Tag: 2016

  • Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many tonnes of carbon dioxide were displaced by renewable (a) electricity and (b) heat generation in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Wales in 2015.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The table below shows how many tonnes of carbon dioxide were displaced by renewable electricity in each of the UK, England, Scotland and Wales in 2015.

    UK

    England

    Scotland

    Wales

    Carbon dioxide displaced by renewable electricity generation (million tonnes)

    51.6

    33.6

    13.4

    3.2

    Carbon emissions displaced by renewable electricity generation have been calculated as renewable electricity generation multiplied by the average emissions factor for electricity supplied by fossil fuel stations in 2015.

    Information on the carbon savings from the total renewable heat produced in the UK is not available.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2016 to Question 42842 and with reference to freedom of information requests ref: 2016-0032573 and ref: 2016-0042333, on pupil data sharing with the police and Home Office, how many Home Office requests for information to the National Pupil Database for individual personal confidential data that have been granted were for the purposes of immigration control; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    The National Pupil Database (NPD) is information the Department for Education (DfE) holds on pupils attending schools in England, which includes information collected in the School Census and attainment data from awarding organisations.

    The Home Office and police can request data from the NPD where they have clear evidence that a child may be at risk or if there is evidence of criminal activity. The data that can be requested does not include information on nationality, country of birth or English language proficiency.

    Between April 2012 and October 2016, the Police have made 31 access requests of the NPD data and the School Census. 21 of these have resulted in information being passed to the police. All were requests for individual level data about individual pupils. Therefore, information about 21 pupils has been shared.

    “Between July 2015 and September 2016, the Home Office has made requests of DfE data on 25 occasions. Two of these requests were subsequently withdrawn. During this 15 month period, requests relating to a total of 2,462 individuals have been made by the Home Office to DfE and 520 records have been identified within DfE data and returned to the Home Office.”

    To address any uncertainties, I have placed an information note in the House Libraries.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the UN to ensure the promotion of gender parity, equality and diversity in the selection process for the next Secretary General.

    James Duddridge

    Last year the UK launched an initiative to reform the selection process for the next UN Secretary General. We proposed measures that would deliver greater transparency, fairness and structure to the process. All other attributes being equal, it is high time for a woman to lead the United Nations – a job that represents the interests of all the world’s people cannot exclude half of its population. We were therefore pleased the General Assembly adopted a resolution (69/321) that broadly reflects our key proposals: clarity over timelines, greater transparency and an invitation to Member States to put forward women candidates. We also welcome the joint letter of 15 December 2015 (http://www.un.org/pga/70/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/15-Dec-2015_Appointment-of-Secretary-General-15-December-2015.pdf) from the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council that sets out principles to guide the selection process.

  • Karen Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Karen Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the change in real terms spending on children’s service (a) overall and (b) per 1,000 head of population aged 0 to 19 was in each local authority between 2010 and 2015.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Expenditure on children’s social care, in 2010-11 (adjusted to real terms) and 2014-15 (the latest year for which figures are available), for each local authority in England, is attached.

    Data on children’s social care expenditure is not collected for the age range requested.

    Due to differences in definition, it is not possible to compare figures for 2010-11 with 2014-15. In particular, elements of services to young people are now included within education expenditure.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Environment Agency has taken to identify those responsible for the fly-tipping of plastic and other rubbish in Cornwall Road, Smethwick in March 2015.

    Rory Stewart

    The Environment Agency is continuing to investigate the case of illegal dumping on land in Cornwall Road. As this is an active investigation I am unable to provide further details at this stage.

    Illegal dumping and waste crime more generally is unacceptable whether it occurs on public or private land.

    The Government is taking action to crack down on this unacceptable behaviour and has pledged an additional £20 million of funding for waste crime enforcement over the next five years as part of the Spending Review. We are also working with the Environment Agency through a joint Waste Crime Action Plan to ensure its regulatory effort is targeted effectively and focussed on speedy and tough enforcement action

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Attorney General, if he will place in the Library data gathered by Crown Prosecution Service Business Area of prosecutions and convictions for (a) rape-flagged offences, (b) domestic violence, (c) child abuse and (d) human trafficking for each year since 2013.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of prosecutions and convictions in each CPS business area flagged as rape, domestic violence, child abuse and human trafficking.

    The attached tables show the volume of defendants prosecuted and convicted in flagged cases for each CPS business area over the last three financial years for which data is available. These also include a number of caveats and explanatory notes which should be observed when reviewing the data. Data for 2015/16 will be published later this year and will be placed in the House of Commons library.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the accuracy of the methodology used to measure productivity in the UK.

    Greg Hands

    The Independent Review of UK Economic Statistics, commissioned by the Chancellor and Minister for the Cabinet Office last summer, suggested that fuller measurement of the economy could add between one-third and two-thirds of a percent to the growth to UK GDP. Better measurement of the digital economy, intangible investment and the sharing economy could therefore improve measurement of output, and thus productivity. The Chancellor welcomed the report’s findings at Budget 2016 and committed to invest over £10m in a new hub for data science, and a centre for excellence for improving measurement of the modern economy.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans the Government has to move the design and manufacture of specialised steel casks used to store nuclear fuels during transport to China.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government has no plans to move to China the design and manufacture of specialised steel casks used in the transport of nuclear fuels in relation to the sites for which it is responsible.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make it his policy that access to EU science and research funding programmes is maintained as part of the UK’s negotiations on leaving the EU.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The Government recognises the importance of our research base, which is why we have protected the science budget in real terms from its current level of £4.7 bn for the rest of the parliament. The referendum result has no immediate effect on the right of researchers to apply to or participate in EU research programmes and the future of UK access to these programmes is an important issue which we will address during our negotiation.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent to date of the £1.25 million committed to the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme.

    George Eustice

    Defra Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme projects in England were funded on the basis of actual work done by the grant beneficiaries with no specific total amount committed to the Scheme. Defra spent just over £92,000 on these projects in the 2015/16 financial year, with additional in-kind support in the form of free loans of equipment, supply of the Badger BGC vaccine and advice from field experts.

    Although no vaccination of badgers under the Scheme is possible in 2016, we have awarded grant funding to three of the former beneficiaries for other vaccination-related work. The amounts payable to each will depend on the work that they do in the current financial year