Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) civilian personnel, (b) uniformed personnel and (c) civil servants were employed at (i) MOD Grantown-on-Spey, (ii) MOD Llanwrst, (iii) MOD Fairbourne and (iv) MOD Crickhowell in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    Information available on the number of personnel at each of the locations requested is provided in the tables below. The number of military personnel and civil servants is as at 1 October for each year. Data for military personnel can only be provided for the last nine years as prior to this information is not held centrally. The number of contractors can only be provided by financial year.

    The data has been rounded in accordance with data protection principles where ~ denotes less than 5.

    Military Personnel as at 1 October

    Grantown-on-Spey

    Llanwrst

    Fairbourne

    Crickhowell

    2007

    0

    ~

    20

    20

    2008

    0

    ~

    20

    20

    2009

    0

    ~

    20

    30

    2010

    ~

    10

    20

    30

    2011

    10

    10

    20

    30

    2012

    10

    10

    20

    30

    2013

    10

    10

    20

    10

    2014

    10

    10

    10

    10

    2015

    20

    0

    10

    20

    Civil Servant Personnel as at 1 October

    Grantown-on-Spey

    Llanwrst

    Fairbourne

    Crickhowell

    2006

    10

    10

    20

    10

    2007

    10

    10

    20

    20

    2008

    10

    10

    20

    20

    2009

    10

    10

    10

    20

    2010

    10

    10

    10

    20

    2011

    ~

    10

    10

    10

    2012

    ~

    10

    10

    10

    2013

    ~

    ~

    10

    10

    2014

    ~

    10

    10

    10

    2015

    ~

    ~

    10

    10

    Contractors by Financial Year

    Grantown-on-Spey

    Llanwrst

    Fairbourne

    Crickhowell

    2007-08

    ~

    0

    0

    ~

    2008-09

    ~

    0

    0

    ~

    2009-10

    ~

    0

    0

    ~

    2010-11

    ~

    0

    0

    ~

    2011-12

    ~

    10

    10

    ~

    2012-13

    ~

    10

    10

    ~

    2013-14

    ~

    10

    10

    10

    2014-15

    ~

    10

    10

    10

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian refugees were resettled in each (a) region and (b) parliamentary constituency in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

    Richard Harrington

    The Home Office is committed to publishing data on the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The next set of figures will be in the quarterly release on 25 February 2016 and will cover the period October – December 2015.

    This information will not show where refugees have been resettled, as resettlement under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme by local authorities is voluntary. It is a matter for each local authority to decide whether they want to publish the fact of their participation and the numbers of refugees they take.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to maintain a strong commercial bus market.

    Andrew Jones

    Buses play a vital role as the backbone of our public transport system and are key to a healthy growing economy. We want to see the bus industry thrive and are introducing a Buses Bill which will provide local authorities and bus operators with a wider, more effective range of tools to improve local bus services. The Bill will include arrangements to allow commercial bus operators to work more effectively in partnership with local government and other local stakeholders.

    Furthermore, the Government decided that financial support for bus services provided through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) system – around £250m a year – should be protected as part of the 2015 spending round, preserving millions of bus passenger journeys. Around £200m of that is paid to individual bus operators, according to how much fuel they use in running their services. The remaining funding is paid to local authorities to help support bus services in their areas. DfT is reforming BSOG to make it more effective, and plans to publish details of changes to the system in early 2016. This should improve the grant’s effectiveness in supporting bus services, and provide better value to the taxpayer.

  • Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce changes to make motor vehicle tax proportionate to the emissions of gaseous and particulate pollutants from motor vehicle engines.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Motoring taxation generally reflects the environmental impact of driving. In particular, Vehicle Excise Duty and Company Car Tax vary by CO2 emissions and reduced rates of fuel duty are available for low-emissions fuels.

    From 1 September 2015, all new cars sold in the UK must be compliant with new European-wide air pollutant standards, known as Euro 6 standards, which include gaseous and particulate pollutants.

    The combination of new Euro 6 standards and tougher vehicle approval regulation for air quality pollutants known as Real World Driving Emissions Testing (RDE), which come into force from 2017, will significantly reduce air pollutant emissions from all new vehicles including diesel models.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government provides to Kurdish authorities in (a) Iraq and (b) Syria to support refugees in those regions.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    I have been asked to reply.

