The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the suitability of the Honeywell TCAS II collision warning system for use in Typhoon fighter aircraft.
Mr Philip Dunne
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 March 2016 to Question 30090.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the Fourth Report of the Home Affairs Committee, on Reform of the Police Funding Formula, HC 476.
Mike Penning
We will respond to the Home Affairs Select Committee’s report as soon as we are in a position to do so.
We have noted the Committee’s recommendations and are taking them into account as we consider the options for how best to take forward the work on the police funding formula.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the NHS England Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group plans to make an announcement on the recommendations of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group.
George Freeman
The Specialised Services Commissioning Committee is due to meet at the end of June 2016. The recommendations of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group will be announced after that meeting.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the net pay deductions from the salaries of Ministry of Defence fire fighters and fire officers reflect the full difference in the value of pension benefits accrued compared with staff of similar grades working for local authorities.
Mark Lancaster
The Net Pay Deduction (NPD) for Fire Officer grades, or abatement in the case of Fire-fighters, is the adjustment to the salaries of Defence Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) personnel to allow for the differences between their pension arrangements and those of Local Authority Fire and Rescue Service ("LAFRS") employees.
For Fire-fighter grades the abatement figure is a comparison of member contribution rates between the Civil Service Pension Schemes and the Local Authority Fire Pension Schemes. The abatement calculation makes allowance for the impact on the value of pension benefits which arises because MOD Fire-fighters pensions are based on an abated salary. The calculation of the abatement ignores differences in pension benefits accrued between the schemes being compared.
For Fire Officer Grades the NPD has been calculated primarily by considering the differences in member contribution rates between the different pension schemes.
The current NPD is 5.9% of pre-tax basic pay. In practice, an adjusted NPD, equal to 3.54% of pre-tax pay, is applied to Fire Officer salaries; this does not reduce the tax payable by the officer. For Fire Officers the NPD does not affect the salary used for pension purposes, so both pension benefits and member contributions are calculated based on salary before application of the NPD. The current NPD rate was introduced in 1993 and according to available information the calculation of the NPD ignores differences in pension benefits accrued between the schemes but may have taken account of wider pay issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans the Government has to allow the road rescue industry to use red lights when recovering broken down vehicles.
Andrew Jones
There are no plans currently to allow the road rescue industry to use red lights when recovering broken down vehicles. There are a range of existing measures available to make rescue vehicles visible and warn others of their presence such as the use of roof mounted amber beacons and retro-reflective material to the side and rear.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the access of (a) all children in Yemen and (b) children displaced by the conflict in that country to high-quality education.
Mr Desmond Swayne
UK humanitarian aid to Yemen is currently focused on urgent life-saving needs, in particular food, nutrition, health, water and sanitation. However, DFID has also supported education in Yemen through the Social Fund for Development (SFD). Since 2010, more than 240,000 children have attended schools supported by SFD. DFID support to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to rehabilitate two schools is also helping 3,500 refugee and Yemeni children to resume education.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Parish on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Renewable Heat Incentive on the UK’s decarbonisation targets.
Andrea Leadsom
Using less fossil fuel and more renewables to heat our homes and businesses is vital to decarbonising the UK economy. The continued Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) funding (rising to £1.15bn in 2020/21) means that renewable heat will continue to play its part in meeting our binding domestic and international targets on carbon and renewables.
We intend to reform the RHI to improve value for money and reduce costs; improve cost control and budget management; and explore the best way to support less able to pay households and owners of large plants. We plan to consult on the changes shortly; this consultation will provide estimates of the reformed RHI’s contribution towards our carbon targets.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces in England operate a neighbourhood policing model.
Mike Penning
How neighbourhood policing is delivered, its priorities, and the specific model that is used, are decisions for Chief Constables in conjunction with their democratically accountable Police and Crime Commissioners. This Government believes in local policing, accountable to local communities. That is why we abolished all central Government targets and put local people in charge by introducing directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Pincher on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the (a) most recent environmental risk assessment for bound use of air pollution control residues in concrete blocks, (b) exposure levels of dioxins and heavy metals in the air when the blocks were cut, drilled or crushed in buildings and (c) scientific methodology used for measuring these levels.
Rory Stewart
In 2012 the Environment Agency’s Definition of Waste panel gave a positive end of waste opinion to the company Carbon8 for the use of air pollution control residues in concrete blocks. The company’s submission included their own risk assessment for safety and environmental impacts. We have not published, and do not intend to publish, information on the risks or the methodology relating to the binding of air pollution control residues in concrete blocks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will commission an independent review into the sentencing regime for imprisonment for public protection which will involve those criminal justice agencies that manage the sentence and incorporate the experiences of prisoners and their families.
Andrew Selous
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders 2012, abolished the sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) and introduced a new sentencing scheme for dangerous offenders.
In respect of IPP sentences already imposed, the government considered that it would not be right or appropriate retrospectively to alter sentences that had been lawfully imposed, particularly because in this case those sentences were imposed with public protection issues in mind.
Significant numbers of IPP prisoners continue to be released where the Parole Board is satisfied that they can be safely managed in the community, but other prisoners currently remain too high risk to be released. It is a priority for us to help remaining IPP prisoners progress towards release, by ensuring that their parole reviews take place on time, through greater efficiency in the parole process, and by giving their opportunity to complete relevant interventions and work in order to demonstrate reduced risk to the Parole Board.