Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans she has to address market barriers to investment in large-scale and distributed electricity storage technologies.

    Andrea Leadsom

    A key objective of our £20m energy storage innovation programme is to strengthen investor confidence in energy storage at all scales. Overall, more than £80m of public sector controlled support has been committed to energy storage research, development and demonstration activities since 2012. This R&D activity has helped to raise the profile of storage and to demonstrate its capabilities to potential investors. In addition, my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer allocated at least £50m innovation funding to smart technologies, including storage, in the recent Budget.

    The National Infrastructure Commission published a report, Smart Power, earlier in March. This included a recommendation to review the regulatory and legal status of storage and remove outdated barriers. The Department will implement this recommendation in full. We intend to publish a call for evidence on a smart systems route map, including storage, shortly.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what conditionality in relation to governance and human rights is applied to aid to Rwanda.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Decisions on aid to Rwanda are informed by judgements about the Government of Rwanda’s commitment to DFID’s partnership principles, which include respect for political and civil rights. In light of concerns in this area, DFID Ministers have agreed that the UK no longer provides General or Sector Budget Support to the Government of Rwanda. Rather, we direct funding into specific sectors, targeting particular results.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-06-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any of the successor organisations to the Money Advice Service will have a specific remit to promote financial education amongst young people.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The government is committed to improving financial capability among the public and recognises that increased financial capability for consumers will lead to better outcomes for both individuals and the wider economy. Helping hard-working people achieve their aspirations at every stage of their lives is at the heart of our long term plan. That is why we launched the Public Financial Guidance consultation in Budget 2016 to seek input on what role the government should play in promoting financial capability, and how the public provision of free-to-client, impartial financial guidance should be structured to give consumers the information they need to make financial decisions. The consultation closed on 8 June. The government is currently considering the responses and will respond in the Autumn. The government recognises the importance of giving young people the skills they need to make financial decisions, which is why financial education has been on the national secondary school curriculum in England since September 2014.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s policy is on the waiver of the five-year British citizenship requirement for Commonwealth recruits to military support roles.

    Mike Penning

    On 12 May 2016, the then Minister for the Armed Forces (Penny Mordaunt) made a written ministerial statement (HCWS 726) which announced that the five year UK residency requirement was being waived to allow for 200 Commonwealth citizens per annum to be recruited to fill a limited number of roles in the Regular Armed Forces which require specialist skills. The limit and the list of roles that can be filled under these arrangements were agreed in consultation with the Home Office. Those Commonwealth citizens who do not have the required skills to fill one of the 200 specialist roles are still required to meet the five year UK residency requirement.

    Since the written statement, some 9,500 applications for specialist roles have been received from Commonwealth citizens. Many applicants will be rejected for not meeting the relevant eligibility criteria, or will fail the various stages of the selection process. The numbers who are enlisted and then successfully complete the training to fill one of these roles will therefore not exceed the 200 per annum limit.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect Transport for Greater Manchester to announce the new contractor for the smart-ticketing scheme previously awarded to ATOS, and when they expect such a scheme to be introduced.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    This is a commercial matter for Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). The Government has no involvement in any negotiations between TfGM and any prospective new contractors.

    The introduction of any smart ticketing scheme will depend on the progress made by TfGM in appointing any new contractor.

  • Meg Hillier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Meg Hillier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Hillier on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and (b) Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) hearing centres have closed in (i) London and (ii) the UK in the last five years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    No First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) or Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) hearing centres in London, or the UK, have closed within the last five years.

  • 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 2016-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations on North Korean women trafficked into China as part of the next UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We remain concerned at the continuing reports of widespread and systematic state sanctioned human rights violations in DPRK, and we continue to press the regime to make progress on improving its appalling human rights record, most recently at a meeting that I had in December with a senior visiting North Korean diplomat.

    We also continue to raise the situation in DPRK with Chinese counterparts. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised North Korea’s nuclear programme with State Councillor Yang Jiechi during his visit to China earlier this month, and I raised our human rights concerns with Vice-Minister of the Chinese Communist Party, Chen Fengxiang, in December. We consistently raise our concerns during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, particularly on the issue of refoulement (the repatriation of individuals who have left North Korea). We work directly with the Chinese authorities on a number of projects to counter human trafficking which seek to protect the most vulnerable from exploitation, abuse, neglect and violence.

  • David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on external consultancy since 2010.

    Jane Ellison

    Spend on external consultancy is published annually in DH accounts and can be found in the following links.

    For 2014-15, page 130:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

    For 2013-14, page 120:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014

    For 2012-13, page 112:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013

    For 2011-12, page 142, and 2010-11, page 143:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-annual-report-and-accounts-for-2011-to-2012-published

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bottomley on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the contribution of British Academy-sponsored institutions to the reputation and standing of the British academic sector overseas; and if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on that contribution of moving from block grant arrangements to project-based funding for those bodies.

    Joseph Johnson

    Funding arrangements for the British Academy-Sponsored Institutes and Societies (BASIS) programme have not been changed. The seven independent Schools and Institutes within the BASIS Programme collectively have an important role in advancing science diplomacy and promoting UK higher education in their regions, and we value the close connections with foreign government ministries, British diplomatic missions and the British Council that are fostered through the BASIS Programme.

    The Science & Research budget allocation for the National Academies for 2016-17 to 2019-20 was published on 4 March. The allocation provided for real terms protection for the British Academy’s BASIS programme, enabling the Academy to continue to provide the BASIS Institutes with substantial block grant support throughout this period. Details of direct funding received by the BASIS Programme through its grant from the British Academy, as well as details of the cumulative payments made by the British Academy to individual schools and institutes within the programme, are published in the British Academy Annual Report, available at www.britac.ac.uk/about/annualrep/index.cfm.

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  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 31014, what steps her Department is taking to (a) improve water quality and (b) ensure that all water bodies achieve good status as soon as possible.

    Rory Stewart

    The Department has not been issued with any fines relating to any aspect of its implementation of the Water Framework Directive.

    The exemptions referred to in my reply to PQ 31014 are:

    • Article 4(4) provides for extensions of the deadline to 2021 or 2027 for reasons of disproportionate cost or technical feasibility;

    • Article 4(5) provides for setting of less stringent objectives where it would be disproportionately expensive or technically infeasible to achieve good status due to natural conditions or the effects of essential human activity;

    • Article 4(6) allows for temporary deterioration due to natural causes such as extreme floods or prolonged drought; and

    • Article 4(7) allows for deterioration from high status to good status and failure to achieve good status to allow for new sustainable development activities.

    The application of each of the exemptions is subject to conditions set out in the above provision.

    River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) provide the framework for protecting and improving the water environment. Updated plans covering the period 2016 to 2021 were published by the Environment Agency (EA) on 18 February.

    The Plans for England confirm over £3 billion investment in the water environment by 2021, leading to improvements in at least 680 water bodies by 2021, including an overall target to enhance at least 8,000km of fresh waters by 2021. The EA is currently working with Defra to profile the delivery of this target over the six years that the RBMP covers, and is also working with partners to explore opportunities to deliver more.

    The EA coordinates action by water companies, farmers, local groups, businesses and councils to achieve the targets set out in the Plans. These actions include reducing pollution from sewage treatment works, managing water abstraction, opening up rivers to salmon and other fish species, and improving the physical habitat.