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Tag: 2016

  • Lord Touhig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Touhig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-10-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contingency plans have been put in place in the event of a mechanical failure of one of the Trafalgar Class submarines due to the withdrawal of the only Royal Navy repair ship RFA Diligence.

    Earl Howe

    Should on-board engineers be unable to resolve a problem with any ship or submarine, there is a range of ways in which operational maintenance and repair can be delivered. This can include the deployment of a Royal Navy repair and maintenance party, or utilising well-established commercial arrangements and international agreements, such as the use of other countries’ bases and facilities. This is particularly the case where resources and facilities are not available within the Ministry of Defence or are more effectively provided by a third party.

  • Harry Harpham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Harry Harpham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harry Harpham on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many days of gas supply are available from the gas storage facilities.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The UK has a high level of gas security, provided through our diverse range of gas supplies, including domestic production, pipeline imports from Norway and mainland EU, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from global markets and storage. It is therefore misleading to talk about gas storage in terms of ‘days available’ because of this mix. Both physical system constraints and market processes mean storage could only be one part of the overall gas mix on any winter’s day.

    Total gas infrastructure in GB can currently deliver around 700 million cubic meters a day, which is more than double average winter daily demand. Average winter demand is 290 million cubic meters a day and while storage amounts fluctuate, it is currently around 3500 million cubic meters.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he will publish draft regulations on housing benefit for 18-21 year olds.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Removal of automatic housing support for 18 – 21 year olds, announced in the Summer Budget 2015, will be introduced in April 2017. The Department is liaising with a range of key stakeholders as we develop the detail of the policy and once this work is complete we will bring forward detailed proposals.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in her Department.

    Nick Gibb

    All of the special advisers support the Secretary of State and Ministerial team across the full range of departmental business, reflecting the role description set out in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468340/code_of_conduct_for_special_advisers_-_15_october_2015_final.pdf

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  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report by Professor Walton, entitled The likely effect of the Jackson reforms on insolvency litigation – an empirical investigation, published in 2013, what his policy is on each of the conclusions of that report.

    Dominic Raab

    Ministry of Justice officials met Professor Walton and others on 12 October last year to discuss his report, but the Ministry of Justice did not agree with his conclusions. Our changes to no win no fee deals have tackled the increasing costs of litigation. We delayed bringing the law in for insolvency proceedings to allow the industry time to prepare. The no win no fee reforms in Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 will come into force for insolvency proceedings on 6 April this year.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of all disbursements for public sector pensions for all those in employment and currently entitled to such pensions.

    Greg Hands

    The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) publish a forecast of the net cost of public sector pensions in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) at every fiscal event.

    This shows the total income for public service pensions, including employer and employee contributions, and the total expenditure for public service pensions, through pensions in payment.

    More information can be found on page 154 of the OBR’s most recent EFO.

    http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/March2016EFO.pdf

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Attorney General, if he will take steps to offer incentives to encourage more solicitors to offer pro bono work.

    Robert Buckland

    Pro Bono is a voluntary commitment made by lawyers who understand that the service they provide is invaluable to those individuals who would otherwise be denied access to justice.

    As pro bono champions of the Government, the Law Officers support a number of projects through our co-ordinating committees. The Government has also provided funding for several projects, such as the Litigants in Person package run by the Ministry of Justice.

  • Chris Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) adults and (b) children with cystic fibrosis who have previously claimed disability living allowance have received no award when assessed under the new personal independence payment.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Department intends to provide detailed breakdowns of DLA to PIP reassessment outcomes in due course. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to mitigate the effect of planned increases to the national minimum wage on the ability of childcare providers to recruit staff.

    Caroline Dinenage

    We are investing £1 billion more per year in the early years to fund our commitments on the entitlements. This includes £300 million per year from 2017-18 for a significant increase to the rate paid for the two, three and four year old entitlements.

    To inform the size of the funding rates increase, the government conducted a six-month long review of the cost of providing childcare and published its findings in November 2015. It looked at both the current costs of provision and the implications of future cost pressures facing the sector, including the introduction of the National Living Wage.

    We have committed to developing a workforce strategy to help employers attract, retain and develop staff to deliver high quality provision.

  • Chris White – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chris White – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris White on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to (a) encourage greater use of email and (b) implement other measures to reduce costs in communication by government departments.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government Digital Service (GDS) continues to support departments as they digitally transform their business operations, making government services easier and more efficient to use. There is a ‘digital first’ strategy across Government to save on time as well as paper and postage costs, including the use of email to achieve this aim.

    The Government Communication Service (GCS) saved nearly £330m for taxpayers in 2014/15 compared to 2009/10 by making its campaigns more cost effective. The communications profession is also more streamlined, with headcount across Government reduced by a third since 2009/10. These reforms helped the Government reduce communications spending by a total of £1bn over the last Parliament. GCS continues to investigate new ways of reducing costs in Government communications.