Tag: Alan Brown

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Leader of the House, what progress the Government is making on reform of the Estimates process.

Chris Grayling

Estimates are formal requests for authorisation of expenditure proposed to the House by the Government. Scrutiny of these, which are effectively departmental budgets, is undertaken in a variety of ways including debates selected by the Liaison Committee and it is open to select committees to examine these budgets.

The Procedure Committee has recently announced that it will examine the House’s procedures for examining the Estimates and the passing of legislation which authorises this expenditure through the Supply and Consideration Bill.

The Committee is accepting written submissions until 25 March 2016.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is successful in eradicating polio by 2020.

Mr Nick Hurd

Her Majesty’s Government is fully committed to global polio eradication. The UK is the third largest donor to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and is providing £300 million for 2013 to 2019. The UK, as the largest donor to Gavi – the Vaccine Alliance, is supporting the rapid global introduction of the Inactivated Polio Vaccine, a key step in the final stages of eradication.

DFID also plays a key role in sustaining global political commitment and in making sure that every penny we, or others, invest in polio is spent well. We actively participate on the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s Polio Oversight Board and the Finance and Accountability Committee, ensuring a strong focus on results and delivering value for money. During the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Her Majesty’s Government re-affirmed our unwavering commitment to fighting polio encouraging others to join us in the final push towards global polio eradication.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government is making to the UN on incorporating a human rights mandate into the renewal of the UN peacekeeping force in Western Sahara.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are not advocating that the United Nations Security Council pursue the incorporation of human rights monitoring as part of the MINURSO mandate. The international community monitors human rights through other means; there was a technical visit by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in April 2015, a visit by the UN’s Independent Expert on Human Rights in January 2016 and there is an upcoming visit of the Special Rapporteur on Torture.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2016 to Question 42832, if he will allow part payments to cover the one to six day period between people reaching State Pension Age and their allocated pension payday.

Richard Harrington

New rules apply in the new State Pension scheme introduced from 6 April 2016. Individuals who reach State Pension age on or after that date are paid their new State Pension from the date they reach their State Pension age. Payments are made in arrears on a payday based on the individual’s National Insurance number. This means that in most cases the first payment may be in respect of a part of a week – that is from the day the individual reaches State Pension age to their first normal payday. The new State Pension is payable until the date of their death and a part week payment may also apply at the end of their claim.

Under the State Pension system that applies to people who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, for those who did not move from a working age benefit to State Pension, the State Pension is payable only in full benefit weeks. This means that depending on the individual’s payday, as determined by their National Insurance number, their payment may not have begun from the day they reached their State Pension age. These arrangements for full week payment apply to both the start and the end of their claim for their State Pension and a full week is paid in respect of the week in which their death occurs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the assistance that could best be offered to help prevent the loss of highly-skilled manufacturing jobs at MAHLE in Kilmarnock.

Anna Soubry

This is disappointing news for the MAHLE workforce and their families. Economic development is devolved to the Scottish Government and as such I am not in a position to comment on their response to this announcement. This Government stands ready to work with the Scottish Government if needed but I note that they are already working with the company over how they might tailor their PACE support programme (their equivalent to our Rapid Response Service) to help those facing redundancy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her oral contribution of 26 November 2015, Official Report, column 1535, what estimate has been made of the cost of reconstruction of Syria after the cessation of conflict there; what the timeframe required for reconstruction in that country will be; what countries have confirmed contributions to that reconstruction; and what the value of each such contribution will be.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK has been at the forefront of the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria. We have committed over £1.1 billion to date, making us the second largest bilateral donor to the international response.

The World Bank suggests that reconstructing Syria could cost at least $170bn. Most countries take decades to recover from war on this scale. The UK has always punched above its weight in helping deal with the effects of the Syria crisis. We will continue to do so for the reconstruction of Syria. The PM announced last week that we will commit at least £1 billion to Syria’s reconstruction in the longer term.

We have planned for the endgame since the beginning of this conflict and during the Geneva process. We have learned lessons from previous conflicts. We are now updating our planning to reflect the timeline envisaged in the Vienna process and are asking others to do the same. We anticipate the United Nations to coordinate the international response and will use our position as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to support this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress he has made on the junior doctors’ contract renegotiation process.

Ben Gummer

Progress in negotiations has led to substantial agreement on a fairer contract with safety and training at its heart. The door remains open to the BMA to negotiate on the remaining issue of pay for unsocial hours, as they agreed to do in the joint agreement at ACAS in November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions her Department has had with EDF on board approval for the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor since 30 March 2016; whether her Department has identified people who oppose that scheme on the board of EDF; and whether EDF has informed her Department of the date on which a meeting will be held to make a final investment decision.

Andrea Leadsom

We are in close contact with EDF regarding the Hinkley Point C project. EDF and the French Government have said that EDF are working towards a Final Investment Decision ‘in the near future, with the full support of the French Government’.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the level of threat in the Maghreb region posed by extremist, terrorist and criminal factions.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

In the case of all of the countries that make up the Maghreb region, the threat of a terrorist attack is judged to be high.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase the rate of new woodland planting.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Forestry is a devolved matter and the answer refers to England only.

We encourage tree planting by championing sector-led initiatives, such as Grown in Britain and the Roots to Prosperity strategy. Their work to grow demand for wood from ground level up is helping develop the woodland economy. We also support the Woodland Carbon Code to help to attract private investment in woodland creation.

The window for Woodland Creation Grant applications for planting over the next two seasons, under the Rural Development Programme, closed on 31 March. We are continuing to process these applications and agreements are expected to be issued this month.

The Forestry Commission plans to re-open the £1m Forestry Innovation Fund for Woodland Creation Planning Grants for new applications this month. Funding for this has been confirmed by HM Treasury.

The Forestry Commission continues to support landowners to make applications through a series of workshops and online support.

As announced by the Chancellor in August, all Countryside Stewardship applications signed or agreed before the Autumn Statement will be fully funded, even when these continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.