Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Civil Contingencies Unit has made of levels of radioactive contamination in upland areas across the UK from radioactive fallout in May 1986 as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    The Civil Contingencies Secretariat does not make assessments of the current levels of radioactive contamination existing in upland areas across the UK. However, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) coordinates a report on radiological monitoring across the UK on behalf of Environment Agency, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Food Standards Scotland, Natural Resource Wales and Northern Ireland Environment Agency. This is reported annually in the report on Radioactivity in Food and the Environment (RIFE). The most recent report can be found at: http://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/rife-20.pdf

    Between 1986 and 2012, the Food Standards Agency and its predecessors managed controls and routine monitoring of sheep in certain upland areas of the UK in order to protect food safety. Following a review of the evidence (which included an assessment of the levels of radio caesium in sheep within the restricted areas) and a 12-week public consultation, the Board of the Food Standards Agency agreed the lifting of the last of these controls with effect on 1 June 2012.
    See: http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/radiologicalresearch/radiosurv/chernobyl

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to help charities improve their digital capabilities.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    Government is committed to supporting the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector address it’s organisational needs. Through the £20m Local Sustainability Fund, Government is supporting 265 small to medium sized organisation deliver change to secure and enhance their services.

    Government is also actively tackling digital exclusion by working with partners to increase basic digital skills and Internet use for individuals and organisations.

    Within the Office for Civil Society, officials are working with independent VCSE sector funders and influencers to build stronger leadership and governance. Part of this work will focus on preparing the sector for the future, which we expect to include building an understanding of the importance of developing digital skills and capability.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to seek compensation for passengers from Abellio Greater Anglia.

    Paul Maynard

    All franchised Train Operating Companies are required under their franchise agreement to have in place a Passenger’s Charter which will include arrangements for compensation for passengers.

    Abellio Greater Anglia operate the Delay Repay passenger compensation system in their Passenger’s Charter under which all passengers are entitled to claim compensation for each delay of 30 minutes or more which they experience, whatever the cause. The entitlement is 50% compensation of the single fare for delays of 30 to 59 minutes and 100% of the single fare for delays of 60 minutes or more.

  • Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will specify the comparable operators whose costs would be taken into account prior to the Opex reopeners for the contract for difference relating to Hinkley Point C power station being triggered 15 and 25 years after the first reactor start date.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The terms of the Hinkley Point C Contract for difference (HPC CfD) will set out the mechanism for the Opex reopeners. If my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State decides to direct the Low Carbon Contracts Company Ltd to offer a CfD to HPC, the terms will be published (with commercially sensitive information removed) once it has been entered in to by the parties. The detailed terms of the HPC CfD are commercially sensitive at this time.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the drought and food shortage in Ethiopia, and what support is being offered to those affected.

    Baroness Verma

    DFID has been following the evolution of the drought and its impact since the middle of 2015, working with the Government of Ethiopia, the UN system and other donors to compile and assess information on rainfall, production and food and non-food needs. On December 11th the Government and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD) which assessed that 10.2 million people would need emergency food assistance in the first half of 2016 due to the effects of the drought. This is on top of the 8 million Ethiopians who are chronically food insecure, and who already receive multi-year support through the Government’s rural public works programme. 5.8 million people require assistance obtaining clean water, health and sanitation; and a projected 400,000 children will require treatment for severe malnutrition.

    The UK Government has provided one of the earliest and largest packages of assistance to tackle the effects of the drought. In July, DFID provided £45 million to the response, which provided food to 2.3 million people; nutritional support to 258,000 severely malnourished children; and assistance to water, sanitation and health needs of the drought-affected communities.

  • Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11026, whether the Inter-Ministerial Group on International Animal Welfare has met; when that group’s next meeting will be; and who will be chairing that group.

    George Eustice

    The IMG has yet to formally reconvene and therefor membership of the group is yet to be finalised. However, I have had discussions with Ministerial colleagues about reconvening the group.

  • Lord Boateng – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Boateng – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions in each of the last three years the Ambassador of Burundi to the UK has been (1) called to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss events in Burundi, and (2) met a minister.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Mr Deo Sindayihebura became the first Burundian Ambassador to the UK in May 2014. Until then the position was based in Paris. The most recent meeting between the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), and the Burundian Ambassador was on Wednesday 3 February.

    Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have regular contact with Ambassadors and High Commissioners during their normal diplomatic duties. We do not hold central records of all such meetings.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-03-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for maintaining the scale and scope of the BBC’s coverage on all platforms.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    These issues are being considered as part of Charter Review. The Government will set out its proposals in the forthcoming White Paper.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of (a) Royal Navy, (b) British Army excluding Gurkhas and (c) Royal Air Force personnel are from an ethnic minority background.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Ministry of Defence is committed to achieving a more diverse workforce and is developing plans to meet the Government’s commitment to increase the number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) recruits into the Armed Forces to 10% by 2020 and have allocated resources for this purpose.

    Planning is ongoing to ensure that new activity is evidence-based and resources are allocated in the best way to deliver the step change that is required.

    Whilst this plan is being finalised, examples of steps already taken include increased engagement with ethnic minority communities, using communications to improve understanding on careers in the Armed Forces and offering support throughout the application process where it is needed.

    The Armed Forces recently won two awards in October 2015 at the Race for Opportunity Awards. The Armed Forces Muslim Association won the Public Sector Employee Network Award and the Royal Air Force won the Future Workforce Award for their Employability Skills Programme. The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force have also been recognised as two of the Top 10 public sector organisations for race diversity and inclusion by Race for Opportunity.

    Statistics on the diversity declaration and representation of minority groups of
    Service Personnel employed by the Ministry of Defence are published biannually. The most recent data can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-2015

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the potential cost of securing rights for content in relation to the creation of a BBC Ideas Service.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The BBC Ideas Service is an exciting proposal put forward by the BBC as part of a package of proposals for the next Charter period. It will be for the BBC to set out the detail of its plans for Ideas Service, including the cost of the service.