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Tag: 2016

  • Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to support the inclusion of the Fountain Cavern in Anguilla in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Fountain Cavern is not currently on the UK World Heritage Tentative List, which is the first step in the process towards World Heritage Site status. If the site wishes to progress towards World Heritage Site status in the future, it will be important for the nominators to have prepared a thorough body of research to support the application. Organisations such as the UK National Commission for UNESCO and World Heritage UK are happy to provide advice on this process.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) promote the study of creative subjects in secondary schools and (b) address the skills shortage in the UK creative industry sector.

    Nick Gibb

    All schools are required to provide a broad and balanced curriculum. The Government recognises that creative arts are an integral part of a child’s education. They develop skills that are important to our economy and help prepare children for adult life.

    The national curriculum sets out our expectations of what pupils should be taught and we have reformed GCSE and A level qualifications in a range of subjects, including art and design, music, drama, dance and design & technology. We have made significant changes in particular to design and technology, making this a better preparation for young people to progress into careers in a wide range of engineering and design fields.

    Our reforms to technical and vocational education incentivise schools and colleges to teach only those qualifications that meet rigorous quality criteria, develop the skills and knowledge that employers need and enable young people to progress into employment. For 16-18 year olds this includes qualifications in creative subjects that will equip them to apply for a range of jobs in the creative industries.

    In November, the Government announced further reforms to technical and professional education that will simplify the skills system and ensure it is understood and valued by employers. The Government will simplify and streamline the number of qualifications so that individuals have a clear set of routes which allow for progression into skilled employment. An independent panel, chaired by Lord Sainsbury, is developing proposals for these reforms and they will report to Government this spring‎.

    In December 2014, the Secretary of State announced funding for a new careers and enterprise company. This employer-led, independent company is strengthening links between employers, schools and colleges and careers and enterprise organisations to inspire young people, assisting them with taking control of their own futures and helping to address skills shortages. The provision of high-quality careers guidance for all young people is a key part of this Government’s commitment to delivering real social justice.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimates they have made of the impact on levels of both homelessness and destitution of the enactment of the Immigration Bill.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    We expect migrants with no lawful basis to remain to leave the UK. The Immigration Bill will provide the means by which accommodation and other support can be made available in appropriate circumstances prior to their departure.

  • William Cash – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    William Cash – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Cash on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the expansion of new electricity interconnectors on (a) the capacity market auction price and (b) long-term investment in gas-fired electricity generation.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We are confident that the Capacity Market is the right tool to bring forward new capacity including gas as it is needed. The participation of interconnectors in the Capacity Auction is expected to increase competition among capacity providers in the auction helping to take clearing prices as low as possible for consumers. The security of supply contribution that interconnection makes is assessed annually, based on detailed market modelling to determine anticipated electricity flows from connected markets at times of GB system stress. The government published an impact assessment last year on the inclusion of interconnectors in the Capacity Market which is available here:

    http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2015/187/pdfs/ukia_20150187_en.pdf.

    Both new gas and new interconnectors are likely to be important parts of the long-term investment we need in new capacity to ensure energy supply.

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  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will collect data on the reasons given for refusal of family reunion applications involving children and young people aged over 18 years of age.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office does not hold the specific information in the format requested. The questions cover a number of different casework operations and the information is not recorded centrally in a way which can be reported on directly.

    To obtain the information would involve examining individual case records and would incur disproportionate cost. We do not currently plan to change the data that is centrally recorded and published on this category of applications.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the humanitarian situation in Rakhine State in Burma.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    According to UN OCHA Rakhine is one of the least developed areas in Burma and has the highest poverty rate in the country. Inter-communal violence in 2012 led to the displacement of approximately 145,000 people and as of June 2016 some 120,000 internally displaced people remain in 39 camps or camp-like settings across Rakhine State. Prolonged displacement and ongoing movement restrictions constrain access to essential services like formal education, healthcare and livelihoods, and continue to cause increased vulnerability and a high level of dependency on humanitarian aid. Despite positive progress on establishing the Kofi Annan-led Rakhine Commission, there has not yet been an improvement in the humanitarian situation in Rakhine. DFID and UK Government officials continue to keep close track of the humanitarian situation in Rakhine and visit the region frequently. DFID Ministers raised the plight of the Rakhine and the rights of the Muslim community in meeting with the Burmese government on the most recent visit.

  • 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 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what further representations his Department plans to make to the Iranian government on securing the release of Kamal Foroughi from imprisonment.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    I have raised the case of Mr Foroughi with President Rouhani and Foreign Minister Zarif. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) spoke to President Rouhani in July 2015 about this case, followed up with a letter on 19 October requesting an update on Mr Foroughi’s welfare and requesting that consular access be granted. The Prime Minister spoke again to President Rouhani on the 19th of January. Mr Foroughi’s case was raised by the Prime Minister in that conversation. We will continue to raise this case, alongside our other consular cases with the Iranian government regularly, at all appropriate levels, including at Ministerial and through our embassy officials in Tehran.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24285, how many times (a) Brimstone missiles, (b) Hellfire missiles and (c) Paveway IV guided bombs were deployed against targets in Iraq between 2 December 2015 and 29 January 2016.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The number of weapons fired by each weapon type in Iraq during the period requested is shown below:

    Weapon Type

    Number of weapons fired at targets in Iraq

    Hellfire

    39

    Dual Mode Seeker Brimstone

    15

    Paveway IV

    230

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Annex on a Comprehensive Franco-British Partnership on Civil Nuclear Energy, Franco-British Summit, on 3 March 2016, if she will publish the new key cooperation actions on Generation IV reactors which have been identified.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Further to an agreement at the 2014 UK – France Summit, the UK National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) have been progressing work to develop a joint roadmap for collaboration, to support the Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration (ASTRID) project. This work was noted in the text of the 2016 UK – France summit conclusions.

    Development of this agreement and the progression of actions under the associated roadmap are a commercial matter between NNL and CEA, the details of which are subject to commercial confidentiality.

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish the outcome of their review of local council tax support schemes.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The independent review of Local Council Tax Support schemes has now concluded and its final report was published on GOV.UK on 8 April. The report is available (attached) here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-council-tax-support-schemes-an-independent-review.

    A copy of the report has been placed in the House Library

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