Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason employees at Sellafield Ltd are treated as being in the private sector for pension purposes and are regarded as being in the public sector for the purposes of a cap on exit payments.

    Jesse Norman

    The Government has legislated for a cap on public sector exit payments via the Enterprise Act 2016, as promised in the manifesto. The cap will apply to public sector organisations in line with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) classifications; Sellafield Limited is classified as part of the public sector by the ONS. Sellafield Limited receives the majority of its funding from the Exchequer; it is therefore important to ensure that any exit payments are fair, proportionate and represent value for money for the taxpayer.

    The specific pension arrangements for Sellafield Limited employees are a matter for Sellafield Limited and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Government policy on public service pension schemes, as set out in Public Service Pensions: Good Pensions that Last (2011), is to move away from final-salary based schemes. The Government is therefore considering how best to apply public service pension reform policy to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority estate whilst being mindful of the particular circumstances of the workforce, in particular at Sellafield Limited.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people attempting to enter the UK without valid papers were detained at UK border controls at Calais and returned to the French authorities in the last 12-month period for which figures are available.

    James Brokenshire

    Border Force operates UK immigration controls at the juxtaposed ports in northern France and also operates a multi-layered freight search regime to detect clandestine illegal entry attempts.

    The figures for passenger refusals at the juxtaposed controls in northern France are 3,695 in FY 2014/15.

    Additionally 39,545 attempts at clandestine illegal entry were successfully intercepted by the UK and French authorities at the juxtaposed controls in northern France in FY 2014/15.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 26 September 2014 to Question 209770 asked by the hon. Member for Moray, how much his Department has spent on studies on whether to refurbish or replace the existing Trident warhead design to date.

    Michael Fallon

    As of the end of the last financial year (March 2015), the Ministry of Defence had spent £80 million on technology studies to support refurbishment of the current system and explore options for a potential future warhead, and £5.5 million on studies to support the decision whether to refurbish or replace the existing warhead.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why clinical research in mental health is scheduled to receive a tariff 32 per cent lower than for other clinical medicine subjects, including dentistry and nursing, for the same type of research, in the light of the overall increase in funding following the 2014 Research Excellence Framework conducted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is allocated funding from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) Science and Research budget to distribute to higher education institutions (HEIs) in England. Most of HEFCE’s funding is allocated as an unhypothecated research block grant to institutions, ensuring university leaders have flexibility to support their own research priorities. While this block grant is calculated using research quality and volume information from the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF2014) at a subject level, it is a matter for individual HEIs to determine how it is ultimately distributed to particular activities/subjects.

    In developing the REF, the attribution of different disciplines to particular units of assessment was agreed with the relevant professional bodies. Research relevant to clinical mental health was assessed in a unit including psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience. As this unit included a mix of research with higher costs (clinical psychology and psychiatry, and neuroscience) and lower costs (social psychology), the funding was allocated at an intermediate cost rate, reflecting the mix of disciplines.

    REF2014 demonstrated significantly improved research quality in all disciplines, including psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience. As a result, the funding allocated on the basis of performance to this group increased by 16.5 per cent.

    As announced in the Spending Review 2015, the Government is taking forward a review of the REF to ensure that future university research funding is allocated efficiently, offers greater rewards for excellent research and reduces the administrative burden on institutions. This review will be led by Lord Stern, and he is expected to deliver his review to the Government in summer 2016.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils who achieved five A* to C grades at GCSE in 2015 received no higher than a C grade in any subject.

    Nick Gibb

    Of those pupils[1] achieving five A* to C grades at GCSE[2] in 2015:

    • 4.5% received no higher than a C grade in any subject

    • 32.8% received no higher than a B grade in any subject

    [1] Based on pupils at the end of key stage 4 in the 2014/15 academic year

    [2] Based on those pupils entering single award GCSEs only

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to ensure the UK meets (a) the EU target to 50 per cent of municipal waste by 2020 and (b) the proposed EU target to recycle 65 per cent of such waste by 2030.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK recycling rate has increased from 11% at the turn of the century, to 44.9% now. This progress is thanks in large part to the hard work of Local Authorities and householders.

    The Government is committed to meeting the 2020 EU recycling target of 50% of household waste.

    Local Authorities are best placed to determine the most appropriate waste collection and recycling services in their areas and we work with them and the Waste and Recycling Action Programme (WRAP) to promote best practice.

    I have asked WRAP to look at what further measures can be taken to improve recycling rates and, in particular the benefits and opportunities there are from having greater consistency in the materials collected and collection systems to enable Local Authorities to recycle more, and to make it easier for householders to put the right materials in the right bin.

    The UK is still assessing the implications of the proposed recycling targets for 2030.

  • 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 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether an impact assessment has been carried out on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Survey and Inspection Transformation Programme.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Guidance from Cabinet Office indicates that there is no requirement to complete a Business Engagement Assessment on this activity.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effectiveness of auto-enrolment onto the electoral roll for all UK citizens eligible to vote.

    John Penrose

    I have considered a range of proposals from local authorities and civil society organisations that could change how registration is currently delivered.

    We are keen to explore further possibilities in this area but are concerned there may be tension between some forms of automatic registration and the principles underpinning Individual Electoral Registration, namely individual responsibility and ownership over registering to vote.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much revenue Govia Thameslink Railway has paid to the Government since taking up its franchise in 2014.

    Claire Perry

    Passenger Income by Train Operating Company is published annually in August by the Office of Road and Rail. It is available online at: http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/21039/gb-rail-industry-financial-information-2014-15.pdf (Table 5.1).

    “

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press release by Natural England of 29 July 2016 to issue a licence permitting the control of up to 10 buzzards, if her Department will take steps to ensure that the granting of such licences does not endanger the buzzard population.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Buzzards are now widespread in England, with over 60,000 pairs in the UK (British Trust for Ornithology). The removal of a small number of birds will have no impact on the national population. Moreover, Natural England would not license any activity that would adversely affect the conservation status of a species.