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Tag: 2016

  • Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to require applicants for jobs in the public sector to state whether they went to an independent school.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Appointments should always be made on merit. Her Majesty’s Government do not have plans to require applicants for jobs to state whether they went to an independent school. We are engaging on proposals to develop a set of potential measures for employers to understand the socio-economic backgrounds of their workforces and applicant pools. Type of school attended (primary and secondary) make up two of twenty-six measures which employers and organisations have been asked to consider

    Over the past few years’ real effort has been put into broadening access to the Civil Service. It is important to be able to measure, overall, the success and impact of these policies. Any background measures would be collected on an entirely voluntary basis and used anonymously. They will not form the basis of any individual recruitment decision.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of when the UK will lose EU funding previously allocated to the UK for carbon capture and storage programmes.

    Jesse Norman

    Two UK carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects have been allocated funding by the European Commission (Don Valley and White Rose); the status of this funding is subject to further discussions with the European Commission. The UK is also participating in a European Research Area Network (ERA-NET) on CCS under the Horizon 2020 programme. On 13 August 2016, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) confirmed that the Government will underwrite certain EU funding, including approved Horizon 2020 research and development and innovation projects, regardless of the UK’s relationship with the EU.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2016 to Question 44352, for what contracts the largest three total payments were made to (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young and (d) KPMG in the last three years.

    Rory Stewart

    Detail on all DFID spend is available via our departmental website.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the economic effect on (a) London and (b) the UK economy of international services stopping at Stratford International station.

    Claire Perry

    The Department for Transport has made no specific assessment of the economic effects of international services stopping at Stratford International station. The Department for Transport has no powers to specify that an international operator – whether current or future – must stop at Stratford International station. The Department for Transport has recently published an interim evaluation of the impact of the HS1 network setting out the current and anticipated benefits of the HS1 link[1].

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs1-first-interim-evaluation

    “

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when defects were first noted in the pulsion system of the Type 45 destroyer.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The decision to procure the Rolls Royce WR21 was taken in November 2000 by the then Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon. In announcing the decision, he accepted this decision "presents a greater degree of risk to the programme."

    Following that decision a number of issues with the Type 45 Integrated Electrical Propulsion (IEP) system were identified when the First of Class, HMS Daring was launched in 2006.

    From 2006 to the launch of the sixth and final Type 45 in October 2010, the Type 45 Destroyer class had around fifty minor design alterations directly attributable to the development of the Type 45 IEP system identified. The subsequent implementation process for acceptance of these alterations is necessarily rigorous to maintain safety and system design intent. As a result, the majority of Type 45 IEP alterations were implemented after the launch of the last of class.

    A report was commissioned in 2011 to examine the reliability of the power and propulsion system in greater detail. This work was re-assessed in 2013 to examine the extent to which the issues identified in the report had been dealt with, (by changes to operating procedures and training) and establish which were not simply the problems associated with a new complex system.

    As part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 the Government is committed to improving the Type 45’s power and propulsion system an ongoing Equipment Improvement Plan is successfully making further alterations to the existing power and propulsion system.

    Over the last two years, Type 45 Destroyers have been routinely deployed to the Gulf to maintain a destroyer presence in the region, including HMS Defender’s support to US Carrier operations against Daesh.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many lorries were (a) routinely searched and (b) searched for illegal immigrants at English ports in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    This information is not held centrally.

    Border Force operates a multi-layered search regime using a range of interventions to screen all freight vehicles entering the UK through the juxtaposed ports.

    This includes the use of specialist technologies such as Passive Millimetre Wave Imaging devices, heartbeat monitors and carbon dioxide detectors as well as physical searches by sniffer dogs, Border Force staff and specialist search contractors.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 1.287 of Budget 2016, what estimate he has made of how many civil servants will be relocated in his Department as a result of the programme to create centres of expertise outside the capital.

    Mike Penning

    By the middle of this Parliament, MoJ will distribute more of its staff to locations around the country. We are currently developing options for how to do this, including the exact numbers that will be relocated to the regions.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure that high speed rail will interconnect effectively with the rest of the transport network.

    Mr Patrick McLoughlin

    HS2 will not be a separate, standalone railway. It will be an integrated part of a 21st Century transport network.

    Through our interchange stations, classic compatible trains and exploitation of the released capacity we will deliver the integrated service that passengers need. Our work with local areas to implement Growth Strategies will ensure HS2 integrates with local transport networks.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what strategy they have to prevent the annexation of the West Bank by Israel.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK’s longstanding position is clear: we support a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state; based on 1967 borders with agreed land swaps, with Jerusalem as the shared capital of both states, and a fair and agreed settlement for refugees. We regularly urge Israel and the Palestinian Authority to work together to meet their obligations under the Oslo Accords. We also call on all parties to abide by International Humanitarian Law and to promote peace, stability and security.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-07-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they collect statistics on the number of domestic animals that die as a result of being locked in a car or other motor vehicle either because of lack of oxygen or from heat; and if so, how many such deaths were recorded in the last five years.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government does not keep records of numbers of animals that die as a result of being locked in cars. Records of prosecutions related to animals dying in vehicles would fall under the general offence of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal which do not provide details of individual cases.