Tag: David Anderson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what guidance his Department gives on the number and type of wheelchair spaces which should be available for disabled people in music venues across the UK.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The huge variation in size, type and location of music venues across the UK makes it impractical to require venue operators to make a specific number of spaces available for disabled people. However, we believe that everyone should have equal access to arts and culture. We are working with venues and organisations representing disabled people to identify barriers to access along with examples of best practice and how these can be shared and; to consider what more cultural venues need to do to be accessible to people with disabilities.

We are supportive of the work of Attitude is Everything, which aims to improve disabled people’s access to live events, working in partnership with audiences, artists, and the music industry. My ministerial colleague Ed Vaizey also recently held a roundtable meeting with Justin Tomlinson, Minister for Disabled People to look at access to cultural venues and events for disabled people.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what sanctions can be taken against the Office of the Independent Adjudicator if it misses the 90-day target in issuing complaint outcomes set by the European Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Joseph Johnson

Should an approved Alternative Dispute Resolution provider, such
as the Office for the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA),be found
to be continually failing to comply with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Regulations
2015, the Government has set out a process that enables an appointed body (the
Chartered Trading Standards Institute) to monitor compliance, recommend
improvements and, ultimately, remove a body from the approved list.

The OIA is independent of Government and funded by compulsory subscriptions
from higher education providers. All higher education providers in receipt of
student support funding are required, through legislation, to join the OIA and pay
subscription fees. The OIA makes an assessment each year of the level of
funding it requires to ensure that its costs can be met.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of supporting the deployment of ultra-super critical coal fired power stations similar to those planned by China and Germany; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

I have made no such assessment. Any new coal plant must demonstrate carbon capture and storage on at least 300 MW of its proposed generating capacity and comply with the Emissions Performance Standard.

Coal fired power stations without abatement are not consistent with meeting our decarbonisation objectives. This is why the Government has committed to consulting on phasing out unabated coal by 2025 and to restricting the amount of coal generation in 2023.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his Jordanian counterpart on the launch, recovery or other control of Reaper drones from that country or any other element of Reaper control.

Penny Mordaunt

We routinely discuss counter-Daesh air operations with Coalition partners but it would not be appropriate to give details about these discussions as to do so could affect the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the Prime Minister’s policy is on moving to an insurance or user-funded NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

The pressures faced by the National Health Service are common to most developed health systems, regardless of how the system is funded. The Government believes that the answer to these challenges lies in changing the way services are delivered and keeping people well and independent for longer, not in altering the fundamental principles that underpin the NHS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people her Department employs as statisticians.

Nick Gibb

As of 31^st March 2016, the Department employs 129 people as statisticians.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS England implements the NICE recommendation for NHS funding for Translarna as a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

George Freeman

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently evaluating Translarna (ataluren) for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy through its highly specialised technology programme. The expected publication date for NICE’s final guidance is July 2016.

National Health Service commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in NICE highly specialised technology guidance within three months of its final guidance being issued.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to impose an embargo on the sale of arms between the UK and Israel.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. We do not believe that imposing a blanket arms embargo on Israel would promote the urgent progress towards the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which we want to see. We continue to monitor the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and take into account the latest circumstances when assessing licence applications. Israel, like any state, has the right to ensure its own security, as its citizens also have the right to live without fear of attack and we will continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-10-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what meetings she has had with Jobcentre Plus to discuss measures to help redundant onshore wind workers back into employment; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government was elected with a commitment to end subsidies for new onshore wind projects. We are taking the steps necessary to deliver this commitment, which includes closing the Renewables Obligation (RO) early to new onshore wind projects.

An Impact Assessment (IA) considering the potential effects of the Government’s proposals to close the RO early was published on 8 September, with an update published on 8 October. The IA suggests, under the central scenario, that ending RO support early could have a small impact on employment in this sector compared with the do nothing option.

Under the Government’s proposals onshore wind is expected to deploy 11.6GW of capacity under the RO and an additional 0.75GW under Contracts for Difference by 2020. Taken together, this is sufficient to meet onshore wind’s expected contribution towards our renewables target as set out in the Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan whilst minimising the impact of potential over deployment on consumer bills. This strong pipeline of projects will support jobs in this sector, including construction, maintenance and management opportunities out to 2020.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the contribution of the Minister of State for Work and Pensions of 23 November 2015, Official Report, column 467HL, what the evidential basis is for her statement that most of the women affected by state pension equalisation have accepted this.

Justin Tomlinson

My noble friend, the Minister for Pensions, engages regularly with older workers, employers and other stakeholders. The Minister for Pensions was summarising from her frequent discussions with these groups.

All women affected by faster equalisation will reach State Pension age after the introduction of the new State Pension. Around 650,000 women reaching State Pension age in the first ten years will receive an average of £8 per week (in 2014/15 earnings terms) more due to the new State Pension valuation of their National Insurance record.

Equalisation of the State Pension age was necessary under EU law to eliminate gender inequalities in welfare provision.