The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent representations he has received in favour of Government involvement in any part of the running of departments or divisions of Rolls Royce connected to that company’s production of the Nuclear Reactor Component of the Successor Programme.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence has received no such representations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average hourly earnings of (a) female, (b) male, (c) full-time and (d) part-time employees of his Department were in each of the last five years.
Harriett Baldwin
This information is published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on their website http://www.ons.gov.uk. ONS figures include both the mean and median gender pay gaps for the Civil Service and HM Treasury. The ONS headline estimates are also calculated using hourly earnings excluding overtime.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to increase participation in the arts by people from low income backgrounds.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to experience and participate in culture and the arts whatever their background and the Prime Minister acknowledged the importance of this in a speech in January 2016 on life chances. Government is maintaining the same level of funding for Arts Council England throughout the next spending period which will include support for arts programmes in areas where participation is low.
Arts Council England funds a number of community arts organisations that look to engage disadvantaged people, such as Cinderford Artspace and Helix Arts which focus on encouraging unemployed adults and employed people on low incomes to participate in the arts. Arts Council England also places responsibility on every funded organisation to make their programme of work more reflective of the communities they serve.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Base Optimisation Programme in Scotland has been completed.
Earl Howe
The Basing Optimisation Programme considered the tri-service basing and infrastructure requirements from the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010. In terms of detailed planning and implementation the programme is being delivered through separate projects which are expected to continue until 2021.
As part of the comprehensive Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 the Ministry of Defence committed to reducing our estate by 30%. The plan for this is due to be announced later this year but so far my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans (Mark Lancaster) has already announced this year the disposal of 22 sites.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of how many UK solar companies have gone out of business or stopped installing solar PV as a result of policy changes made since May 2015.
Andrea Leadsom
We recognise the efforts the solar industry is making to adapt following those changes; changes that we had to make to protect billpayers from the ever-increasing costs of support.
We are encouraged by the way the industry is responding: deployment of solar under the revised FIT scheme continues, at rates that match those seen historically following revisions to the scheme.
We expect that deployment will increase further as costs continue to fall, and the industry acclimatizes to the new system.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will encourage Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group to commission a minor eye conditions service in Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport constituency.
Alistair Burt
General practitioners (GPs), working with secondary care consultants, nurses and lay members, are best placed to co-ordinate the commissioning of high quality care for their patients. They ensure that commissioning decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local health care needs.
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have the freedom and autonomy to take responsibility for meeting the needs of local patients and the public by working closely with secondary care, other health and care professionals and with community partners to design joined up services. As such, while CCGs are led by primary care professionals, they are also guided by the expertise of other local clinicians.
The current commissioning arrangements encourage innovation by placing commissioning with those who know patients best and are aware of the latest clinical evidence and technological advances in health and care.
NHS England advises that Northern, Eastern and Western Devon CCG have no imminent plans to commission a specific minor eye conditions service at this time. CCGs are also able to commission services from local optometrists to provide treatment for minor eye conditions if they feel that is necessary to meet local needs.
Those concerned they may have a minor eye condition can visit their GP, optical practice or pharmacy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of pension scams in the UK that (1) originate overseas, and (2) are initiated by UK-based firms.
Lord Freud
The Government has not made an estimate of the geographic origin of pension scams. Scams are often complex in nature and those reported to Action Fraud as taking place in the UK may have originated elsewhere.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase secondary school places in London.
Nick Gibb
Local authorities are responsible for planning and securing sufficient school places in their area, and supporting them to do so is one of this Government’s top priorities. This is why the Government is investing £23 billion overall in school buildings to create 600,000 new school places, open 500 new free schools and address essential maintenance needs.
Basic need funding is allocated to local authorities to help them to create new school places. This Government has allocated £960 million to local authorities in London for places needed between 2015 and 2018, including at secondary level. This is in addition to the £2 billion London received between 2011 and 2015, almost 40% of the total funding provided to local authorities to help create new places in this period.
This funding has helped to create 155,000 new school places between 2010 and 2014. Of these new places, over 30,000 have been created in 52 open free schools. There are over 60 approved new schools due to open in London in future academic years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress his Department has made on working with the EU Commission on extending the Public Lending Right to e-lending in local libraries.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Department and the Libraries Taskforce are working with representatives of authors, publishers, public libraries, the PLR office and others, to ensure library service users have access to remote e-book lending, without charge, and to consider options to appropriately remunerate authors and other rights holders.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26338, on EU grants and loans, which organisations have received grants from the £71 million European Social Fund monies.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The European Social Fund provides support for young people aged 14-19 who were not in education, employment or training, or who were at risk of being so, for the period December 2013 to July 2015 (2007-2013 European Social Fund programme extended to 2015). This funding was awarded under contract following an open and competitive tendering process. The procurement process was administered by the Skills Funding Agency on behalf of the Education Funding Agency.
The list of organisations contracted to deliver this provision can be found here:
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