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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the likely causes of changes in the size of the UK Ship Register since 2010.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    A decline in UK shipping interests, including in the size of the UK Ship Register, was one of the reasons government launched the Maritime Growth Study in 2014. The evidence into the Study included an assessment from the independent UK Ship Register Advisory Panel, which was commissioned by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) to review the current performance of the UK Ship Register and consider the conditions which would enable the Register to become more internationally competitive. The Panel’s report includes their views on the reasons for the decline in the Register and was published on 16 July 2015.

    The wider Study, published on 7 September 2015, considered the increasing international competition faced by the UK maritime sector as a whole, but contains a number of proposals specific to the UK Ship Register.

    The Government will respond formally to the Maritime Growth Study by the end of 2015, but is taking immediate action in response to some recommendations. This includes the establishment of a Ministerial Working Group for Maritime Growth and taking steps to support the improved operation of the MCA such as appointing a commercial director to lead the UK Ship Register separately from the Agency’s regulatory functions and a business case exploring the costs and benefits of options for more significant reform of the MCA.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about reports that Israeli vehicles entered the northern Gaza Strip near Jabalia and created earth mounds to prevent Palestinian farmers from accessing their land.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not made representations on this specific issue, our Ambassador in Tel Aviv discussed the need to create economic sustainability in the West Bank and Gaza with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs, Public Security and Information on 19 November. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv also discussed the issue of access to Gaza with the Head of the Civil Department of the Israeli Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) on 24 November. During this meeting we welcomed the indefinite continuation of permissions for agricultural exports to Israel and the lifting of restrictions on exporting textiles, furniture and scrap metal to Israel.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the UK Athletics report A Manifesto for Clean Athletics.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    I welcome UK Athletics contributing to the debate on anti-doping and underlining its commitment to clean sport.

    It’s important that all sports continue to look at ways they can further promote clean sport and we will continue to work closely with UK Anti-Doping, World Anti-Doping Agency and sports governing bodies on tackling doping.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to review the harmony guidelines on periods of time away for service personnel.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence has no plans to review the harmony guidelines, which are set to ensure that there is an acceptable balance between the competing aspects of the lives of Service personnel.

    We recognise that when harmony guidelines are breached, this can have an impact on operational effectiveness. That is why we are committed to minimising the number of unnecessary breaches whilst at the same time maintaining operational capability.

    The Ministry of Defence publishes Monthly Service Personnel Statistics which include (at Table 10) the numbers of trained UK Regular Personnel breaching Individual Harmony Guidelines. The latest report, published on 14 January 2016, shows that as at 1 October 2015 the breach rate equated to 0.4% for the Naval Service, 2.6% for the Army and 1.3% for the Royal Air Force.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-monthly-service-personnel-statistics-2015

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Since 1998 the Department for Work and Pensions has outsourced the provision and maintenance for the majority of its estate to Telereal Trillium under a 20 year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract that expires on 31 March 2018.

    Under the terms of the contract, Telereal Trillium provides fully-serviced accommodation, for which we pay an all-inclusive annual charge. Engie are Telereal Trillium’s cleaning service provider.

    The Engie base rate of pay for all cleaners within the M25 is £9.15 (London Living Wage) which will increase to the new London Living Wage of £9.40 by May 2016.

    The Engie base rate of pay for all cleaners outside the M25 is £6.70 (or the scale appropriate to their age) which will change in April 2016 to the National Living Wage of £7.20 (or the scale appropriate to their age).

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the economic security implications of the proposed merger between the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Borse.

    Harriett Baldwin

    I refer the honourable Member to my previous written answer 34500 of 25 April 2016.

  • Lyn Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lyn Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Education Funding Agency guidance, Building Bulletin 100: Design for fire safety in schools, published on 11 March 2014, how many schools that scored high or medium on the risk assessment have not been fitted with sprinklers.

    Edward Timpson

    Building Bulletin 100 advises on fire safety design for new school buildings and includes a fire risk assessment within its suite of guidance. This risk assessment is not intended to be part of a data collection exercise and therefore the Department does not hold the information requested.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much (a) government and (b) industry funding the UK Defence Solutions Centre received in the financial year 2015-16; and how much such funding is projected for 2016-17.

    Jesse Norman

    The Defence Growth Partnership (DGP) is an industry led group, established jointly by industry and government to deliver export-led growth within the Defence sector. It does not receive any public funding. Since 2014, it has enabled joint industry and government resource equivalent to £50 million over three years to achieve its agenda: £30 million for strengthening the UK Defence & Security Organisation and establishing the UK Defence Solutions Centre (UKDSC). The remaining £20 million is currently delivered through a number of initiatives supporting the DGP’s growth agenda: establishment of the Centre of Maritime Intelligent Systems (CMIS); Dual Use Technology Exploitation (DUTE) cluster and the MOD Innovation Challenge fund.

    Government and industry have committed through a mix of cash and resource equivalent to £3.8m in 2015-16 to the UKDSC and a similar figure is predicted for 2016-17. As of 1 April 2016, there were 4 staff directly employed by the UKDSC and 28 secondees from across the 16 DGP Partner Companies.

  • Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rupa Huq on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to retain visa exemptions for PhD-level jobs after the UK leaves the EU.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Future immigration arrangements for EU citizens are still to be determined. However, the Government has consistently enhanced the treatment of PhD-level jobs in the immigration system.

    Immigration reforms since 2010 have explicitly taken account of the needs of academics, scientists and researchers and will continue to do so.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has held with food bank providers on his Department’s plans to locate job advisers in food banks.

    Priti Patel

    Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches already undertake outreach work every day in local communities. Work Coaches recently began offering back-to-back support in the Lalley Centre in Manchester. Early feedback has been positive. We will reflect on this, and consider if there is potential for expansion