Tag: 2016

  • Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress her Department has made on bringing about an EU suspension of the Minimum Import Price of solar Chinese solar modules pending the European Commission review of EU trade measures on Chinese solar manufacturea.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The EU launched an Expiry Review in December 2015 into the Minimum Import Price on solar panels entering the EU from China. We expect the investigation is expected to run until at least December 2016.

    My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change wrote to Commissioner Malmström in November 2015 to argue that the wider costs of the Minimum Import Price should be fully taken into account in the Expiry Review of the anti-dumping measures, given the benefits to the UK and EU of lower solar panel prices.

    The Government will continue to engage with the Commission and do whatever we can to promote UK interests.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of using energy storage to ensure that intermittent renewable sources of energy can be part of the UK’s energy mix.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Renewable energy technologies have successfully been part of the UK energy mix for many years.

    Storage could help maximise the benefits and minimise the costs of low carbon energy. It is one of a number of flexible solutions which could be used, for example, demand-side response, interconnection with other countries and dynamic use of networks.

    We are investigating the potential barriers to deployment of these technologies, including energy storage, and possible mitigating actions, focussing in the first instance on removing regulatory and policy barriers. We will be publishing a call for evidence on a smart systems route map, including storage, shortly.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support issuances of land titles and registration of land in Rwanda.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    DFID has supported the Government of Rwanda’s Land Tenure Regularisation (LTR) programme since 2009. This ambitious programme is supporting the issuance of a registered land title to every landholder in Rwanda as well as establishing systems for maintenance of those titles to facilitate investment and support women’s rights to land. To date, the programme has delivered 7.1 million registered titles, out of a target of 8 million.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-06-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any successor organisations to the Money Advice Service will have a remit to promote financial capability amongst the public.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The government is committed to improving financial capability among the public and recognises that increased financial capability for consumers will lead to better outcomes for both individuals and the wider economy. Helping hard-working people achieve their aspirations at every stage of their lives is at the heart of our long term plan. That is why we launched the Public Financial Guidance consultation in Budget 2016 to seek input on what role the government should play in promoting financial capability, and how the public provision of free-to-client, impartial financial guidance should be structured to give consumers the information they need to make financial decisions. The consultation closed on 8 June. The government is currently considering the responses and will respond in the Autumn. The government recognises the importance of giving young people the skills they need to make financial decisions, which is why financial education has been on the national secondary school curriculum in England since September 2014.

  • Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department takes to ensure prompt payments by companies in receipt of defence contracts.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to paying all of its suppliers promptly, and we place a contractual obligation on our prime contractors to pay their subcontractors within a 30 day period.

    MOD payment performance is published on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministry-of-defence-supplier-invoicing-and-payment-information.

    This shows that during the first quarter of 2016-17, the MOD paid 96.5% of its invoices within five days and 99.9% within 30 days.

  • Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure that (a) abattoirs processing sheep use the standardised carcase classification or EUROP grid and (b) mandatory deadweight price reporting for such carcases is introduced.

    George Eustice

    Defra and the devolved administrations (DA) are contributing to the Commission’s ongoing review of regulations on carcase classification and price reporting as part of the EU Commission’s legislation simplification programme. We aim to ensure that UK farmers are not disadvantaged and that no unnecessary burdens are placed on the industry.

    In addition, the Commissioner has established a series of workshops on the future of the sheep industry in the European Union. This forum provides an opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues relevant to the industry, including carcase classification and price reporting. Defra and the DAs are fully engaged in these discussions.

  • Stella Creasy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stella Creasy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many US Department of Homeland Security officials are based at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports; and how long each such official has been based at each airport.

    James Brokenshire

    Under the US Immigration Advisory Program, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers operate in an advisory capacity at Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester airports to support airlines in identifying passengers who should be prevented from boarding flights destined to the US. CBP officers have been operating at Heathrow since 2007, and at Gatwick and Manchester since 2008. The UK Government cannot comment on the number of CBP deployed at each location – this is an operational matter for the US Government.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the feasibility of train operators or Network Rail taking over the operation of train ticket offices previously operated by local authorities.

    Claire Perry

    No local authorities operate train ticket offices, therefore no such assessment has been made.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many businesses in (a) Cumbria, (b) Lancashire and (c) Yorkshire have accessed the Environment Agency’s Climate Ready Support Service in each year since it was set up.

    Rory Stewart

    The Environment Agency does not have figures for the number of businesses accessing the Climate Ready Support Service. The Service has, however, enabled hundreds of organisations across England to understand their climate risk and take action to reduce it through a wide range of different initiatives. For example, the Climate Ready Business Resilience Health Check tool has been accessed online by 8000 businesses.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-05-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British Ambassadors based in the Middle East and North Africa (1) speak Arabic, and (2) are able to conduct official business in Arabic.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave to the noble Viscount Waverley on 28 April 2016 (HL7839), namely that, in the Middle East and North Africa region approximately 95 per cent of our Heads of Mission speak Arabic or other local languages (e.g. French or Hebrew).