Tag: 2016

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-10-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will meet the hon. Member for Copeland to discuss the effect of the exit payment cap on nuclear workers in Copeland constituency.

    Mr David Gauke

    The government announced in May 2015 that it intends to take forward its manifesto commitment to end six-figure exit payments for public sector workers. The Enterprise Act, which contains provisions for the £95,000 public sector exit payment cap, received Royal Assent on 4 May 2016.

    Public sector exit payments cost around £2 billion a year and it is important that they are fair, proportionate and provide value for money to the taxpayer that funds them. The proposed cap, amounting to 3.5 times the average public sector salary, will still offer a significant level of compensation and support to an employee, and will apply to only a small percentage of public sector exits. The exit payment cap will apply to organisations classified as within the public sector by the Office for National Statistics, with a small number of exceptions.

    I am aware that the hon. Member for Copeland is discussing the effect of the cap on nuclear workers in his constituency with my noble friend the Minister of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). That is the appropriate route for these discussions as BEIS is the department responsible for the nuclear industry.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to introduce a pilot scheme to evaluate the potential use of social impact bonds for the provision of advice services.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    As part of the spending review we committed £80m to a new social outcomes fund to support the creation of locally developed social impact bonds focused upon tackling a range of social problems. We will set out the issues that this fund will focus upon when it is launched later this year.

  • Baroness Henig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Henig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Henig on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to assess how effectively Police and Crime Panels have exercised their powers of scrutiny over the decisions and actions of Police and Crime Commissioners in the past year.

    Lord Bates

    The Government continually keeps under review how effectively Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) exercise their role in scrutinising and supporting the work of the Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC).

    In the last year, for example, the Government has acknowledged recommendations about the adequacy of PCP scrutiny and support functions made by the Committee on Standards in Public Life in their Report- Tone from the Top: Leadership, Ethics and Accountability in Policing.

    The Government is also currently consulting on the complaints process for PCPs when they seek to resolve non-criminal complaints made against the PCC. The proposed new process would be framed around the seven Nolan Principles (which form the basis of the ethical standards expected of public office holders) and will enable PCPs to take forward complaints about a PCCs conduct and make recommendations about expected levels of behaviour.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were destroyed following violent behaviour in each of the last three years.

    George Eustice

    The numbers of dogs destroyed as a result of being dangerously out of control (section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991) are not held centrally. Such records would be held by each police force.

  • David Tredinnick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Tredinnick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Tredinnick on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Government plans to pursue any initiatives similar to that announced in the joint statement made by President Obama and Prime Minister Modi in January 2016 during the President’s visit to India on expanding the India-US health collaboration in health sectors including complementary and traditional medicine.

    Jane Ellison

    The UK Government continues to work closely with the Government of India within the health sector, including working with the Indian Government to open health centres. In 2013 the Department agreed a five year Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of India. This prioritises action on antimicrobial resistance, training and development and universal health coverage. There are no plans to expand this to include complementary and traditional medicine.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they ascertain the number of local staff at a foreign embassy who are liable to pay tax.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Letters are issued annually on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to Diplomatic Missions in the UK (Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates) requesting staff lists providing details of all locally engaged staff and private servants.

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a specialist team (the Embassy team) in place to deal with enquiries from locally engaged staff employed at Diplomatic Missions and International Organisations in the UK as detailed in ‘The London Diplomatic List’. In December 2015 HMRC wrote to all these bodies to ensure they held full and up-to-date contact information for the team.

    Locally engaged employees and private servants are expected to contact the Embassy team to notify their employment as soon as they are engaged.

    The Embassy team determines the employee’s liability to Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions. The team also carries out risk assessment activity and where it identifies individuals who have not notified their employment to HMRC, it takes action to ensure they pay the tax that is due.

  • 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 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her Department’s definition is of unabated coal.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We have committed to consulting on when to close all unabated coal-fired power stations. We will set out proposals to close coal by 2025, to ensure we stay on track to meet our decarbonisation pathway. We will seek views on what measures might be applied to existing coal power stations in order to achieve this.

    In the UK new coal power stations can only be built if their carbon dioxide emissions will be at a level consistent with our decarbonisation targets. This includes compliance with an Emissions Performance Standard equivalent to 450gCO2/kWh for a plant operating at baseload, and which is about half that of a typical existing British coal station. In addition, any new coal power stations would need to meet planning requirements to demonstrate Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology on at least 300MW of the power station’s generating capacity and be CCS-ready on the rest.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the vote to leave the EU on the UK’s (a) space sector and (b) role in the European Galileo satellite navigation system project.

    Joseph Johnson

    There are a number of factors that the Government will need to consider when developing our strategy for negotiating our withdrawal from the European Union. The Department is working closely with businesses to understand their concerns and I will be working with colleagues across Government to make sure we understand all of the potential risks and opportunities across the economy. This will continue to inform our approach as we seek to shape our future relationship with Europe.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish the successful Free School application form for the Kings Science Academy, Bradford.

    Edward Timpson

    In the interests of transparency, from January 2015, the Department began to publish all appropriately redacted successful free school applications on GOV.UK. Due to an on-going police investigation into alleged fraud at Kings Science Academy, its free school application was not published at that time. The legal proceedings now have concluded and we will publish the appropriately redacted original application in due course.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to page 86 of her Department’s publication, Review of the Feed-in Tariffs Scheme: Government response, published in December 2015, what work her Department is undertaking to better understand the whole-system impacts of different electricity technologies; when she plans to complete and publish such work; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC recognises the importance of considering the whole system impacts (both costs and benefits) of different electricity technologies when formulating future government policy, since it is a crucial element in delivering secure, clean and affordable energy to consumers.

    In order to continue to improve its evidence base in this area and inform future policy developments, DECC has commissioned a project on the Whole System Impacts of Electricity Generation Technologies on the electricity system. This project will improve DECC’s understanding of what these system costs are (for example, the impact of electricity technologies on wider system balancing actions and networks requirements), as well as improve DECC’s modelling capability to quantify these system costs and their dynamics. The project covers both conventional and low-carbon large- and small-scale technologies.

    This project is currently ongoing and given the complex modelling involved, it requires a rigorous quality assurance process to ensure the analysis is robust. A report will be published in due course.

    Once this project is completed, DECC will be able to better quantify system costs to inform policy decisions. Any future policy development, such as future renewable support, will be informed by the improved evidence base developed through this project.