Tag: Caroline Lucas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy that all employees are entitled to paternity leave from the first day of employment; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James

The Government is taking a range of steps to improve provision for working parents . The eligibility rules for statutory paternity entitlements balance the needs of parents and the cost both to employers and to the taxpayer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had with other government departments on the forthcoming Carbon Plan.

Mr Nick Hurd

We are engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and other government departments in order to meet the shared challenge of moving to a low carbon economy. The Emissions Reduction Plan will set out how we will meet our carbon budgets through the 2020s (the period covering the fourth and fifth carbon budgets).

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential environmental benefits of a tax on disposable coffee cups.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Major coffee chains already have a financial obligation to recover and recycle a proportion of the packaging they place on the market, including disposable coffee cups, as they are captured under the Packaging Waste Regulations. The industry is also taking further, voluntary action aimed at significantly increasing paper cup recycling rates by 2020.

We will be consulting widely on our plans for resources, waste and recycling in developing our 25 Year Environment Plan.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the amount of £4 to £19 billion referred to in her Departmental Minute of 21 October 2015 as the total support to HPC is (a) the actual total cash amount or (b) the present value of the total cash amount of the support to be paid to EDF.

Andrea Leadsom

Total support to HPC through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) is expected to be in the range of £4bn to £19bn (real 2012 prices, discounted to 2012) depending on the level of future wholesale prices. The Department has presented discounted figures for these costs to consumers relating to support payments for Hinkley Point C based on guidance set out in The Green Book published by HM Treasury.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the statement by the EU Commission of 18 June 2015 on the termination of intra-EU bilateral investment treaties, to which such treaties the UK is a party; what steps the UK is taking to terminate such treaties to which it is a party; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

The UK has bilateral investment treaties in force with twelve EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The UK is participating in discussions with the Commission and other Member States on possible options and approaches towards handling the Commission’s request, regarding the termination of these treaties. These discussions are at an early stage and no consensus has been reached among Member States.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 will affect the level of funding for flood defences up to 2019-20.

Rory Stewart

In the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 we reiterated our commitment to invest £2.3 billion in more than 1,500 projects by 2021. This funding will help better protect 300,000 homes. We also announced our commitment to protect flood maintenance spending in real terms over this Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many section 95 support claims for asylum seekers have been subject to processing delays of more than 14 days in the last 12 months; and how many on-going claims are subject to delays of more than 14 days.

James Brokenshire

The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

However we continue to meet our statutory duties to accommodate and support destitute asylum seekers. Assessment of eligibility for support remains a priority. Since April 2015, 82% (14,112) of section 95 applications have been processed within 10 working days.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to renew concessions to the immigration rules for Syrian nationals lawfully in the UK beyond 28 February 2016.

James Brokenshire

The Government is currently considering whether to renew the concession for Syrian nationals in respect of the Immigration Rules. The Government continues to monitor the situation in Syria closely in order to ensure our response is appropriate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information he holds on the average length of time allocated for face-to-face appointments for personal independence payment claimants attending the Queen’s Road assessment centre in Brighton; and if he will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson

DWP does not set a time limit for face-to-face assessments. Consultations take as long as necessary in order to reach the evidence-based conclusions on individual cases. Atos Healthcare assumes for scheduling purposes an average length of 1.5 hours for the Health Professional to see the claimant and to write up the report.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-09.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the press release of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills of 5 February 2016, entitled New National Minimum Wage offenders named and shamed, for what reasons HM Revenue and Customs did not seek to prosecute Total Security Services Limited for non-payment of minimum wage arrears.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs cannot comment on the affairs of individual employers. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills set out how the Government operates civil and criminal enforcement of National Minimum Wage, which can be accessed by the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/enforcing-national-minimum-wage-law

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