Tag: Mike Wood

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of Staying Put arrangements on foster children.

Edward Timpson

Staying Put arrangements help to provide the security and stability that care leavers need to make a successful transition to adulthood. The Department for Education has provided funding of £44m to local authorities for 2014/15 to 2016/17 to support them in implementing the new duty.

Data published by my Department in October 2015 show that, for the year ending March 2015, 48% of eligible care leavers were in a Staying Put arrangement at age 18.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential contribution to energy efficiency and low carbon energy from buildings markets to (a) improving infrastructure and (b) implementing the Government’s (i) long-term economic plan, (ii) obligations under the Climate Change Act 2008 and (c) commitments to relieve fuel poverty.

Andrea Leadsom

There is huge potential for buildings to contribute to our goals on reducing carbon, tackling fuel poverty, keeping bills down and driving economic growth. The UK’s housing stock accounts for around 30% of our energy consumption and a further 20% from non-domestic buildings. Collectively, once electricity emissions are taken into account, buildings make up around one third of our greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing building emissions is therefore key to meeting our Climate Change Act commitment of an 80% green-house gas emissions reduction by 2050.

Government is acting to harness this potential. A reformed domestic supplier obligation from April 2017, which will run for 5 years, will upgrade the energy efficiency of over 200,000 homes per year tackling the root cause of fuel poverty. Our extension of the Warm Home Discount to 2020/21 at current levels of £320m per annum will also help vulnerable households with their energy bills.

Alongside this, we have set new minimum standards in law which will, from April 2018, require privately rented buildings to reach a standard of at least energy efficiency band E before they can be let.

In 2014 a total of 96,510 businesses were active in the Low Carbon and Renewable Energy sector, employing 232,500 full-time equivalent (FTEs) employees generating £45.3 billion of turnover. Over half of these businesses work in the production and supply of energy efficiency products.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will issue a call for evidence from industry and other stakeholders seeking suggestions on Government interventions and policies to further develop the energy efficiency and low carbon energy markets; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government is in regular contact with industry and other stakeholders on energy efficiency and low carbon policies. At the Summer Budget in 2015 the Government announced that it would review the business energy efficiency tax landscape and consider approaches both to simplify the current framework and improve its effectiveness in driving energy efficiency and decarbonisation. The Government launched a consultation in September to seek evidence and set out policy proposals. This consultation closed in November 2015 and a full analysis of the responses is now underway. A formal response will be published in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, What the Government’s commitments are to fulfil its obligations under Article 5 of the NATO Treaty.

Michael Fallon

The principle of Article 5 – collective defence – is at the heart of NATO’s founding treaty. It is an enduring principle that binds NATO’s members together, and it is this unity that deters our adversaries.

The United Kingdom is fully committed to fulfilling the duty placed on us by Article 5, as we have repeatedly demonstrated through our substantial and continued commitment in Afghanistan, and contributions to NATO’s Enhanced Response Forces, air policing missions, and standing naval forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that good quality education is provided in (a) sixth form and (b) further education colleges.

Nick Boles

We are introducing reforms to ensure that all post 16 institutions are providing high quality academic and technical education. We are reforming A levels and technical qualifications so that they match the best in the world and ensure that young people are gaining the skills and knowledge they need to progress into employment, apprenticeships or further study.

A levels are now linear and technical qualifications approved for inclusion in 16-19 performance tables meet rigorous standards and are backed by employers. We will further reform technical and professional education to simplify and streamline the number of qualifications so that individuals have a clear set of routes which allow for progression to high level skills.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visa applications are presently deferred or on hold awaiting the outcome of the legal action in respect of the financial requirement that is presently before the courts.

James Brokenshire

According to Home Office management information, as at 31 March 2014, 3,134 family visa applications were on hold following the July 2013 High Court judgment in MM & Others.Following the Court of Appeal ruling in favour of the Home Secretary which confirmed the lawfulness of the income threshold policy, as a rational and reasonable means of achieving the legitimate aims of reducing taxpayer burdens and promoting integration, from 28 July, the individuals whose applications were on hold, pending this judgment, will now receive a decision. Decisions will take account of all the information presented. Any application which met all the requirements apart from the minimum income threshold now stands to be refused. The applications which have been subject to the hold will be decided as soon as possible. It is likely to take several weeks to complete this work. Overseas our regions are rebalancing resources to ensure decisions are made as quickly as they reasonably can be, allowing full consideration of the facts of the cases. This is with the aim of resolving all applications within three months in line with service standards for settlement applications.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken was for a spouse visa appeal to be heard from the time of being refused to a decision by the tribunal in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire

The information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what process the civilian police must follow when attempting to arrest, summons or charge a serving member of the armed forces in connection with indictable offences.

Mike Penning

If a member of the UK Armed Forces is arrested and detained in police custody for a recordable offence, the custody sergeant is responsible for notifying the circumstances of arrest, detention and offence to the relevant service authorities.

Civilian criminal courts and service tribunals have concurrent jurisdiction to deal with accused persons who are subject to military law. The decision on which jurisdiction prosecutes a person subject to military law is a matter of consultation between all police agencies involved in the investigation in consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service and Service Prosecutions Authority.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much has been spent by her Department on legal representation and court costs in respect of action over the financial requirement.

James Brokenshire

In the case of MM & Others concerning the minimum income threshold under the family Immigration Rules, the costs incurred by the Home Office as at 3 July 2014 were approximately £163,000.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to introduce service standards and set processing time limits for visa applications made at overseas posts.

James Brokenshire

Service Standards are in place for the processing of visa applications submitted overseas.