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Tag: Adam Afriyie

  • Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of the radio spectrum is earmarked for (a) military purposes, (b) radar purposes and (c) public service broadcasting.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Officials have consulted Ofcom who hold such information. Ofcom advise that they do not hold such information for bands below 87.5MHz, but have provided information for bands from 87.5MHz-30GHz.

    Ofcom has identified the proportion of spectrum accessed for public sector uses (not limited to the military), defined as all spectrum bands used by the public sector with Crown immunity (i.e. without need for authorisation by Ofcom). For the purpose of this analysis, this category includes all aeronautical uses of spectrum.

    Crown use of spectrum as a % of total weighted spectrum

    87.5 MHz

    30 GHz

    54%

    26% of the total weighted spectrum in the 87.5MHz to 30 GHz is allocated for radiolocation services/radar.

    Ofcom cannot provide specific information with regards to spectrum in use for public service broadcasting as the national allocation of frequencies does not distinguish between public service broadcasting and non-public service broadcasting. The table below provides information with regards to the proportion of total weighted spectrum in use for terrestrial broadcasting, split into TV and radio.

    Terrestrial broadcasting spectrum as a % of total weighted spectrum

    TV

    Radio

    87.5 MHz

    30 GHz

    8%

    7%

    1%
  • Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of the (a) 30-300MHz, (b) 300-3000MHz and (c) 3-30GHz bands of the radio spectrum is in the operation of the private sector.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Officials have consulted Ofcom who hold such information. Ofcom advise that they do not hold such information for bands below 87.5MHz (as frequencies above this are considered to be the most important and usable), but have provided information for bands from 87.5MHz-30GHz.

    The table provides an overview of the proportion of total weighted spectrum accessed for market uses by band.

    Lower frequency

    Upper frequency

    Spectrum authorised for Market uses as a % of total weighted spectrum

    87.5 MHz

    328.6 MHz

    47%

    328.6 MHz

    3.1 GHz

    73%

    3.1 GHz

    30 GHz

    80%

    The Public Sector Spectrum Release Programme aims to release 500MHz of sub-5GHz spectrum from public sector use by 2020. The most recent Programme update can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spectrum-strategy

    “

  • Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on the Lower Thames Scheme.

    Dan Rogerson

    Further to my answer to the hon. Member for Windsor on Monday, 24 February 2014, Official Report column 83W, the Environment Agency is continuing to work with partners to develop the River Thames Scheme (Datchet to Teddington). This includes flood channel capacity improvements, property level protection measures and the construction of three new channels.

    Preparatory work, which is under way, includes establishing appropriate consents and approval needed with planning authorities, undertaking surveys needed to gain consents, and the development of a funding package with other risk management authorities. The Environment Agency is planning to submit its Strategic Outline Case for this project to Defra as part of the HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office’s Major Projects Authority approvals process.

    The Environment Agency aims to start the work on improving weir capacity in 2016.

    Full appraisal and outline design of the flood channel and capacity improvements will commence this summer. It is expected that this will take three to four years to enable the proposal for the new flood channels to be submitted for planning consents and authorisations. It is estimated that the construction of the flood channel will commence in 2020 and will take five to six years to complete.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of how many properties at risk of flooding in (a) Windsor constituency and (b) the Thames Valley that will not be covered by the new Flood Re scheme.

    Dan Rogerson

    The assessment of the impact the scope of the Flood Re Scheme will have was done at a UK level. There was no specific assessment for individual constituencies or regions.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress he has made on encouraging computer science and programming in UK schools.

    Elizabeth Truss

    As part of the reforms to the national curriculum, the Department for Education is strengthening the teaching of computing in schools by replacing information and communications technology with computing. The new programmes of study for computing, which will be taught in maintained schools from September 2014, have a much greater emphasis on computer science. For example, pupils at key stage 1 will be taught to create and debug simple programs and key stage 3 pupils will be taught to use two or more programming languages.

