Tag: Matthew Pennycook

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions she has had with the big six energy companies on the introduction of half-hourly settlements before the national smart meter rollout.

Andrea Leadsom

DECC engages regularly with energy suppliers and other industry stakeholders on half-hourly settlement. We consider there is a strong case for half-hourly settlement for domestic and smaller non-domestic customers to be enabled in step with the smart meter roll-out. Half hourly settlement, using the functionality provided by smart meters, can help support the move towards a smarter, more flexible energy system that delivers lower bills, lower carbon emissions and enhanced security of supply.

We are working with Ofgem to remove the barriers to suppliers and consumers choosing half-hourly settlement by early 2017. This work will also consider the approach for moving to mandatory half-hourly settlement with a decision to be taken on the timescale and approach in 2018.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will publish an updated set of Levy Control Framework projections.

Andrea Leadsom

The Office for Budget Responsibility published updated Levy Control Framework (LCF) spend projections alongside the Spending Review on 25 November and we anticipate they will publish an update alongside the March budget. The Department will publish further details on the LCF projections in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to bring forward proposals to add junior doctors to the definition of worker in section 43K(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

Ben Gummer

The Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and more recent legislation, forms part of the wider employment rights legislation.

Junior doctors are protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, as they are employees of the National Health Service trusts at which they are based.

The Department supports NHS staff who wish to raise concerns and is implementing a range of measures to support the development of a culture in which staff are able to raise concerns without fear of repercussion or reprisal. The Department has made clear to NHS organisations that they should have policies and procedures to support and encourage staff to raise concerns, and that those concerns should be considered and, where appropriate, acted upon.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans she has to establish a cross-government team on the deployment of renewable and low-carbon heating.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department actively engages with other Government departments, including at ministerial level, on a range of interdepartmental groups engaged in reducing emissions from heating and working towards our renewable energy targets.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of isolation in the workplace on disabled people and the effect of such isolation on developing skills and career progression for disabled people.

Penny Mordaunt

The Department for Work and Pensions has not made a recent assessment of the effect of isolation in the workplace on disabled people.

However, we are committed to halving the employment gap between disabled and non-disabled people. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health have created a cross departmental Work and Health Unit to develop a strategy for system-wide reform on health, disability and employment, in order to reduce the numbers of people who are economically inactive due to a health condition or disability. The treatment of disabled people in the workplace will be among the factors the unit takes into account.

Meanwhile, employers and disabled employees continue to benefit from the support offered through Access to Work, which provides practical support, advice and guidance for both disabled people in work or entering work and their employers.

In addition, the Government’s Disability Confident scheme supports our commitment to halve the disability employment gap by focusing on employers, who have a crucial role to play in ensuring disabled people are recruited, retained and developed in their careers. Employers signing-up to Disability Confident on Gov.UK get access to a wide range of information, good practice and other resources, including links to DWP programmes which offer practical support.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times limited removal directions have been used since the policy of giving such directions came into effect on 6 April 2015.

James Brokenshire

The Immigration Act 2014 provides that where individuals are informed that they have no leave they are removable without the need for a further decision.

Following related process changes individuals being removed from the UK may receive a removal decision which provides limited information about their removal. In many cases the Home Office also provides further details to individuals out of courtesy – this may include details of the specific flight they will be removed on. Information on notice of removal is published in Chapter 60 of the Enforcement Instructions and Guidance, available on the gov.uk website.

Published data is available for the period 6 April – 30 September 2015. In that period, 26,159 removal decisions were served on individuals, but records do not show how many of these were full or limited notice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she will publish the findings of the Frontier Economics analysis commissioned by her Department in 2014 with the aim of further systematising her Department’s understanding of the whole system impacts of electricity generation technologies.

Andrea Leadsom

DECC commissioned Frontier Economics late in 2014 to undertake a project on the Whole System Impacts of Electricity Generation Technologies on the electricity system.

Given the variety of different terminologies and approaches to whole system impacts in existing literature, the core aim of the project is to set out a comprehensive framework to define whole system impacts and their components and drivers, which can be used to further systematise DECC’s modelling capability. The resulting methodological report is nearing completion following peer review by experts in the field of whole system impacts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-03-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the smart meter roll out public awareness campaign led by Smart Energy GB.

Andrea Leadsom

Smart Energy GB’s performance is measured against a Performance Management Framework, produced and maintained by energy suppliers under paragraph 45.28 of their licence conditions.

The Department works closely with Smart Energy GB and suppliers to support delivery of the benefits of smart metering to all consumers in Great Britain.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make it her policy to remove the deadline for the installation of SMETS 1 meters as a result of software upgrades making such meters compatible with her Department’s requirements.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government remains committed to ensuring the industry and consumer benefits of SMETS2 meters operated through the Data and Communications Company (DCC) are realised as soon as possible, while providing industry sufficient time to transition from SMETS1 to SMETS2 meters.

The Government considers that a SMETS1 end-date of 12 months from availability of all DCC functionality strikes this balance; however we reserve the right to review the end date.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that personal independence payment assessments are undertaken fairly and appropriately.

Penny Mordaunt

Provider performance is measured across a range of contracted service levels, which set out the Department’s expectations for the delivery of the service. These include the requirements for the quality of assessments which are assessed through an independent audit. Contractual remedies are in place if the provider fails to deliver against the service standards.