UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department has prepared contingency plans relating to interconnection with the continental electricity grid in the event of the UK voting to leave the EU.

    Amber Rudd

    At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

    We currently expect our electricity interconnector capacity with Europe to double by the early 2020s with studies showing they could deliver benefits to British consumers of almost £12 billion over 25 years. As the White Paper that the Government published in February on the process for withdrawing from the European Union makes clear, a vote to leave the EU would lead to a prolonged period of uncertainty, including on the nature of our access to the EU’s single energy market.

  • Lord Bowness – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Bowness – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bowness on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of leaving the EU on businesses that trade with the EU, and what guidance they have given to affected businesses about how they might communicate that impact.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Her Majesty’s Treasury published a comprehensive analysis of benefits and costs of membership of a reformed EU and the alternatives on 18 April. This included boxes detailing the impact of EU membership on key business sectors such as financial services, aerospace and pharmaceuticals.

    According to this analysis, key sectors would be worse off due to reduced access to the Single Market. For example, losing customs-free movement of goods could cause customs delays. In time-sensitive industries, each hour of customs delay can reduce trade by 5%. Treasury analysis also provides a sectoral breakdown of the 3.3 million jobs which are linked to trade with the EU.

    The Prime Minister has spoken about the benefits of EU membership at a number of businesses throughout the UK. The transcripts of these are available on the gov.uk website.

  • Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what tax measures he is putting in place to encourage higher levels of business investment in the UK.

    Jane Ellison

    I refer my hon Friend to the answer given by the Chancellor today in response to the oral question from the hon Member for Lewes.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support dairy farmers as a result of reduced milk prices.

    George Eustice

    Although government cannot control market volatility, our aim is to give farmers improved tools to manage it. We have extended the period over which they can average their tax from two to five years. We are exploring opportunities for a dairy futures market as well as for better branding and labelling in supermarkets in order to improve profitability. We are also exploring opportunities to help farming businesses become more resilient and ready to take advantage of the growing demand for British dairy products both at home and abroad.

    According to the latest forecast of Farm Business Incomes for 2015-16, average incomes on dairy farms are expected to fall to £46,500. This reflects the impact of lower milk prices which started to fall in March 2014, and the reduced prices for cull cows and heifers. While the number of dairy farms in England and Wales has also fallen from around 13,500 in 2006 to 9,500 today, the number of dairy cows has remained almost unchanged, which suggests consolidation within the industry.

    We have seen an increase in the UK farmgate milk price for the second month in a row to 21.34p per litre in August 2016. The long-term picture for our dairy industry remains positive.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the North Korean population of implementing targeted human rights sanctions against named North Korean politicians and officials.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Our policy of smarter sanctions requires that any new sanctions measures must consider broader policy objectives in parallel with the impact of any new sanctions on the general population. We would also consider carefully our ability to defend the legality of the sanctions decision under EU law. Existing UN and EU sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) are based upon UN Security Council Resolutions prohibiting the further development of the DPRK’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Any introduction of sanctions on human rights grounds would require the establishment of a new sanctions regime at UN or EU level. A key consideration would be the potential to improve the human rights situation in the DPRK weighed against the potential impact on the activity of non-governmental organisations undertaking important humanitarian activities inside the DPRK to assist some of the most vulnerable members of DPRK society.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for NHS diagnosis and treatment services of the findings of research indicating that women who have severe pre-menstrual tension are significantly more likely to develop high blood pressure.

    Jane Ellison

    This research was published on 25 November by the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Contributions to the evidence base are welcomed, but any recommendations for NHS clinical practice will be made on the basis of consideration of the research by clinical advisory bodies.

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of lower sulphur dioxide emission limits for merchant vessels in force from 1 January 2015 on (a) seafarer employment and (b) passenger and freight services (i) from Hull and (ii) in the North Sea.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The fall in oil prices means that the cost to the industry of complying with the 0.1 per cent sulphur limit is much lower than predicted. For the time being, these environmental rules do not appear to pose any significant obstacle to growth and employment to ships operating in the North Sea.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many licenses issued under the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012 are currently in force; and how many applications for such licenses for what reasons have been (a) granted, (b) refused, (c) suspended and (d) revoked in the last 12 months.

    George Eustice

    Under the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012 there are currently two licences in force. One of these licences was suspended for twenty days in December 2015. Applications for renewals of both of these licences have been received and are currently being considered.

    In May 2015, Defra also received an application for a licence from a further circus. As that circus subsequently decided not to tour in England in 2015 their application was discontinued without Defra making a decision whether to grant or refuse the application. In the last 12 months, no other applications for a licence have been received by Defra and no others have been refused, suspended or revoked.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Official Report, column 426, on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, what UK-supplied defence equipment has been used in Yemen; what arms export licences were issued for that equipment; and whether any arms export licences for that equipment have now been revoked.

    Michael Fallon

    The Royal Saudi Air Force are flying British-built aircraft in Yemen, and have been provided with precision-guided Paveway weapons. The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are fully compliant with the UK’s export licences criteria.

    No export licences for Saudi Arabia have been revoked in the last year. We continue to keep all arms sales under close review.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding her Department has allocated for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18 to help the UK prepare for the effects of climate change.

    Rory Stewart

    Adaptation is embedded as an integral part of policy making across Defra and all levels of Government and within a broad range of programmes and activities that directly or indirectly support and build the UK’s resilience to climate change. The first National Adaptation Programme sets out more than 370 actions to help the UK better prepare for climate change and we continue to deliver on these actions. In Defra we are taking action across the breadth of the department’s policies, from our £2.3 billion flood defence programme to the Forestry Commission increasing the diversity of its planting stock so that the Public Forest Estate is resilient to the changing climate.