Tag: 2016

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to the timetable for work to commence on building the new Type 26 Frigate on the recruitment and training of apprentices in the affected shipyards.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the oral answer I gave during Defence questions in the House on 27 June 2016 to the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Margaret Ferrier).

    The Government have already invested £1.6 billion in the Type 26 programme. We will only enter into a contract once we are confident of the delivery schedule and the ability of the contractors to meet that schedule on a cost effective basis.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that unspent financial resources from the Redcar Taskforce are spent in the local community.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The Government has provided £50 million to the Redcar Task Force to support individuals directly affected by the SSI liquidation and to boost economic development across Tees Valley. £43 million of that funding has already been approved, with more than £30 million paid out to accountable local authorities and colleges. Task Force members continue to work closely with officials in the Department in delivering the remainder of the support package.

  • Baroness Pinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Pinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the necessity to ensure that private finance initiative hospitals retain maximum use is distorting the siting of full accident and emergency and consultant-led maternity units.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Decisions on reconfiguration are for local commissioners based on identification of local need. NHS England published Planning, assuring and delivering service change for patients on 29 October 2015, a copy of which is attached, providing refreshed guidance for those considering, and involved in, service reconfiguration.

    The guidance makes clear that any proposal for service reconfiguration must satisfy the Government’s four tests for change:

    (i) strong public and patient engagement;

    (ii) consistency with current and prospective need for patient choice;

    (iii) a clear clinical evidence base; and

    (iv) support for proposals from clinical commissioners.

    The guidance includes that commissioners should build proposals by identifying the range of service change options that could improve outcomes within available resources; and that proposals should be clear about the impact of the proposed changes on outcomes for patients.

  • 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 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the amount set aside for contingency funding was within the overall equipment budget of his Department in each of the last six years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Centrally held contingency funding for the Defence Equipment Plan (EP) was introduced for the first time in 2012, at which point it totalled £4.8 billion over the 10 year planning period. The level of contingency has remained broadly stable over the subseqent four years, as shown in the table below.

    EP Contingency by Financial Year

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    2015-16

    10 Year Total

    £4.8 billion

    £4.7 billion

    £4.6 billion

    £4.3 billion

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many sexual offences have been recorded as having taken place on school sites in each year since 2010.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department does not hold the information requested.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in the event that the actual cost of a Section 106 highway infrastructure scheme exceeds the previously estimated and agreed contribution, (a) what options exist for making good that shortfall, (b) whether the local authority or the developer is liable for any additional costs and (c) whether Section 106 contributions originally allocated for other schemes may be reallocated to cover such costs.

    Brandon Lewis

    It is for the local planning authority to determine what is required and seek planning obligations through a Section 106 agreement in order to make a development acceptable in planning terms. There are three statutory tests that need to be applied when considering a planning obligation, that it is: necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms; directly related to the development; and fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development.

    Developers may be asked to provide contributions for infrastructure in several ways. This may be by way of planning obligations in the form of Section 106 agreements but can also include contributions through payment of the Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 278 highway agreements.

    It is for local planning authorities to decide what provisions they make in Section 106 agreements, and agree these with the interested parties, and therefore any liabilities would depend on the individual agreement. Local authorities and developers can renegotiate planning obligations by mutual agreement at any time or under Section 106A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. However, Local planning authorities are expected to use all of the funding they receive through planning obligations in accordance with the terms of the individual planning obligation agreement. This is to ensure that new developments are acceptable in planning terms; benefit local communities and support the provision of local infrastructure.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the British Business Bank’s (a) total operating budget, (b) budget for communications and (c) expenditure on third party communications consultancy and public relations agencies was in (i) 2014, (ii) 2015 and (iii) 2016.

    Anna Soubry

    The British Business Bank is a government-owned economic development bank that makes finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively. It works with the market to increase awareness amongst smaller businesses about the available finance options.

    British Business Bank became fully operational on 1 November 2014. Therefore we are able to provide the information requested for the 5 month period ended 31 March 2015 and the 12 month period ended 31 March 2016. This is shown in the table below.

    Total Operating Budget in £000(a)

    Budget for Communications in £000 (b)

    Expenditure on 3rd Party Communications, Consultancy & PR agencies in £000 (c)

    5 months ended 31 March 2015

    9,606

    280

    280

    12 months ended 31 March 2016

    23,207

    895

    466

    *Please note that the Budget for Communications (b) includes salary related costs and Expenditure on 3rd Party Communications Consultancy and PR Agencies (c) does not.

  • Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent estimate her Department has made of the whole-life (a) cost and (b) carbon footprint of the proposed Hinkley C nuclear power station.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Payments under the Contract for Difference for Hinkley Point C, like all other CfDs, would be funded through the Supplier Obligation and therefore by electricity consumers. Our current estimates of these costs are in the range of £4bn to £19bn depending on the level of future wholesale prices and operating costs.

    EDF commissioned a report in 2011 which concluded that, from a full lifecycle perspective, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with 1 kWh of electricity generated from Hinkley Point C would be 4.75 g CO2e/kWh.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make representations to the National Association of Estate Agents to encourage private-rented accommodation sector agencies to reduce the fixed costs that those agencies charge to tenants moving into private-rented accommodation; and if he will make a statement.

    Gavin Barwell

    Since 27 May 2015, through Section 83 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, letting agents have been required to publish a breakdown of their fees, which redress scheme they are a member of and whether they are a member of a client money protection scheme, in their offices and on their websites. A breakdown of fees enables tenants to compare prices and assess value for money, creating effective competition that should force agents to keep their fees fair and strengthening consumer choice.

    The Government has established a Private Rented Affordability and Security working group to explore new approaches to remove entry costs and removal costs for tenants in the sector. The working group which includes representatives from across the PRS and Housing sector, including Crisis, Shelter, the National Landlords Association, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, is expected to provide its findings in the Autumn.

  • Lord Crisp – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Crisp – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to ensure parity between funding for physical health and mental health research following the 2014 Research Excellence Framework conducted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is allocated funding from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) Science and Research budget to distribute to higher education institutions (HEIs) in England. Most of HEFCE’s funding is allocated as an unhypothecated research block grant to institutions, ensuring university leaders have flexibility to support their own research priorities. While this block grant is calculated using research quality and volume information from the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF2014) at a subject level, it is a matter for individual HEIs to determine how it is ultimately distributed to particular activities/subjects.

    In developing the REF, the attribution of different disciplines to particular units of assessment was agreed with the relevant professional bodies. Research relevant to clinical mental health was assessed in a unit including psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience. As this unit included a mix of research with higher costs (clinical psychology and psychiatry, and neuroscience) and lower costs (social psychology), the funding was allocated at an intermediate cost rate, reflecting the mix of disciplines.

    REF2014 demonstrated significantly improved research quality in all disciplines, including psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience. As a result, the funding allocated on the basis of performance to this group increased by 16.5 per cent.

    As announced in the Spending Review 2015, the Government is taking forward a review of the REF to ensure that future university research funding is allocated efficiently, offers greater rewards for excellent research and reduces the administrative burden on institutions. This review will be led by Lord Stern, and he is expected to deliver his review to the Government in summer 2016.