Tag: 2016

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will launch a consultation on proposals for a deposit return system for single use drinks containers.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra analysed the costs and benefits of implementing a deposit return system (DRS) for single use drink containers as part of the 2011 Review of Waste Policy in England, and sought views in the 2012 consultation on higher packaging recycling targets.

    This work showed that introducing a DRS may increase recycling and reduce litter but might impose additional costs on businesses, consumers and local authorities (which would lose revenue from recycling). However, we lack evidence to quantify these benefits and costs appropriately. The current approach has driven a significant increase in packaging waste recycling rates, from less than 47% in 2003 to nearly 65% in 2013.

    Last year, the Scottish Government published a feasibility study and a call for evidence investigating the implementation of a DRS for single use drink containers in Scotland. This valuable work highlighted significant uncertainties regarding the impacts and benefits that a DRS would have, notably regarding costs, environmental quality and littering, and existing waste collection systems. The Scottish Government is doing further work on the topic and we will review any new evidence arising from this in due course. However, in the meantime, we will continue to focus on improving existing waste collection and recycling systems, and developing a new National Litter Strategy for England to help coordinate and maximise the impact of anti-litter activity by local government, industry and others.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he expects to (a) receive and (b) publish the final recommendations for wave 1 of the area reviews of post-16 education and training.

    Nick Boles

    As each area review reaches its conclusion, we will receive confirmation of the recommendations that have been agreed and I have agreed to meet with MPs from the area to discuss those recommendations.

    As we have set out in the published guidance for area reviews, we will publish a report relating to each review once it has finished. This will include the final recommendations agreed by each review.

    The exact timing of both of these will depend on the progress of each individual review. We expect most reports from the first wave to be published before the Summer recess.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she plans to respond to the letter of 3 June 2016, from offshore wind companies to EU energy ministers in the June EU Energy Council.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government has already set out long term visibility and certainty for the offshore wind industry in the UK, which is the largest market in the world.

    In November last year, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that the UK could support up to 10GW of new offshore wind in the 2020s subject to costs continuing to fall. In Budget 2016 the Government announced that it will auction Contracts for Difference of up to £730 million this Parliament for up to 4GW of offshore wind and other less established renewables, with a first auction of £290 million. Support for offshore wind will be capped initially at £105/MWh (in 2011-12 prices), falling to £85/MWh for projects commissioning by 2026.

  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the period of maternity leave for mothers of premature babies.

    Margot James

    The UK’s generous entitlement of 52 weeks’ maternity leave provides mothers with sufficient leave to take account of a range of circumstances. Parents who have been employees with the same employer for over a year also have a separate entitlement to parental leave of 18 weeks per parent per child, up to the child’s 18th birthday, of which typically up to 4 weeks can be taken in one year.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate his Department has made of the social and economic value to the economy of the open registers being built by the government data programme.

    Chris Skidmore

    Open registers will provide significant value across the public sector and the wider economy by transforming how government uses data to drive benefits to citizens, focusing on accuracy, transparency and accessibility of data. Open registers will stimulate and support a wide marketplace of open data products and services, built on high-quality open government data.

    Similar programmes of work in Australia and Denmark have driven significant social and economic benefits; the development of an open address register in Denmark has seen a return on investment in excess of 3000%. We expect that the development of open registers will aid our international competitiveness and help grow our digital economy.

    The Government Digital Service has already delivered a country register with the FCO, with a complementary Territory register also in development. We have just published a Local Authority England register with DCLG. There is a pipeline of additional registers being created that have been prioritised after discussion with government departments and based on the most pressing user need.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of (1) the present situation in Nepal, especially in outlying villages that cannot be reached by road, and (2) the aid that was sent to Nepal following the recent earthquakes; how much such aid they sent, and what assessment they have made of how much was sent by British citizens; and how much of that aid fulfilled the purposes for which it was sent.

