Tag: Caroline Lucas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has had any discussions with the Home Secretary on the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) review of the classification of products containing cannabidiol since the MHRA’s news story on that review was published on 13 October 2016.

Nicola Blackwood

There have been no discussions at Ministerial level but officials from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Home Office have been in contact regarding this issue.

At present, the MHRA has offered an opinion that products containing cannabidiol used for medical purposes should be regulated as medicinal products. If manufacturers do not accept this, the MHRA can use a statutory determination process to formally classify their product(s).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason it is her policy that scores attained through the Reception Assessment baseline will not be scaled for age; if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policy of the findings of research published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in October 2013 on the academic performance in school of pupils born later in the academic year; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

The reception baseline provides a score for each child, at the start of reception, which reflects their actual attainment at that point in time. The reception baseline outcome will be used as the basis for an accountability measure of the relative progress of the school’s cohort throughout primary school. If the results were to be scaled to a pupil’s age it would not be a true reflection of the pupil’s attainment at the start of school. For pupils born later in the academic year, scaling the score by age would disadvantage the school as it would result in a higher baseline from which the pupil’s progress would be measured.

Reception baseline criteria is published online at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/415142/Baseline_criteria.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the closure of the Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme on businesses planning to make an application ahead of the original closure date of March 2016; what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on securing the funding required to re-open and extend that scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Broadband ConnectVoucherSchemewas hugelysuccessful, and has benefitted 55,000 small and medium businesses across the UK. BDUK issued regular updates to encourage firms to act quickly given the increasingly high demand for vouchers. All broadband connectionsvouchersissued to SMEs before theschemeclosed on 12 October that comply with thescheme’s terms and conditions will be funded. All further funding is subject to the forthcoming Spending Review.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the proportion of existing fossil fuel reserves that are (a) unburnable under a scenario of keeping temperature increases to below two degrees C and (b) unburnable; and what her policy is on the proportion of primary energy supply (i) in the UK, (ii) globally that should come from oil and gas in (A) 2030 and (B) 2050; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

The International Energy Agency has suggested that around a third of global fossil fuel reserves are burnable under a 2°C scenario.

In the UK, we are committed to implementing the Wood Review recommendations to maximise economic recovery of oil and gas in a way that is compatible with our climate change targets. Maximising recovery both in terms of increasing efficiency of production, as well as increasing levels of production of the UK’s oil and gas, will help maintain security of supply as well as boost growth and jobs.

This Government remains committed to the Climate Change Act and to meeting our climate change target of an 80% emissions reduction by 2050. This will mean reducing the amount of fossil fuels we use – through improved energy efficiency and increased supplies of low carbon energy – as well as reducing other sources of emissions. As part of our efforts to reduce emissions I have already announced that the Government will consult on proposals to end coal power generation by 2025 and restrict its use from 2023.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) joint Anglo-French and (b) solely French experiments have been conducted using (i) laser and (ii) hydrodynamics facilities at Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston to date.

Michael Fallon

I am withholding details of such experiments as their disclosure would prejudice national security and could prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and another State.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2015 to Question 5609, how many HM Revenue and Customs investigations that commenced on or after 1 October 2013 resulted in the issuing of Notice of Underpayment (NOU) of the National Minimum Wage to the employer; how many of those employers receiving an NOU were exempt from his Department’s revised naming and shaming scheme on the basis that the total arrears were less than £100; how many of those employers successfully appealed against being named or shamed; and how many of those employers have been publicly named or shamed under that scheme.

Nick Boles

Since October 2013, HMRC has commenced 1004 investigations into National Minimum Wage (NMW) compliance that resulted in the issuing of a Notice of Underpayment (NoU). Of those:

– 165 employers were exempt from the NMW naming scheme on the basis that the total arrears were less than £100;

– 27 have made successful representations under the scheme and have not been named; and.

– 398 employers have been named under the scheme.

Employers are not named at the point when an NoU is issued. Under the National Minimum Wage regulations, employers have 28 days to appeal against an NoU. They then have a further 14 days to make representations to BIS against being named. We are currently considering the next batch of cases and expect to name more employers shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2016 to Question 20599, how many (a) page views and (b) visitors the www.livingwage.gov.uk website has had in each week since its launch.

Nick Boles

Since the launch of the National Living Wage website we have achieved the following:

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 24355, whether his Department has carried out any feasibility studies or other assessments of basic income or similar schemes since 1990.

Damian Hinds

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 1 February 2016, reference 24355.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2016 to Question 20496, how many people were (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted of offences relating to (i) corporation tax, (ii) income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax and inheritance tax and (iii) other tax-related offences in each financial year since 2010-11.

Mr David Gauke

The information is not held in the format requested. To provide the answers would incur disproportionate cost since the prosecution and conviction data has been captured centrally in alternative categories.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for the completion of projects funded in England by EU structural funds in the event of the UK leaving the EU.

Anna Soubry

At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.