    Since June 2014, the UK has committed £79.5 million of humanitarian aid to Iraq. This support is needs-based and provides life-saving assistance for the most vulnerable, including those in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). All UK humanitarian aid in Iraq is delivered through UN agencies, NGOs and other trusted humanitarian partners. We are providing funding to UNDP to build the capacity of the Joint Crisis Centre (JCC) within the Kurdistan Regional Government as part of this support. The JCC works closely with the UN, the Government of Iraq, and the international community to provide life-saving coordination.

    To date, we have allocated £561 million to support vulnerable people inside Syria. Roughly half our support is delivered by agencies and INGOs working out of Damascus with the consent of the regime, and half is delivered across borders from neighbouring countries without regime consent, under the authorisation of the UN Security Council. In line with the key humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality, we work with trusted humanitarian partners with experience of operating in fragile and conflict affected states. These include UN agencies, international organisations, NGOs and civil society organisations. Through these partners, our support is reaching vulnerable Syrians in areas controlled by Kurdish groups.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Written Statement of 26 April 2016, HCWS701, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the proposed changes to eligibility to student support for people with long residency in the UK.

    Joseph Johnson

    From 2016/17, the average student loan outlay for each additional student eligible for student finance is estimated to be between £15,000 and £17,000 depending on the household income of the students. Students could also be eligible for an average of £300 of support for allowances such as the Disabled Students Allowance. An additional 2,400 students, as estimated, could lead to around £40m in loan outlay and £0.7m in allowances annually. In RAB terms, the annual costs for 2,400 students could be £10m.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-06-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the reasons are for the difference in the figures quoted as payments to HM Treasury in respect of its guarantee for the Mineworkers Pension Scheme and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme in paragraph 1.21 of the National Audit Office report on Department of Trade and Industry: Sale of the mining operations of the British Coal Corporation, HC 360 1995-96, and the Answer of 8 March 2007 to Question 125573, HC Deb, Column 2124W.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Analysis by Binder Hamlyn in 2006 for the NAO had estimated the net present value of payments to the Government (net of any payments from the Government arising from its guarantee) at £2bn over 25 years. This reflects the value at the time of the expected future net payments.

    The parliamentary question 125573 answered on 8 March 2007 records that the Binder Hamlyn report found that the total gross payments to the Treasury would be £8bn. This would have been both gross of any payments from the Government and also in cash terms i.e. allowing for the returns achieved on the funds before payment.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the UK intends to maintain the EU ban on neonicotinoids (a) before and (b) after the UK leaves the EU; and whether the Government plans to conduct a review of the evidence of damage to bees caused by those pesticides.

    George Eustice

    While it remains within the EU, the UK will continue to meet its obligations under EU law. This includes restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids. As part of the preparation for EU exit, we are considering future arrangements for pesticides. Our highest priority will continue to be the protection of people and the environment.

    The Government remains of the view that decisions on the use of neonicotinoids and other pesticides should be based on a careful scientific assessment of the risks. Pesticides that carry unacceptable risks to pollinators should not be authorised. The Government keeps the developing evidence on neonicotinoids under active review, advised by the independent Expert Committee on Pesticides.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to safeguard children living in the Calais refugee camp.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    As the Home Secretary made clear to Parliament on 10 October, the Government’s priority is to work with the French Government to ensure the safety and security of all children in the camp in Calais. The UK is also committed to ensuring that unaccompanied children in Calais eligible to come to the UK are transferred as quickly as possible.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what grant her Department made available to the NSPCC for running the modern slavery human trafficking helpline between July 2014 to June 2015.

    Karen Bradley

    The NSPCC-run modern slavery helpline was launched in July 2014, as part of a wider awareness-raising campaign, to better support potential victims of modern slavery. For the period July 2014 to July 2015, £50,000 was made available to the NSPCC to run the modern slavery helpline. To support the launch of the helpline, training was provided by existing staff in the NSPCC child trafficking advice centre, the Metropolitan police’s human trafficking unit and the Modern Slavery Unit to NSPCC call-handlers at zero cost.

    The NSPCC helpline routinely records the number of contacts made each month, how they are made, and by whom. The helpline also records the gender, age and nationality of potential victims, where that information is known or presumed. Between 31 July 2014 and 31 July 2015 the NSPCC modern slavery helpline received, in total, 849 contacts. These were comprised of 491 referrals, 107 advice cases and 251 enquiries. During the period 31 July 2014 to 31 July 2015 the helpline received a total of 57 contacts from potential victims themselves and in that same period the NSPCC made 272 referrals to the police. The NSPCC does not hold data on the number of contacts referred to the helpline by the police and other agencies that were subsequently referred back to those agencies.