Tag: Liam Byrne

  • Liam Byrne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Liam Byrne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2015 to Question 222138, which organisations are involved in the process of clearing home-owners’ applications to the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism; how many applicants have been rejected during that process; and what the involvement of the Israeli government is in assessing the security risks associated with each application.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The organisations involved in the process of clearing home-owners’ applications to the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM) are the UN agencies doing the damage assessment, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Public Works and Housing and Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Government of Israel.

    No individuals have been rejected to date, but a number of the assessments submitted require review ahead of further processing. These were mostly caused by repetition of names of individuals or where the assessments were recorded under the names of owners who are deceased for example. The GRM does not allow for the disqualification of individuals assessed for shelter repair on grounds of political association or geographic location in Gaza.

    The Government of Israel, like all participants in the mechanism, is able to object to individuals participating in the GRM.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when his Department plans next to update the RAB charge on student loans.

    Greg Clark

    The next update of the RAB charge will happen when the Student Loans Company provides the Department with updated loans data. This typically takes place in early autumn each year.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether recent increases in the estimated RAB rate for student loans go beyond his Department’s target impairment for student loans.

    Mr David Willetts

    This Department does not set a target for impairment of student loans. Our reforms were designed to put higher education on a sustainable footing. Universities are now well-funded and this is driving up the quality of the student experience and helping to stimulate economic growth, while keeping access to higher education free at the point of entry.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the potential financial effect on UK higher education institutions of the reduction in non-EU students in 2012-13.

    Mr David Willetts

    The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes data on the sources of income for all higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK on an annual basis. This data shows that, despite a slight fall in student numbers, tuition fee income from non-EU students in 2012-13 was £3.5bn, an increase of 9.1% on 2011-12.

    The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) produces an annual report on the financial health of the publicly funded higher education sector in England. Their most recent report, published in March 2014, also states that income from non-EU students rose in 2012-13 and shows that HEIs are expecting tuition fee income from non-EU students to rise by 9.7% in real terms in 2013-14.

    The most recent HEFCE report can be found at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/hefce/content/pubs/2014/201402/HEFCE2014_02.pdf

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many meetings he has had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months.

    Mr David Willetts

    As was the case under previous administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the effect on his Department’s total resource Departmental Expenditure Limits of the revised guidance on revaluation of student loan impairments in each of the next three years.

    Mr David Willetts

    Student Loan repayments are managed annually under government budgeting rules and any changes, for whatever reason, in forecast repayments, are considered as part of the Parliamentary Supply Process.

    Additional Supply was agreed between this Department and HM Treasury, and approved by Parliament as part of the 2013-14 Supplementary Estimates process.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2014, Official Report, column 291W, on Royal Mail, for what reasons the underwriters’ discretionary fee has not been paid.

    Michael Fallon

    No decision has been made on the payment of this discretionary payment.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many meetings the Minister of State for (a) Business and Enterprise, (b) Universities, Science and Skills and (c) Skills and Enterprise has had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months.

    Mr David Willetts

    As was the case under previous administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish regular information on the level of his Department’s target impairment for student loans.

    Mr David Willetts

    This Department does not set a target for impairment of student loans. Our reforms were designed to put higher education on a sustainable footing. Universities are now well-funded and this is driving up the quality of the student experience and helping to stimulate economic growth, while keeping access to higher education free at the point of entry.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the cost was of the recent triennial review of the Research Councils.

    Mr David Willetts

    The cost of the review primarily relates to the salary costs of review team members, who undertook the review as a corporate objective alongside their existing responsibilities. On average, the review team spent around 10% of their weekly core work hours on the review across its duration. There were additional costs associated with the extensive stakeholder engagement and in year awards to review team members to recognise their personal contribution in completing the review. These awards are consistent with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ (BIS) In-Year Awards policy of recognising and rewarding contributions to business performance and demonstrating the BIS values.

    The estimated maximum total cost to BIS of the review team is £81,350, which represents 0.002% of total Research Council funding.