The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Leader of the House, if he will consult political parties on proposals to change the sitting days of the House during party conferences.
Chris Grayling
The sitting days of the House are kept under review and I would welcome representations on the issue the hon. Gentleman raises, either from individual Members or political parties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what targets he has set for the creation of numbers of apprenticeships between now and 2020.
Nick Boles
We are committed to 3 million apprenticeship starts in England and will ensure they deliver the skills employers and the economy need for growth.
The locations and sectors where apprenticeships are available are determined by employers choosing to offer opportunities – so our aim is to create the conditions for employers to offer more apprenticeships. So that the public sector plays a full part in delivering more apprenticeships, we are taking forward legislation on targets for public bodies in relation to apprenticeships in England.
Through the Welfare Reform and Work Bill we are legislating to report annually on progress towards meeting the 3 million. This duty will be a clear statement to reconfirm Government’s commitment to that policy ambition, as well as ensuring transparency on progress.
Apprenticeships policy is a devolved matter and it is for the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to determine how they manage their own programmes. However, we recognise the value of an aligned approach to apprenticeships across the United Kingdom, particularly for employers with staff in more than one area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on establishment of a Northern Ireland University Air Squadron.
Mr Julian Brazier
The two newly established staff posts in the Northern Ireland Universities Air Squadron were filled in October and November 2015, and the first students were accepted on 25 November. Of the 24 student places, 11 have so far been filled.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-05.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will discuss with the Financial Conduct Authority the effect of the savings products offered by providers with almost zero interest rates on people with savings.
Harriett Baldwin
In January 2015, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its Cash Savings Market Study report, which found that competition in the cash savings market was not working well for many consumers. In response, the FCA has consulted on and will subsequently be introducing new rules from 1 December 2016 designed to improve competition by encouraging easier and quicker switching and improving the information savers receive.
These new rules will require firms to provide key information in a product summary box at point of sale and to be clear on what interest rate consumers are getting. The FCA will also introduce a new rule which requires firms to provide a prompt and efficient service so that a customer can switch to a better account offered by the same firm.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to take account of lower fuel costs in its reform of the Bus Service Operators Grant.
Andrew Jones
The Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) is paid to operators based in England on a fixed rate of £0.3457 per litre and is no longer directly linked to fuel duty. As a result, changes in fuel costs should not have any direct impact on the uptake of BSOG. We will be publishing more details of our plans to reform BSOG later this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Colombian government in the last three months on the security situation for human rights defenders in that country.
Mr Hugo Swire
On 21 December, Officials from the British Embassy in Bogota raised human rights and protection issues with the national Ombudsman who also explained the role the Ombudsman’s Office will play in post-agreement in Colombia.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department paid to charities in 2014-15; and what criteria were used to make decisions about those payments.
George Freeman
The Department works with charities and other voluntary sector organisations and makes grant and procurement payments to these organisations. In 2014-15, £120 million was paid to the voluntary sector. Payment data is held at voluntary sector level, as such, charities are not separately categorised within this data set. It would incur disproportionate cost to extract this subset of the information.
Payments made through the procurement route are processed in line with Departmental processes, which are consistent with payments made to other organisations. Grant payments are made in accordance with the individual terms of the grant.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the level of investment in UK oil and gas production until May 2020.
Andrea Leadsom
The latest published projections of development capital expenditure by the UK upstream oil and gas industry are those in Supplementary Table 2.1 to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s June 2015 Fiscal Sustainability Report:
http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/fsr/fiscal-sustainability-report-june-2015/.
This had annual investment (in £ billion) at the following levels:
|
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
|
8.3 |
6.6 |
5.9 |
4.9 |
4.2 |
Updated projections informed by recently-received information from operators should be published alongside the Economic and Fiscal Outlook which will accompany the forthcoming Budget.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will raise with the UN the need for all member states to endorse the international campaign against female genital mutilation.
Mr Nick Hurd
The UK has taken the lead internationally in supporting the African-led movement to end female genital mutilation. We lead by example, as the largest donor ever, investing £35m over 5 years in a programme in 17 countries. Last year we successfully worked with others to push for the inclusion of an indicator on female genital mutilation in the Global Goals that applies not only to some, but to all countries. We co-sponsored the UN General Assembly resolutions on female genital mutilation in 2012 and 2014.
In 2014, the Prime Minister co-hosted Girl Summit with UNICEF, which galvanised unprecedented international support. Girl Summit secured 500 signatories to a charter and over 170 commitments from governments, civil society and individuals. Increased funding was committed to the UN Joint Programmes on female genital mutilation and child, early and forced marriage. We continue to urge others to do more.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to assist middle-income families with their pension planning.
Harriett Baldwin
The government is committed to making sure that people can access high quality, affordable, tailored advice and guidance to help them make informed financial decisions.
The government set up Pension Wise to offer free and impartial guidance to those eligible to access the pension freedoms, to allow them to make confident, informed choices about how to use their retirement savings. The government has also extended access to the service, allowing those aged 50 and above to use guidance sessions to help them plan for their retirement. In addition, the Money Advice Service provides guides to help people improve their finances; tools and calculators to help them track and plan ahead; and offers support in person, over the phone and online.
The government recognises that there is a potential “advice gap” for people who do not have significant wealth. The government launched the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR), which is being led jointly by HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority, to look at how best to increase the accessibility and affordability of financial advice. The government also launched the Public Financial Guidance consultation to look at how the provision of public financial guidance could be made more effective for consumers. Both FAMR and the Public Financial Guidance consultation will publish their recommendations in time for Budget 2016.