Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of when all exchange-only lines will have access to fibre broadband.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The vast majority of phone lines across the UK connect to the nearest telephone exchange via a street cabinet, which can be upgraded to deliver fibre broadband. Estimates are not available of the number of premises served by exchange only lines and therefore when they will all have access to fibre broadband. Exchange only lines present a greater engineering challenge to deliver fibre broadband than those connected via street cabinets but technical solutions are available; one solution is to rearrange the existing network, lay new cables to reroute lines to new cabinets – a technique developed as part of the BDUK Superfast Broadband Programme.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) support the updating of the European NCAP and (b) promote new road safety technology.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport, as a founding member of Euro NCAP, takes a keen interest in their work on improving car safety through financial support and active participation on the Board of Directors.

    Euro NCAP regularly updates the assessment criteria to reflect new technologies and improved designs. As such it has been fundamental to improving the safety of new cars in the UK, and the organisation provides a valuable source of information to UK consumers.

    The British Road Safety Statement, published in December 2015, sets out a range of measures to improve vehicle safety. These include actions to increase the awareness of the Euro NCAP star rating system so that consumers are better able to consider safety in their purchasing decisions, as well as engaging with fleet buyers in both public and private sectors.

  • Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unsolved murders there are in cases where the remains have not been recovered in (a) England and Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Home Office Homicide Index contains information on homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales. Information on whether a body was recovered in a homicide has been included in the Homicide Index since 2007/08.

    In the eight years from 2007/08 to 2014/15, there were 30 homicides where no body has been recovered and no suspect has been charged and a further seven where suspects have been acquitted of homicide at court or proceedings have been discontinued.

    The data refer to the position as at 13 November 2015, when the Homicide Index was frozen for the purpose of analysis.

    Information on homicides in Scotland and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the Scottish Government and Police Service of Northern Ireland respectively.

  • Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to section 32(1) of the Pilotage Act 1987, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to maintain pilotage standards in areas where harbour authorities now have the power to impose compulsory pilotage upon shipping.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    None. The Pilotage Act 1987 already requires Competent Harbour Authorities to keep under consideration what pilotage services need to be provided to secure the safety of ships navigating their waters, including the circumstances in which pilotage should be compulsory, and to provide such pilotage services accordingly.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much revenue has been raised from call charging associated with the legal aid telephone gateway.

    Lord Faulks

    Between March 2014 and January 2015 the LAA phased out the use of 0845 access numbers for CLA and replaced them with 0345 numbers.

    This means there is a single national point of contact for CLA without callers having to pay extra to call them.Calls to 03 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to a 01 or 02 number and count towards inclusive minutes in the same way as 01 and 02 calls. This applies to calls from any type of line including mobile, fixed line or payphone.

    The LAA provides clear information about the costs of making a call. Individuals can also check whether they may qualify for legal aid via a free digital service on gov.uk before requesting a call back. They also have the option of asking CLA staff to make a return call.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Libyan government on tackling the spread of Daesh

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are extremely concerned about the growing threat from extremist groups in Libya, including Daesh. The recent attacks in the Oil Crescent and Zliten in western Libya show the threat that these groups pose to the stability of Libya and the region, and potentially to the UK and our interests. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) spoke to Prime Minister Designate, Fayez al-Serraj, on 10 January to stress the importance of the Government of National Accord forming quickly, and to emphasise the UK Government’s commitment to supporting the new government to tackle the threats from Daesh and people smuggling.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many visits the armed forces made to state secondary schools in (a) Inverclyde and (b) Scotland in each of the last five years.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Armed Forces never visit schools for recruitment purposes and would only ever visit a school after being invited by a teacher to support school activities. Similar contributions to schools are made by the Police, Fire, Ambulance and other emergency services. The Armed Forces receive numerous requests from schools each year and the three Services take these opportunities to both explain their role, and to assist schools in teaching valuable skills such as leadership, teamwork and citizenship.

    These visits can comprise presentations, citizenship talks, meetings with staff, participation in career events, practice interviews and activities with the students, such as science and maths challenges, and other indoor or outdoor exercises.

    Information on the number of visits by the Royal Navy and the Army to secondary schools is presented below, by Financial Year (FY); the category of secondary educational establishment (such as state or independent) is not recorded. Details of visits by the Royal Air Force could not be provided in the time available and I will write to the hon. Member when the information is available.

    Royal Navy

    FY

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    2015-16

    Scotland

    267

    176

    176

    150

    88

    Inverclyde

    1

    0

    3

    4

    0

    Note: 2015-16 to 12 February 2016.

    Army

    FY

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    2015-16

    Scotland

    191

    199

    175

    203

    279

    Inverclyde

    Not Known

    Not Known

    Not Known

    6

    1

    Note: 2015-16 includes events confirmed to the end of March 2016.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Annex on a Comprehensive Franco-British Partnership on Civil Nuclear Energy, Franco-British Summit, on 3 March 2016, what the basis is for the statement that major progress has been made in recent months with a view to confirming the project to build two EPR reactors on the Hinkley Point site.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The terms of the contractual documentation relating to Hinkley Point C (Contract for Difference, Secretary of State Investors Agreement, Funded Decommissioning Programme (FDP) and related Waste Transfer contracts) between the Government and EDF are in final form.

    EDF and CGN have confirmed major investment in HPC and are working to rapidly conclude the detailed investment documentation.

    The Final Investment Decision is a matter for EDF and we understand they will make this shortly.

    In January we gave planning consent for the National Grid connection to Hinkley Point C.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of officials of his Department resigned in each of the last six years.

    Jane Ellison

    The information requested is presented in the table below:

    Financial Year Officials Left

    Number of Resignations

    Proportion of total staff

    2010-11

    84

    3%

    2011-12

    55

    2%

    2012-13

    95

    4%

    2013-14

    95

    5%

    2014-15

    75

    4%

    2015-16

    91

    4%

    The numbers given are for civil servants only. These figures include employees, loans-in from other Government Departments and fixed-term appointments.

    The proportion of staff who resigned is calculated by the total number of resignations in the financial year indicated, divided by the total headcount as at the 31 March of that year.

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government’s proposal to ensure that those who watch BBC iPlayer services are subject to the requirement to pay the license fee will include those who use BBC iPlayer radio services.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The requirement to hold a TV licence will be extended to people streaming or downloading television programmes through on-demand services provided by the BBC (notably iPlayer) and will not include those who listen to radio services.