Tag: Parliamentary Question

Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to reduce barriers to officers of local authorities reporting bullying and intimidation by those in senior positions within their local authority.

Mr Marcus Jones

Bullying and intimidation are serious matters and all employers, including local authorities, should have in place arrangements to ensure employees can safely report this behaviour, including by those in a senior position.

My Department does not collect information about incidents of bullying or intimidation of local authority staff, nor have we made any assessment of council codes of conduct to protect officers from such behaviour.

01/01/2023
Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many of her officials are engaged in preparing the Government’s next Climate Change Risk Assessment.

Rory Stewart

Defra’s core climate change adaptation team of eight officials is coordinating and inputting to the preparation of the second Climate Change Risk Assessment, to be laid in Parliament in January 2017. Many other officials from across Defra, wider Government and its agencies are also contributing to the assessment. The underlying evidence report that will make up the bulk of the assessment is being prepared by the Adaptation Sub-Committee of the Committee on Climate Change, with extensive input from around 100 other experts.

01/01/2023
Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2015 to Question 8811, what projections his Department have made of the potential increase in green investments in the UK in the next 10 years as a result of the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry

We are working on the basis that UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) plans to invest at a rate of around £800m per year over the period to 2020 in a range of green projects.

We believe that moving GIB into private ownership is the best way to ensure the company has the funding it needs to achieve this annual investment rate. This is because private ownership will give GIB access to much more capital from a much wider range of sources than if it remained in Government hands where it would have to compete for funding against all other Government spending needs.

Moving GIB into the private sector will also mean GIB will no longer be subject to state aid controls, giving it scope to invest in a wider range of green sectors and types of project than if it were to remain state funded.

01/01/2023
Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many trailblazer apprenticeship starts there have been in the (a) automotive and (b) aerospace industries to date.

Nick Boles

Apprenticeship starts by standard name are published in a supplementary table to a Statistical First Release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493778/apprenticeships-starts-by-sase-framework.xls

This table shows starts for apprenticeship frameworks and new apprenticeship standards.

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01/01/2023
Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-03-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the amount currently owed to HM Revenue and Customs in tax credit overpayments and (b) the potential effect of the reduction in the income rise disregard on the amount so owed in each of the next three years.

Damian Hinds

The amount of tax credit debt owed to HMRC as at 31 March 2015, the latest available figure, is published in HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2014-15. The Annual Report and Accounts for 2015-16 are due to be published in June this year.

The impact on new debt from the reduction in the disregard is not available.

01/01/2023
Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to encourage young people to join local Air Training Corps; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Julian Brazier

The Air Training Corps actively promotes itself through local, national and social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Air Cadets website gets 1.8 million hits per year. Local Squadrons also regularly set up recruitment stands in town centres to encourage word of mouth recommendation.

The most important thing is getting Cadets gliding again. This is ramping up this year and will be fully in place in 2018.

01/01/2023
Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many social housing tenants with spare bedrooms have had their housing benefit reduced due to the removal of the under-occupancy penalty in each of the last three years.

Justin Tomlinson

The information is not available.

01/01/2023
Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has issued written guidance to providers of the work capability assessment informing them not to direct customers to appeal decisions on their entitlements in any circumstances.

Justin Tomlinson

Information on appeals rights are made available to claimants on the relevant benefit helpline and online on Gov,UK where they can also begin their online application. Claimants are also made aware of their appeal rights when they receive their initial decision notice, which explains there is right of appeal after an application for Mandatory Reconsideration, and again when they receive the decision notice sent in response to their application for Mandatory Reconsideration. An online and postal option is provided to make their appeal.

The guidance issued to the provider by the Department is clear in that the provider should not advise the claimant on any issue relating to their benefit entitlement including the right or appropriateness of an appeal. If the claimant were to bring this up, the advice is for the provider to signpost them to the Department.

01/01/2023
Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will visit the West Cumberland Hospital (a) before the start of the formal consultation stage of the Success Regime and (b) during the formal consultation stage of that regime.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Department continues to champion the Success Regime and I look forward to visiting West Cumberland Hospital. My private office is in touch with North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust to make arrangements.

01/01/2023

Antoinette Sandbach – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of homes and businesses that will not benefit from the roll-out of superfast broadband in each of the 11 Cheshire parliamentary constituencies.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government’s is committed to achieving the availability of superfast broadband to 95% of UK premises by December 2017. Broadband Delivery UK’s (BDUK) modelled estimates of the currently planned superfast broadband coverage for the 11 Cheshire constituencies predict 96% coverage, and are set out in the table below. These estimates are based on modelled coverage at the end of the Connected Cheshire Phase 2 project. Further coverage will be possible through additional funding sources including the gainshare funding that BT have offered in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved.

As you will be aware the Prime Minister recently announced the Government’sintention to introduce a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) by 2020. The USO will be demand-led and will give people a legal right to request anaffordable connection to broadband of a minimum specified speed, from adesignated provider, no matter where they live, up to a reasonable cost threshold. This reflects that many people now see broadband as a basic service similar to thepost and telephone.

Constituency	Total	Planned Coverage (%)
City of Chester Constituency	46,652	97%
Congleton Constituency	44,269	96%
Crewe and Nantwich Constituency	49,984	97%
Eddisbury Constituency	39,293	89%
Ellesmere Port and Neston Constituency	41,636	99%
Halton Constituency	44,739	98%
Macclesfield Constituency	45,198	95%
Tatton Constituency	40,592	95%
Warrington North Borough Constituency	44,770	98%
Warrington South Borough Constituency	50,656	98%
Weaver Vale Constituency	40,411	97%
Total	488,200	96%

01/01/2023