Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish in full his Department’s report entitled, BIS 2020: What-why-when-how.

    Joseph Johnson

    “BIS 2020: What-why-when-how” (September 2015) was one of a series of internal briefings for BIS staff. Staff are briefed on our change programme on a regular basis. The briefings are not formal documents and, as such, we do not publish them.

    The House was informed about the recent BIS 2020 announcements and their impact on BIS staff by my Rt hon Friend the Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise (Anna Soubry) on Friday 29 January.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations she has received from (a) schools and (b) local authorities on the efficacy of the indicators of deprivation used to calculate formulae for schools.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Children from disadvantaged backgrounds often need extra support at school to achieve as well as their peers. That is why, in addition to providing £2.5 billion this year through the pupil premium – which we have protected at current rates for the duration of the parliament – we also require local authorities to target funding for deprived pupils through their local formula.

    Under current arrangements local authorities can choose between a pupil-level measure of disadvantage (pupils eligible for free school meals or eligible at any point in the previous 6 years) or an area-level measure of disadvantage (the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index), or a combination. We are aware that the update to the area-level deprivation data last year led to some areas changing their local formulae to mitigate the impact on deprivation funding for their schools.

    We recently launched the first stage of the consultation on our plans to introduce a national funding formula for schools from 2017. Our proposals would mean schools’ funding is matched fairly and transparently to their needs and their pupils’ characteristics. Through the consultation process we are seeking views on the best way to target funding for disadvantaged pupils to support them to achieve to the best of their ability.

  • 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 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will launch a consultation on proposals for a deposit return system for single use drinks containers.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra analysed the costs and benefits of implementing a deposit return system (DRS) for single use drink containers as part of the 2011 Review of Waste Policy in England, and sought views in the 2012 consultation on higher packaging recycling targets.

    This work showed that introducing a DRS may increase recycling and reduce litter but might impose additional costs on businesses, consumers and local authorities (which would lose revenue from recycling). However, we lack evidence to quantify these benefits and costs appropriately. The current approach has driven a significant increase in packaging waste recycling rates, from less than 47% in 2003 to nearly 65% in 2013.

    Last year, the Scottish Government published a feasibility study and a call for evidence investigating the implementation of a DRS for single use drink containers in Scotland. This valuable work highlighted significant uncertainties regarding the impacts and benefits that a DRS would have, notably regarding costs, environmental quality and littering, and existing waste collection systems. The Scottish Government is doing further work on the topic and we will review any new evidence arising from this in due course. However, in the meantime, we will continue to focus on improving existing waste collection and recycling systems, and developing a new National Litter Strategy for England to help coordinate and maximise the impact of anti-litter activity by local government, industry and others.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he expects to (a) receive and (b) publish the final recommendations for wave 1 of the area reviews of post-16 education and training.

    Nick Boles

    As each area review reaches its conclusion, we will receive confirmation of the recommendations that have been agreed and I have agreed to meet with MPs from the area to discuss those recommendations.

    As we have set out in the published guidance for area reviews, we will publish a report relating to each review once it has finished. This will include the final recommendations agreed by each review.

    The exact timing of both of these will depend on the progress of each individual review. We expect most reports from the first wave to be published before the Summer recess.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she plans to respond to the letter of 3 June 2016, from offshore wind companies to EU energy ministers in the June EU Energy Council.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government has already set out long term visibility and certainty for the offshore wind industry in the UK, which is the largest market in the world.

    In November last year, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that the UK could support up to 10GW of new offshore wind in the 2020s subject to costs continuing to fall. In Budget 2016 the Government announced that it will auction Contracts for Difference of up to £730 million this Parliament for up to 4GW of offshore wind and other less established renewables, with a first auction of £290 million. Support for offshore wind will be capped initially at £105/MWh (in 2011-12 prices), falling to £85/MWh for projects commissioning by 2026.

  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the period of maternity leave for mothers of premature babies.

    Margot James

    The UK’s generous entitlement of 52 weeks’ maternity leave provides mothers with sufficient leave to take account of a range of circumstances. Parents who have been employees with the same employer for over a year also have a separate entitlement to parental leave of 18 weeks per parent per child, up to the child’s 18th birthday, of which typically up to 4 weeks can be taken in one year.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate his Department has made of the social and economic value to the economy of the open registers being built by the government data programme.

    Chris Skidmore

    Open registers will provide significant value across the public sector and the wider economy by transforming how government uses data to drive benefits to citizens, focusing on accuracy, transparency and accessibility of data. Open registers will stimulate and support a wide marketplace of open data products and services, built on high-quality open government data.

    Similar programmes of work in Australia and Denmark have driven significant social and economic benefits; the development of an open address register in Denmark has seen a return on investment in excess of 3000%. We expect that the development of open registers will aid our international competitiveness and help grow our digital economy.

    The Government Digital Service has already delivered a country register with the FCO, with a complementary Territory register also in development. We have just published a Local Authority England register with DCLG. There is a pipeline of additional registers being created that have been prioritised after discussion with government departments and based on the most pressing user need.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he will respond to the Review of Survivor Benefits in Occupational Pension Schemes, published in June 2014.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government is actively considering the findings of the review into survivor benefits in occupational pension schemes. The Review provided important information on the benefits, costs and other effects of eliminating or reducing differences in survivor benefit provision. It is important that the findings of the Review are considered thoroughly so that we arrive at the right conclusion. We will respond to the Review in due course.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to there being no trains available to operate services in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Claire Perry

    In rail period 1608 (18 October – 14 November) there were 448 full and 403 part cancellations attributed to rolling stock fleet causes. These figures include cancellations made for service recovery reasons where the initial incident was caused by rolling stock failure.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the average number of weeks is for which statutory shared parental pay has been claimed since 1 April 2015.

    Nick Boles

    The Government does not yet have any information on the take up of Statutory Shared Parental Pay. Information for the 2015-16 tax year will be available from May 2016, although it will also include claims for Additional Statutory Paternity Pay. Information is not held on the number of claims for Statutory Shared Parental Pay that are linked to adoption leave.