Tag: 2016

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help dairy farmers better manage market volatility.

    George Eustice

    I recognise that many farmers are struggling with the prolonged period of low prices.

    The £26.2 million aid package we secured for the UK from the European Commission – and paid out in November and December – provided some immediate relief to hard-pressed farmers. From 1 April, farmers will be able to average their tax over five years instead of two, helping them deal with volatility between years. We are also looking at the development of a dairy futures market in the UK to allow farmers to fix their prices for longer periods.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of Spirit Healthcare’s Empower programme on inequalities in diabetes care across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England advises that the three clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland decided to commission a diabetes education programme collectively from April 2016 to ensure that diabetes care was being provided equitably across the area. The diabetes education programme was put out to tender and Spirit Healthcare was the successful bidder with its EMPOWER programme.

    The EMPOWER programme, which is based on National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, is designed to reduce inequalities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The procurement was overseen by an Equality Lead from the CCGs to ensure patients’ needs were being met.

    The CCGs will be monitoring the delivery of the contract and the uptake of the course. The service has been procured on the basis of a standard National Health Service contract and will be monitored according to the Quality Schedule within that. Additional quality measures will also be regularly evaluated such as patient experience, Friends and Family Test, course attendance and feedback from clinical leads.

  • Lord Triesman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Triesman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Triesman on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of occupational pension schemes in local government, the NHS and publicly funded education registered in the UK as at 1 January.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government does not maintain a central list of pension schemes provided by each employer in local government, the NHS and education sectors. However, there are three principal occupational pension schemes covering these workforces, which are the Local Government Pension Scheme 2014, the National Health Service Pension Scheme 2015 (and 1995 and 2008 sections) and the Teachers’ Pension Scheme 2015 (and 2010 section).

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the appointment of an EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Government notes the designation of Mr Jan Figel as special advisor to Commissioner Mimica on religious issues. We look forward to the presentation of his proposed mandate for discussion by EU Member States’ human rights experts. The Government is strongly committed to the defence of freedom of religion or belief globally and will work to ensure that Mr Figel’s appointment contributes to this goal.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-09-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the average annual household insurance premiums paid by (a) existing customers and (b) new customers in each of the last five years.

    Simon Kirby

    The Government does not hold information on average annual household and motor insurance premiums. There are a range of estimates of the cost of insurance published by industry, including the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the AA and Confused.com. The ABI’s data is available at: https://www.abi.org.uk/News/Industry-data-updates.

    The Government encourages consumers to shop around for the most suitable cover at the best price. To this end, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently published rules and guidance requiring insurers to disclose the previous year’s premium on renewal notices for general insurance products including motor and home insurance. The measures also require insurers to identify consumers who will be renewing with them for the fourth consecutive time and give them a prescribed shopping around message. The rules will come into force in April 2017.

  • 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 assessment she has made of the effect of the changes to the Early Years Educator apprenticeship standard introduced in August 2014.

    Robert Halfon

    The Early Years Educator apprenticeship standard at Level 3 remains in development and so has not yet been published for use by the sector. Therefore, it is not possible to make any assessment of its effect at this point.

    The Department continues to work closely with the Early Years Trailblazer to develop apprenticeship standards for key roles in the sector.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations her Department made to the recent meeting of the EU Fisheries and Agriculture Council; and for which species support was given at that meeting for quotas exceeding those recommended by scientific advice.

    George Eustice

    At the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council in December 2015 the UK Government supported quota setting in accordance with three high level objectives: to increase the number of stocks fished at sustainable levels, in particular the number fished at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) in 2016; to follow the available science, notably that from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES); and to minimise discards in line with the landing obligation.

    With respect to stocks with full MSY assessments, the UK supported total allowable catches (TACs) higher than the ICES advice for Farn Deeps Nephrops and Eastern Channel sole, because new management measures had been developed which, when implemented, should deliver MSY by 2017 and 2019 respectively.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what modelling was used when calculating a new rate of return of 9.2 per cent from hydropower with reduced feed-in tariff levels.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The modelling used to deliver a rate of return of 9.2% is based on discounted cash flows of a hydro plant’s cost and revenue streams, which is the approach often used by investors to evaluate opportunities. The capital and operational costs are calculated over the expected lifetime of the project and are compared with the expected revenue streams of a well-sited installation. The generation tariff makes up the difference over and above the income streams that a plant would need to hit its target rate of return. The rate of return is achieved based on a project having an average (median) capital and operating cost, and a high level of generating output (higher than average load factor). The level of return is aimed at attracting those investors with lower hurdle rates, such as individuals, communities and small scale organisations, which the FITs scheme targets.

    The impact assessment, published alongside the response to the feed-in tariffs review, sets out in more detail how rates of return were calculated:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486084/IA_-_FITs_consultation_response_with_Annexes_-_FINAL_SIGNED.pdf.

    “

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with his Indonesian counterpart the restriction on non-governmental organisations working in West Papua.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We welcome the Indonesian government’s commitment to improving the situation in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua. President Joko Widodo has visited 3 times since his election, most recently spending New Year in Papua. During his visit in May 2015, he granted clemency to a number of prisoners and announced the lifting of travel restrictions for foreign journalists and international organisations. Since then, a number of foreign journalists have successfully visited and reported from Papua and West Papua. Our Ambassador in Jakarta last visited Papua in January. As well as raising these issues, he also discussed ways to ensure the sustainable and equitable development of the provinces with members of the police, and religious and community leaders.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria the Government plans to use to calculate each school’s allocation of funds raised from the soft drinks industry levy for school sports.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Revenue from the soft drinks industry levy will be used to double the PE and sport premium for primary schools to £320m a year from September 2017, enabling them to improve the quality and breadth of PE and sport they offer. It will also provide up to £285m a year to enable up to a quarter of secondary schools to extend their school day to offer a wider range of activities, including sports clubs. Further details will be announced in due course.