Tag: 2016

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she plans to take to support feasibility studies into local renewable energy projects beyond 2017, following the end of the Rural Community Energy Fund.

    Andrea Leadsom

    This Government is committed to the devolution of powers and responsibilities to local people and local decision makers. We believe that this will allow them to identify and develop their local area as they want and optimising the assets and resources available to them.

    To date, over 40 areas have submitted interest in this process and a number of devolution deals have been signed many including energy as a significant part of that deal. DECC will continue to support local areas in developing their own plans.

    In the meantime, the Rural Community Energy Fund continues not only to fund feasibility but also delivery of projects for local renewables. Our heat networks delivery unit and Salix are supporting other local energy priorities, and we announced significant additional funding for both schemes during this Parliament.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much central government funding has been allocated to (a) the London Local Enterprise Partnership and (b) all Local Enterprise Partnerships to support the creative industries in each year since 2011-12.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    All Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), including the London LEP, have access to funding through programmes such as Growth Deals. However, decisions on what to prioritise rightly rest with the LEPs themselves, ensuring a strong business voice to maximise local growth. In London, for example, the LEP is investing £5m in a Digital Skills Programme to ensure young Londoners have the skills they need to access jobs in the capital’s thriving tech sector.

  • Chris Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Chris Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Yemen; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The United Nations report that 21.2 million people in Yemen require some kind of humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs or protect their fundamental rights, as cited in the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP). The government uses this UN report as one if its primary data sources.

    We continue to call on other donors to step up. In July 2015 the Foreign and Development Secretaries wrote to international donors to raise the profile of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and encourage more funding to the response. In September, the Development Secretary co-hosted a meeting on Yemen’s humanitarian crisis at the UN General Assembly, at which donors (including the UK) pledged an additional £85 million.

    The Co-Chairs statement from the meeting can be found here: http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/co-chairs-statement-ministerial-yemen-meeting-monday-28-september-2015

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  • Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding the Department for International Development transferred to the EU over and above their fixed aid related contribution.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK makes fixed ODA contributions to the EU budget and the European Development Fund (EDF) each year. In addition to this funding, where DFID doesn’t have the expertise or resources to deliver a major programme itself, it will work locally with partners who can do this including the EU.

    As set out in DFID’s 2015 Statistics on International Development publication, in addition to these fixed ODA contributions, DFID provided £20,378,000 to the EU in 2014 for two infrastructure programmes in Africa. These are both helping to promote trade within Africa and boost local economies, building markets that Britain can trade with which is firmly in our national interest.

    In both cases the EU is the best partner with the necessary capacity and technical expertise to carry out these large infrastructure programmes. Details of all such bilateral programmes are published on devtracker.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in her Department in 2015-16.

    Nick Gibb

    The total spent on non-payroll Contingent Labour staff (ie, Agency Staff (Clerical and Admin); Interim Managers; and Specialist Contractors) in the Department for Education and its Executive Agencies is published by the Department for Education on a monthly basis at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-monthly-workforce-management-information which also includes Non Departmental Public Bodies (Equality & Human Rights Commission and Office of the Children’s Commissioner).

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  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the UK to leave the EU since 23 June 2016; and what further such steps his Department plans to take in the remainder of 2016.

    Kris Hopkins

    The Department for Exiting the European Union has responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister.

    In doing this it is working very closely with other government departments, including the Northern Ireland Office, and a wide range of other interested parties.

  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what will be the status in the UK of EU legal instruments to which the UK agrees between the bill to repeal the European Communities Act 1972 receiving royal assent and the UK leaving the EU.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Government will bring forward legislation in the next session that, when enacted, will repeal the European Communities Act 1972 on the day we leave the EU. This ‘Great Repeal Bill’ will end the authority of EU law and return power to the UK.

    The Government will set out the content of the Bill and its implications in due course.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2015 to Question 17801, what the evidential basis is for his statement that civil service job satisfaction remains high and wellbeing has increased.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Civil Service People Survey provides annual data on staff engagement and wellbeing. The survey, which is undertaken each October, had 279,653 individuals in 96 organisations respond in 2015.

    The latest results show that we continue to see high scores for questions on whether people are interested in their work (89%), have the skills they need to do their job (88%) and are trusted to do their job effectively (88%). We can also see that measures of life satisfaction, feeling worthwhile and happiness have increased since last year and are now all 3 percentage points above their initial 2012 position.

    More information can be found athttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-people-survey-2015-results

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  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22031, whether he has received any reports from UK personnel working with the Saudi military of (a) negligent and (b) inadvertent potential breaks of international humanitarian law.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The UK is not a member of the Saudi-led Coalition. British personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets. They are also not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process. British liaison officers have provided information as part of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) monitoring of incidents of alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations. Looking at the information available to us, we have assessed that there has not been a breach of IHL by the coalition, but continue to monitor the situation closely, seeking further information where appropriate.

  • Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of his Department’s UK National Contact Point in investigating complaints on private sector contract compliance with UK human rights commitments.

    Anna Soubry

    The UK National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Multi-National Enterprise Guidelines considers complaints that UK based multinationals have not met the voluntary obligations of the Guidelines in regard to responsible business behaviour. Ministers have no role in the NCP’s investigation of complaints, but ensure that its final statements on complaints are available for scrutiny in the House Libraries. The UK NCP also reports annually to the OECD Investment Committee which is responsible for the Guidelines and their implementation.

    The UK Government is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the OECD Multi-National Enterprise Guidelines and maintaining a NCP which operates in line with international best practice. The UK NCP is regularly invited by the OECD to contribute to best practice sharing and the OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria has praised its effectiveness and positive outcomes.