The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Aldous on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Government plans to announce the outcome of its review into future funding for supported housing; and if he will make a statement.
Caroline Nokes
The Secretary of State has confirmed that the Government expects to make an announcement on the way forward for supported housing in early autumn.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with the senior management team at the Royal Bank of Scotland on that Bank’s global restructuring group and that group’s treatment of small businesses during the financial crisis.
Margot James
Since the beginning of this Parliament, no discussions have taken place between the Department and the senior management team at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) about the bank’s Global Restructuring Group. This matter is currently being investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-01-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will nominate a candidate to serve on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and if not, why not.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The UK strongly supports the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and is committed to advancing women’s rights through the United Nations machinery.
We have not nominated a candidate to the CEDAW Committee and do not intend to do so. Our decision not to nominate a UK expert for election to the Committee is based on a number of considerations, including the need to allow for a reasonable amount of time and substantial resources to mount a campaign.
CEDAW Committee members serve in their personal capacity and do not represent the Member State that nominated them. We have full faith in the independence of the Committee and applaud the high quality of its work.
UK nationals are well represented on other UN treaty monitoring bodies, such as the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, by when he expects all households and businesses to have access to fibre optic broadband.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government will launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadband Universal Service Obligation by 2020, with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps, no matter where in the country they live. Almost 90% of households and businesses in the UK currently have access to superfast broadband – and we are on target for this to reach 95% by the end of 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the security implications for the UK and the US of the recent cyber-attack on Ukraine’s electricity network.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK has a broad security relationship with the US and we have discussed this issue at both working and senior levels, as part of our regular exchange on security issues. Cyber security is one of our key national security priorities, which we set out in the Strategic Defence and Security review, published last November. The UK takes seriously any attempts to prevent critical infrastructure from delivering essential services to the public, and works closely with international partners, including the US, to protect ourselves from this threat.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.