Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Greaves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Lord Greaves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, on 13 January (HC Deb, col 845), whether any part of North Wales forms a part of the Northern Powerhouse, and if so, which parts, and what procedures, exist for joint decision-making with and support from the Welsh Government.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    This Government has presided over a fundamental shift of power from Westminster to the people and communities of this country by promoting unprecedented decentralisation. North Wales is an integral part of the Government’s Northern Powerhouse vision. Businesses and Local Authorities in North Wales who Wales Office Ministers speak to are clear that North East Wales and North West England form one single economic entity and are best placed to drive economic development and deliver public services.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on schools asking uniform suppliers for discounts or commission on school uniform sales; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    The department has issued best practice guidance for all schools on the need to give high priority to the consideration of cost for parents. The guidance sets out that governing bodies should be able to demonstrate that they have obtained the best value for money from suppliers, and that any savings negotiated with suppliers should be passed on to parents wherever possible. It also makes clear that schools should not enter into cash back arrangements.

    We have recently announced that we intend to put school uniform guidance on a statutory footing. The school uniform guidance is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform

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  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) his Department or (b) an arms-length body of his Department has authorised the sale of any land containing disused rail lines since May 2010.

    Claire Perry

    My Department does not hold records of all such land sales by its arm’s length bodies, however It is likely that, in the period since May 2010, Network Rail, London Continental Railways (LCR), BRB (Residuary) Ltd (BRBR) (dissolved in September 2013), and Highways England (formerly the Highways Agency) all sold land containing parts of disused rail lines. Compiling a record of all sales would involve incurring disproportionate costs.

  • Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Malcolm McDonald on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps at the Anti-Corruption Summit being held in London in May 2016 to press for an international agreement on stricter rules concerning tax havens and beneficial owners.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Summit will address a range of measures to tackle corruption, including promoting transparency around beneficial ownership. Further information about the London Anti-Corruption Summit can be found on the summit web pages of the GOV.UK website.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when officials of his Department last met with representatives of the devolved administrations to discuss (a) how the apprenticeship levy will operate and (b) the proportion of the apprenticeship levy that each of the devolved administrations will receive.

    Nick Boles

    It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan (1) following the statement of the Chairman of the Pakistan Senate’s Standing Committee on Religious Affairs that forced conversion of girls is taking place across the country on a daily basis”

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    I remain concerned by reports of the persecution of religious and other minorities in Pakistan. We regularly raise our concerns about the protection of vulnerable groups, including women and girls, with the Pakistani Government at senior levels. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), pressed Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all its citizens, including minority religious communities, during his visit in March. We will continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice its human rights obligations and to uphold the rule of law.

    Our concerns about minorities in Pakistan are documented in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Reports.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much development aid has been provided to South Sudan in each of the last three years, and how much of that aid was specifically focused on conflict resolution and promoting reconciliation.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Through DFID the UK provided £158m in 2013/14 and £188m in 2015/16 of development aid to South Sudan, a further £165 million is budgeted to be spent this financial year.

    The UK remains committed to helping bring an end to the cycle of violence in South Sudan. Many of our programmes have components aimed at conflict resolution and reconciliation. In terms of specific programming, a £12 million ‘Community Security and Arms Control’ project running from 2012-16 helps to control and regulate small arms, enhance dispute resolution mechanisms and improve security within communities. In addition, through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) the UK spent almost £1.4 million on conflict resolution and promoting reconciliation in 2015/16, and is forecasting to spend a further £1 million in 2016/17, including on community level peacebuilding and the Conflict Sensitivity Programme. DFID works very closely with the FCO, who, along with ‘Troika’ partners the US and Norway, are working to help end the conflict through the implemention of the 2015 peace agreement.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, by what process the Treasury determines whether an item of public spending should trigger a consequential payment to the devolved administrations under the Barnett formula.

    Greg Hands

    The Barnett Formula determines changes to the block grant funding allocated to the devolved administrations by the UK Government in relation to departmental spending within Departmental Expenditure Limits.

    Under the Formula, the Scottish Government, Northern Ireland Executive and Welsh Government receive a population-based proportion of changes in planned UK Government spending on comparable services in England, where those services correspond to devolved responsibilities in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

  • Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the change in the number of jobs in the UK solar industry has been since the Summer Budget 2015; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government proposed changes to the feed-in tariff scheme (FITs) as part of the FIT review, on which we consulted widely between 27th August and 23rd October. Part of the purpose of that consultation was to gather views on the broader economic impact of the proposals. The actual impact on the sector will, of course, depend on the options taken forward after all responses to the consultation have been considered. We intend to publish a Government response as soon as possible.

    The ONS has published first estimates of the UK’s ‘Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy’1 based on 2014; further information from this survey on sub-sectors including solar PV jobs will be published in 2016.

    [1] http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_426448.pdf

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Balfe on 2016-01-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to take steps to ensure that the organisation CAGE is prevented from speaking at British universities.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Government introduced a duty on universities in September to ensure that they have due regard to the need to prevent people being drawn into terrorism. The statutory guidance which accompanies the duty makes clear that universities must ensure that they assess the risks associated with organisations and speakers at events on campus, putting mitigations in place where necessary or cancelling events where the risk cannot be mitigated.

    The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has been appointed as the body to monitor compliance at English universities, including where potential breaches of the duty are reported. Appropriate arrangements will apply in Wales and Scotland.