    Baroness Verma

    While emergency aid has reached most areas, we still estimate one million people will be living in temporary shelters at altitudes above 1,500 metres over the winter and are in need of urgent cold weather support. DFID, through its partners, is providing winter support to approximately 42,000 families (over 200,000 people) both via in kind assistance (blankets, mattresses, clothes, shelter insulation, solar lamps and cook stoves), as well as through a number of activities that contribute to an enabling environment for an effective and responsive humanitarian support. For example we are supporting helicopter operations to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance to communities in areas inaccessible by land. Winter distributions are over 60 % complete and are expected to be fully complete by the end of January.

    Information on total aid sent to Nepal in the aftermath of the earthquake can be found online through UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affair’s (OCHA) Financial Tracking System which is updated periodically. DFID’s response to the devastating earthquake now stands at £70 million following further commitments made at the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction. Funds raised by the British public for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal have already reached over £85 million, which includes £5 million in matched funding provided by DFID. More information on Nepal DEC work including a review of the response is available online. The UK is committed to ensuring that our assistance is made available to those most in need. We work with trusted partner NGO’s and UN agencies to deliver the UK humanitarian effort. These groups provide real time feedback of the situation on the ground to ensure DFID funds are used effectively.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Tornados and (b) Typhoons are fitted with the TCAAS II Collision Warning System.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 3 February 2016 to Question 24361 and on 1 February 2016 to Question 24213, to the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Ms Thornberry).

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the Government’s proposals for implementing the recommendations of the independent Mental Health Taskforce.

    Alistair Burt

    We welcome the publication of the independent Mental Health Taskforce report and accept its recommendations. We will work with NHS England, other health arm’s length bodies and across government to agree how to take these forward.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what investigatory methods his Department uses for reports of potential breaches of international humanitarian law by UK allies in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Ministry of Defence monitors incidents of alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations using all available information which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. We consider a range of information from government sources, foreign governments, the media and international non-governmental organisations regarding reports of potential breaches of IHL.

    We regularly raise the importance of compliance with IHL with the Saudi Arabian Government and other members of the military Coalition. The UK is not a member of the Saudi-led Coalition. British personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets and are not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process. However we have provided training and advice to Saudi Arabia to ensure continued compliance with IHL and minimise civilian casualties.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraphs H.2 to H.6 of HM Revenue and Customs document, Measuring tax gaps 2015 edition: methodological annex, published in October 2015, what the initial estimate was of the value of large business tax under consideration (a) in total and (b) for each tax to which large businesses are subject in each year since 2009-10; how many times those estimates were revised (i) up and (ii) down in each such year and for each such tax; and what the total revised value of large business tax under consideration was after HM Revenue and Custom’s negotiations with those businesses.

    Greg Hands

    Tax under consideration is HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) estimate of the maximum potential additional tax liability in each case, before they have carried out a full investigation of the specific facts or analysis of relevant law. It is not actual tax either owed or unpaid; it is a tool to guide HMRC enquiries to focus on the most significant risks that exist at any particular time with the largest businesses. In many cases, when HMRC have looked at the full facts it becomes clear that there is some lesser additional liability or even no additional liability at all. Tax under consideration is a snapshot of work in progress and will naturally vary from time to time as outstanding issues are settled and new risks are identified. Tax under consideration covers all taxes, including Corporation Tax, VAT, PAYE and National lnsurance contributions. As it is an internal estimate used within HMRC, it is not subject to challenge by large businesses.

    Until 31 March 2014, HMRC’s Large Business Service dealt with the tax affairs of around 800 of the largest businesses in the UK. From 1 April 2014 HMRC’s Large Business directorate deals with the tax affairs of around 2,000 large businesses.

    Snapshots of tax under consideration in each year were:

    HMRC’s Large Business directorate (largest 2,000 businesses):

    31 March 2015 – £19 billion

    HMRC’s Large Business Service (largest 800 businesses):

    31 March 2014 – £15.7 billion

    31 July 2013 – £18.8 billion

    31 July 2012 – £21.3 billion

    31 March 2011 – £25.5 billion

    31 March 2010 – £33.4 billion

    The estimate of total tax under consideration shown in Measuring Tax Gaps Table 7.1, page 62, differs from the figures above for two reasons:

    • it shows tax under consideration for the individual financial years relating to liability

    • it includes corporation tax only.