    We also working with exam boards and sector experts to review the computer science GCSE and A level so that they reflect and build upon the changes made to the curriculum. The inclusion of computer science in the English Baccalaureate will provide further encouragement for pupils to take up the subject at GCSE level. We are also providing funding for several projects to help teachers acquire the necessary subject knowledge and skills to teach the new computing curriculum.

    We are funding the British Computer Society to build a network of 400 ‘Master Teachers’, create online teach-yourself resources and deliver 800 in-school workshops to help primary school teachers improve their subject knowledge. A further £500,000 competitive match-funded scheme was announced on 4 February to support excellent computing teaching and lever additional investment and engagement from business.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he for the future of the UK Census; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Francis Maude

    The Government recognises the value of the census but I have long said that it is outdated in its current form and could be more effectively and more cheaply delivered. Decisions about its future will be announced in the usual way, but the Government agrees with the conclusion of the Public Affairs Select Committee that the census needs to change.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to incentivise departmental officials to bring old Government data sets online in accessible formats.

    Mr Francis Maude

    The UK has been recognised as the international leader in data transparency. During our Presidency of the G8 in 2013 we led Members to commit to publishing data openly by default as a matter of principle through the Open Data Charter.

    Departments are engaging the public and special interest groups about the most important data held by Government (whether old or new); publishing open data strategies and reporting to Parliament on progress on a quarterly basis.

    Those data sets that are judged to have the most significant economic and social impact we refer to as the National Information Infrastructure, and are our priority for making available and accessible.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK Space Agency in promoting the UK space industry; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Willetts

    The UK Space Agency (UKSA) was created in April 2011 to lead and foster the growing UK space sector. It does so through funding and delivery of civil space projects and downstream space related activities, developing space policy including advice to Ministers and regulating UK space activities to meet international obligations.

    The UKSA formally tests its performance against such objectives in a number ways and includes amongst these a measure of its effectiveness in promoting the UK space industry. This is primarily through an independent bi-annual “Size and Health” survey of the UK industrial sector which assesses the growth of the UK space economy. The Agency also monitors contracts that flow back to UK industry from Agency-targeted subscriptions to the European Space Agency as well as monitoring where Agency-supported research and development work has positioned UK industry for success in future operational contracts. More recently the Agency has extended its role in actively supporting and promoting UK industrial exports of both satellite and emerging space-related data services.

    All objective measures from these activities point to a growing success story for our space industry. Indeed it is one of our economy’s fastest growing sectors, with an average growth rate of almost 7.5%, and it has ambitions to increase its annual turnover to £40 billion by 2030. The role of the Agency in this development is significant and it has developed close relationships with industry.

    The Size and Health survey due to be published in autumn 2014 is expected to show that the Space Economy has continued to grow between 2011 and 2013.

    Its coordination of a business-driven industrial space policy has provided leadership for the UK industrial community (acknowledged by the UK space Innovation and Growth Strategy published in 2013) and this has been recognised by the Parliamentary Select Committee report into the UKSA which was published in October 2013.

    The Agency serves as an effective platform to raise awareness of the successes of the UK space sector. BIS and Agency officials continue to evaluate its success in promoting that work using Government Communications Service best practice.

    A further key measure of success is the increasing number of overseas space companies choosing to invest in the UK and so growing the UK’s wider space capability and economic development.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people applied to the 2014 Sirius Programme for young entrepreneurs; and if he will make a statement.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Sirius Programme, led by UK Trade and Investment, enables talented graduates with innovative start up ideas to start a business in the UK. Successful applicants receive support via a structured mentoring programme and participants requiring a visa, are able to access support through a dedicated visa route for the Sirius Programme. The current programme is a 2 year pilot – the first round was launched on 6 September 2013 and closed on 15 January 2014. A total of 1543 people applied.

    A second round of the Sirius Programme will open shortly.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled entrepreneurs have been able to access additional support funding through the Access to Work programme.

    Mike Penning

    In the financial year April 2013 – March 2014 DWP supported 4066 disabled customers who are registered as self employed through the Access to Work programme. Of which 57 customers were also from The New Enterprise Allowance programme.