Tag: Alan Brown

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 45332, what assessment he has made of the use of biomass for electricity production and its contribution to supporting the decarbonisation of the UK economy.

Jesse Norman

In 2015, bioenergy generated 29.3 TWh of electricity from 5.2 GW of capacity, up from 22.6TWh and 4.5GW in 2014^[1].

The contribution of sustainable biomass to decarbonisation formed part of the Impact Assessment for the Fifth Carbon Budget level, which determined that to the extent that feedstock is available, biomass could play a role not only in electricity generation but in industry, heating and transport.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/547977/Chapter_6_web.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what additional support and training his Department offers to unemployed people in order for them to fill long-term vacancies in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

Priti Patel

The support provided by Jobcentre Plus work coaches is not dependant on the duration of a vacancy. Work Coaches deliver a personalised service to best meet the needs of the claimant and the local labour market across the UK.

The flexible model of support available through Jobcentre Plus includes Work Experience, training and work placements through sector-based work academies, and support to become self-employed through the New Enterprise Allowance. In addition, the Work Programme offers tailored support to those people who are at risk of becoming long-term unemployed.

Further education and skills policy in Scotland, including training for unemployed people, is the responsibility of Scottish Government. Jobcentres in Scotland work in partnership with Skills Development Scotland to ensure that benefit claimants who require training to find work can access the support they need.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-01-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is taking steps to enable his Department’s child tax credit department to answer the enquiries of hon. Members electronically.

Mr David Gauke

The use of standard email is insecure and therefore in order to protect customers’ information, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not use it when dealing with sensitive personal and financial information. However, HMRC does answer MPs enquiries electronically in cases where the response does not include any sensitive customer data.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Questions 30618 and 30619, on Ilois: resettlement, what the (a) process and (b) timetable will be for the Government’s final decision; and if he will seek to make time available for a parliamentary debate on this matter.

James Duddridge

I refer the Hon. Member to the Westminster Hall debate on this matter which took place on 28 October 2015. The Government is still considering its policy in this area. An announcement will be made in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the target time is for processing applications made to the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit Fund; and what performance was against that target in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.

Justin Tomlinson

Please see the table below showing the target time for processing applications for the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) and the Average Actual Clearance Time (AACT) against that target.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit – Claims	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16
IIDB – target	55.0	53.0	50.0
IIDB – performance (AACT)	53.7	52.4	39.0

Notes

The data has been measured using the AACT this measures the average number of Working Days (excludes weekends and English Bank Holidays) between an application being made and the date the customer was notified of the decision on their claim.

The data refers to the period from 1st April to 31st March each year.

Source

Department for Work and Pensions – IIDB Claims Tracker – Management Information Statistics. This is a Departmental performance management, data capture and reporting tool. This type of internal management information does not form part of the official statistics outputs that are released by the Department in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assistance her Department provides to UK-based companies seeking to export energy and fuel; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

For electricity, the Government supports the development of interconnectors to other markets. These allow cross-border trade in electricity, determined by market prices. The GB system currently has 4GW of capacity, and in the Budget the Chancellor set out that it is in British consumers interests that this increases by at least 9GW. This will improve our security of supply, deliver significant benefits to consumers, and help integrate more low carbon generation into the system.

On oil products, DECC policy is to secure a competitive market for suppliers by ensuring smarter regulation and addressing market distortions meaning UK companies – well established in the global oil markets – are freely able to export and import the fuels we need.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Mexican government on co-operation with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights investigation into the disappearance of 43 teacher training students of the Escuela Normal in Ayotzinapa on 26 September 2014; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan

The Government has been clear in expressing to the Mexican authorities its deep concern over this case.

The then Prime Minister, the Rt Hon. David Cameron, raised the case with the President of Mexico during his State Visit to the UK in March 2015. The case has also been raised on numerous occasions by other British Ministers, including the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) during his visit to Mexico on 2 May.

We welcome the Mexican Government’s agreement to a formal follow-up mechanism with the Inter American Court on Human Rights and urge them to work constructively with the Court to implement the mechanism. Two years on from the disappearance of the students in Ayotzinapa, it is important for the Mexican Government to redouble its efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that job vacancy statistics do not double-count jobs advertised through multiple agencies on the job vacancy portal.

Priti Patel

The official vacancy statistics are national statistics, produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and not DWP. ONS is the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics and is the recognised national statistical institute for the UK.

The ONS is overseen by the UK Statistics Authority, which is an independent body operating at arm’s length from government as a non-ministerial department, directly accountable to Parliament. The UK Statistics authority provides independent scrutiny (monitoring and assessment) of all official statistics produced in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-01-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much correspondence the child tax credits enquiry department receives by fax each day.

Damian Hinds

We do not hold information on the number of faxes received on child tax credits within HMRC.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce lifetime awards for people assessed as requiring the upper personal independence payment allowance mobility component who have been diagnosed with muscle degenerative diseases or conditions.

Justin Tomlinson

Personal Independence Payment is specifically designed to ensure that the benefit is awarded to those with the greatest need and the award review process is integral to ensuring this happens. Under Disability Living Allowance over 70% of all claims had no review built-in, meaning that claimants could have been receiving too much or too little in benefit.

We take a personalised approach to setting the length of awards, varying the frequency and format of awards and reviews depending on the individual’s needs and the likelihood of their health condition or impairment changing.

Where the claimant has high levels of functional impairment which are only likely to increase or not improve, it is likely that the claimant will receive an enhanced rate of benefit and a longer term award.

We recognise that it is important to ensure that the review process is applied sensitively and appropriately. As such, it is likely that the awards of such claimants would also go through a less intensive review process which may not, if all the necessary information is held, include a face-to-face assessment.