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Tag: 2016

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received from Nottinghamshire County Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund on the proposed closure of the DH Lawrence Heritage Centre in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire.

    David Evennett

    To date, the department has not received any representations from Nottinghamshire County Council or the Heritage Lottery Fund on this matter.

    An options study into the future of the Centre, funded by Arts Council England, is currently being carried out. The Heritage Lottery Fund will continue discussions with the owners, Broxtowe Borough Council, and Arts Council England once this study is complete.

  • Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of raising the level of support offered through the Contract for Difference for Hinkley Point C as a result of low wholesale energy prices.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Contract for Difference mechanism provides increased price certainty to generators regardless of wholesale electricity sale prices, thereby incentivising investment in low carbon generation. It does this by paying the generator the difference between the strike price and the market reference price (a composite of wholesale price indices) for electricity sold into the market for the duration of the contract. The generator will make difference payments back to the Low Carbon Contracts Company should the market reference price rise above the strike price.

    The strike price for the Hinkley Point C project was agreed in October 2013 and is £92.50/MWh. If EDF take a Final Investment Decision in relation to Sizewell C, the strike price for Hinkley Point C will be reduced to £89.50/MWh.

  • Lord Chidgey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Chidgey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 12 February (HL5949), based on the UNHCR assessment of the number and needs of unaccompanied children in conflict regions, what is their estimate of (1) the number, and (2) the needs, of unaccompanied children from Sudan and South Sudan.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government is not in a position to comment on the number or needs of unaccompanied children in particular countries. All asylum seeking children who arrive in the UK and are unaccompanied are referred to a local authority. Those local authorities hold responsibility for assessing their needs and providing services based on the outcome of the assessment.

    The Government is clear about our moral responsibility to assist those who are suffering as a result of conflict and recognises that those fleeing persecution have a legal entitlement to protection. We worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to design and launch the ‘Children at Risk’ resettlement scheme. On the UNHCR’s recommendation, the scheme will not target unaccompanied children alone, but will be extended to all ‘Children at Risk’ as defined by the UNHCR who are in the Middle East and North Africa. We have committed to resettling several hundred individuals in the first year with a view to resettling up to 3,000 individuals over the lifetime of this Parliament, the majority of whom will be children.

    As stated above, we cannot comment on the number of children in other countries. However, figures on asylum applications for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in the UK are published quarterly by the Home Office in the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics October to December 2015, is available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2015.

    There were 142 applications for asylum from UASCs, excluding dependants, for nationals of Sudan during 2015. No such applications were received from nationals of South Sudan in 2015. UNHCR have published statistics on estimated numbers of children in countries, including South Sudan. These can be found at: http://data.unhcr.org/SouthSudan/regional.php.

  • Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gill Furniss on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to limit the level of overdraft charges for people in financial difficulties.

    Simon Kirby

    It is important that overdraft charges are fair and that customers can access clear information about overdrafts.

    The Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation into retail banking is considering the issue of overdrafts. The Government stands ready to take action after the CMA publishes its report.

    And we have already taken steps to support customers in financial difficulty. For example, truly fee-free basic bank accounts have been available since January 2016.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his counterpart in the Falkland Islands on improving LGBT rights.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The British Government works closely with the Overseas Territories (OTs) on LGBT rights to ensure that all OTs meet their international human rights obligations in this area.

    In September, the UK Solicitor General chaired a human rights session at the annual conference of OT Attorneys General where LGBT equality was discussed extensively.

    The Solicitor General will co-chair a session in November with the Minister for the Overseas Territories, my noble Friend, the Rt Hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns, on human rights at the Joint Ministerial Council.

    We expect all Overseas Territory Governments to comply with their evolving international obligations in the field of human rights. Legislating in this area is for OT Governments.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the outcomes have been of the universal credit in-work conditionality pilots.

    Priti Patel

    National roll-out of the In-Work Progression Randomised Control Trial commenced in December 2015 and is likely to be completed in summer 2016. We are unable to provide the information requested at this early stage.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to ensure that every academy has its own governing body.

    Lord Nash

    Under the Academies Act 2010 an academy is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is therefore required under the Companies Act 2006 to have members and a board of trustees/ directors.

    In a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT), individual academies do not have a separate legal identity and are all under the control of the trust board. Whether the board establishes local governing boards for each academy or local governing bodies to oversee groups of academies, and the range of functions delegated to any such boards, are both a matter for the board to determine – but in all cases the board remains accountable for all the academies in the MAT.

    Fewer, higher quality and more highly skilled boards overseeing groups of schools is central to the Government’s strategy for improving the quality of governance. It is also the key to schools realising a wide range of other financial and educational benefits. While every academy may not therefore have its own governing body, our guidance in the Governance Handbook makes clear that boards should have meaningful and effective arrangements in place for engaging with and listening to the views and needs of parents, staff and the wider local community.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage consumers to buy local produce.

    George Eustice

    The Great British Food Campaign celebrates the best of the UK’s food and drink, focusing particularly on our unique Protected Food Name products such as Traditionally Farmed Gloucestershire Old Spots Pork and Fenland Celery. Through Great British Food we aim to encourage consumers to think more carefully about the provenance of the food that they eat and to consider choosing innovative British produce as part of a balanced healthy diet.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many Chagossian families have not received any compensation from the public purse.

    James Duddridge

    The UK Government has paid out around £21m at current prices. This comprises two sums. An initial figure of £650,000 which the UK Government paid in 1973 to the Government of Mauritius towards the resettlement of those removed from the British Indian Ocean Territory since 1965. This was disbursed with accrued interest in 1977 and 1978 to 595 families. Furthermore, in 1982 the UK Government paid over a further £4m pursuant to an agreement with the Government of Mauritius which had established the Ilois Trust Fund Board to distribute the money for the benefit of the Chagossians. The government of Mauritius had also contributed some land to the Trust Fund and the government of India contributed £1m to it. At least 1,344 Chagossians received compensation through the Trust Fund, which was largely paid out between 1982 and 1984, with a final disbursement in 1987. The Government does not hold information about those it has not compensated.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why Ethiopia was not classified as a priority country in the FCO’s recent report on human rights and democracy, in the light of the government of Ethiopia’s response to the Oromo protests.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Any list of priorities has to be limited. Our concept of Human Rights Priority Countries is not intended to an exhaustive list of trouble spots. Nor is it a homogenous group. We have chosen to focus on 30 countries where we judge the UK can make a real difference on human rights over the duration of this Parliament. Our concerns are not limited to those countries; our interests are global. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy highlights specific human rights issues, which we are keen to work on with other countries to address. We have consistently expressed our concern at the human rights situation in Ethiopia, and have made representations specifically in response to the Oromo protests.

    We remain deeply concerned about the handling of demonstrations in Oromia and the reported deaths of a number of protestors, and have repeatedly made representations to the Ethiopian government over the ongoing situation in that region. The Secretary of State for International Development, the Rt Hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), raised our concerns with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 21 January. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), raised our concerns with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Dr Tedros, at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa on 27 January. Our Ambassador to Ethiopia also raised the issue with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 26 April. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and raise our concerns with the Ethiopian government, including on the use of force. We will continue to work with our partners, including the US, in urging the Ethiopian government to use restraint in their handling of the protests in Oromia.