain fluid to take account of the views of local partners and also cases of failure.

    We expect all reviews to be completed by March 2017.

  • Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Government’s proposed changes to business rates on (a) Liverpool Walton constituency, (b) Liverpool City Council, (c) the North West and (d) the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority area.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Liverpool City Council is forecast to collect £190 million in 2015/16, while for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Area the total forecast is £466 million. The 45 local authorities that comprise the North West are expected to collect £2,588 million in 2015/16.

    The Government intends to move to 100% business rates retention for the local government sector across England by the end of this Parliament. As part of the new system, there will continue to be a redistribution of local tax revenue between authorities, with protections in place for authorities that might see their business rates income fall significantly. Over the coming months we will work with local government on the detail of these reforms.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made under what working assumptions of the cost and the salary and other elements of the remuneration package for the potential future position of regional mayor of the North East of England.

    James Wharton

    We have made no such estimates as all these costs are matters for the councils concerned which will have considered such matters when giving their provisional agreement to the North East Devolution Deal, which in addition to establishing a North East regional mayor, will create an Investment Fund to support the North East, worth up to £1.5 billion, with an initial allocation of revenue funding for capital financing of £30 million a year for 30 years.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 11 of his Department’s Defence Equipment Plan 2015, what the reasons are for the increase in spending on support for existing in-service equipment; and on what items that additional funding will be spent.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the Defence Equipment Plan 2015, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-defence-equipment-plan-2015. Paragraph 11 explains the movements in the high level elements of the equipment plan from the previous financial year. Each of the operating centre breakdowns in Section C of the Equipment Plan contains an explanation of any increase or decrease in spending from the previous financial year.

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