UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Crawley on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether ministerial approval was given to HM Revenue and Customs to conduct a pilot programme of the tobacco industry’s Codentify trading and tracing system.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs is not conducting a pilot programme of the Codentify tracking and tracing system.

    HM Revenue and Customs is piloting Codentify as a tool for product authentication only.

    As this is a trial only, no ministerial approval was required or has been sought.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will require the Northern Ireland Parades Commission to disclose to the Police Service of Northern Ireland all information about potential disturbances of the peace that have been notified to them in the process of developing determinations.

    Lord Dunlop

    As a public authority, the Parades Commission has general obligations under public law, which may in certain circumstances include an obligation to notify the Police Service of Northern Ireland about potential disturbances of the peace notified to them in the process of developing determinations. The discharge of these obligations is an operational matter for the Commission.

  • Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria are used to judge City Region bids.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    There are no prescriptive criteria in place to assess bids from local areas. All deals are bespoke and based on proposals brought forward by local areas which then form the basis for negotiation. The Government will consider submissions from all places that have strong, credible devolution proposals, including governance.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Gareth Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people declared themselves as self-employed in each of the last three years in (a) Dartford and (b) Kent.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of efficiency savings arising from cross-departmental digital strategies in 2014-15.

    Matthew Hancock

    As a result of cross government digital and technology strategies, £1.7 billion was saved in 2014-15. This sum was audited against a 2009-10 baseline.

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding his Department has provided to renovate, repair and bring back into use long-term empty properties in each of the last five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    The number of long term empty homes is at its lowest since records began. Over the last Parliament, the Government provided the right tools and incentives to tackle empty properties.

    • Through the New Homes Bonus, local authorities earn the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one. Since April 2011 almost £3.4 billion has been paid in recognition of the delivery of over 700,000 homes, plus over 100,000 long-term empty properties brought back into use. 75 per cent of local authorities are financially better off in 2014-15 than if New Homes Bonus scheme didn’t exist.
    • We made changes through the Local Government Finance Act 1992 so local authorities can charge up to 150% council tax for homes empty for over two years.
    • We extended permitted development rights to make it easier to convert property from business to residential to give new life to thousands of empty buildings.
    • We amended Empty Dwelling Management Orders to ensure they are only used to tackle the most problematic empty homes.
    • We provided £216 million direct funding to local authorities, registered providers and community groups between 2012- 2015 to help tackle the problem of empty homes and properties. This funding created 9,044 homes from empty properties.
  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 65 of his Department’s Defence Equipment Plan 2015, what the reasons are for the decrease in planned spending on helicopter capabilities; and how that decrease will be achieved.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the Defence Equipment Plan 2015, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-defence-equipment-plan-2015. Paragraph 11 explains the movements in the high level elements of the equipment plan from the previous financial year. Each of the operating centre breakdowns in Section C of the Equipment Plan contains an explanation of any increase or decrease in spending from the previous financial year.

    “

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons retired and out-of-date equipment, including FH70 howitzers and Jet Provost aircraft, were included in his Department’s Defence in Numbers publication of August 2015; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Defence in Numbers booklet is a snap shot of the UK’s Defence capability and how we are spending the fifth largest Defence budget in the world. As well as giving details on civilian and personnel numbers and current operations, it also includes a list of the Ministry of Defence’s equipment holdings, the vast majority of which are in service and deployable or used for training (for example Jet Provost) or ceremonial (for example FH70 howitzers) purposes.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many parents were fined for taking children out of school early or for their children’s truancy in Pendle in each of the past three years.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education does not hold information on the number of penalty notices (fines) issued to parents for school attendance offences in Pendle.

    The department collects and publishes local authority level annual data on the number of penalty notices issued to parents, for offences relating to Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996. The department does not collect data regarding fines issued by the courts on this matter. The most recent data published by the department is for the academic year 2012/13.

    The number of penalty notices issued in Lancashire in 2011/12 and 2012/13 can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parental-responsibility-measures-academic-year-2012-to-2013

    “

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, on what date her Department commissioned a study of the technical and economic options for small modular nuclear reactors; which organisation her Department asked to carry this out; what departmental resources have been committed to support this study; and when the final report of that study is expected to be delivered.

    Andrea Leadsom

    A range of studies has been commissioned by the Department of Energy and Climate Change in order to deliver a techno-economic assessment of small modular reactors. The organisations currently under contract to deliver projects for the techno economic assessment are: Atkins Limited (contracted on 22/7/15); Energy Technologies Institute LLP (contracted on 3/8/15); National Nuclear Laboratory Limited (contracted on 3/8/15); Checkendon Hill Ltd (contracted on 25/6/15); and Ernst and Young LLP (contracted on 201/10/15).

    The total budget for this study is up to £4.5million excluding VAT. The equivalent of approximately 4 full time staff are supporting the study in my Department.

    The final report will be delivered in Spring 2016.