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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2014-07-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what extra revenue HM Revenue and Customs has received since entry into force of the UK-Swiss Confederation Taxation Co-operation Agreement; and what discussions the Government is having with other jurisdictions on similar agreements on tax avoidance.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Exchequer has received over £1.1bn it would not have received without the agreement. This includes Swiss yield that has been disclosed in the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility since entering into the Agreement.

  • Lyn Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lyn Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Northern Ireland Executive’s offer to firefighters on pensions is cost neutral.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The pension arrangements to apply to firefighters in Northern Ireland are a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive. Northern Ireland is not covered by the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 which requires a Normal Pension Age of 60 to apply to firefighters in England, Scotland and Wales.

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department will spend on the D-5 missile life extension programme in each of the next five years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Forecast and planned expenditure on the D5 missile life extension programme for the current and next financial years (FY) are as follows:

    FY 2014-15 £27.1 million (Forecast)
    FY 2015-16 £35.0 million (Planned)
    Spending plans for 2016-17 and beyond have not yet been agreed and will be set as part of the Government’s spending review process. Therefore, I am withholding details of the proposed spending beyond 2015-16 as to release this information would be likely to impact upon the formulation of Government policy.

  • Annette Brooke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Annette Brooke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Annette Brooke on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is in the remit of Ofsted to investigate pupils’ safety from asbestos in school buildings when it inspects schools; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr David Laws

    It is not in Ofsted’s remit to assess asbestos management in schools. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the lead regulator on managing asbestos.

  • Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 305W, on housing energy, what programmes, projects and policies were funded under the financial support allocated to the Green Deal Programme in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14.

    Amber Rudd

    Financial support allocated to the Green Deal Programme has chiefly funded the following projects and policies:

    Delivery of these schemes was, or is, funded by the obligated energy companies, not Government, and administration is undertaken by Ofgem. Ofgem is funded by DECC for the administration of CESP and ECO.

    Delivery of the Energy Saving Advice Service – a telephone response service taking calls from the public and the industry, providing advice to people enquiring about information on the Green Deal or household energy efficiency measures. This service remains in operation.

    Funding for the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body – the independent governance body for the Green Deal supply chain. This remains in operation.

    DECC’s investment in The Green Deal Finance Company.

    Core Cities – a project to enable bids from Local Authorities of the Core Cities to install energy-saving measures in their housing stock, mostly in 2012/13. This has been completed.

    Green Deal Cashback – a scheme to provide grant funding to support households in the installation of energy-saving measures. The scheme opened in January 2013 and closed to new applicants on 30th June 2014.

    Green Deal Communities – a scheme to provide funding for Local Authorities to implement energy-saving measures in their housing stock. Funding was available in 2013/14.

    Supporting IT development and systems – the procurement, supervision and control of IT systems to enable Energy Performance Certificates, Green Deal Assessments and Green Deal financing to be delivered to applicants.

    Funding the administration by Ofgem of:

    • Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) – closed.
    • Energy Company Obligation (ECO) – open.

  • Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to restore upland peat sites.

    Dan Rogerson

    Defra has a range of measures in place to support the restoration of upland peat sites. These include protection through statutory area designations such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). In addition there are specific incentives for peatland restoration in agri-environment schemes. In 2013 we committed £31.2 million through Environmental Stewardship (covering around 98,000ha) to management options for the maintenance and restoration of moorland habitats. A further £4.1million was committed in capital grants for grip blocking. These are the key options in Environmental Stewardship that contribute to the management of upland peat. This support will continue to be provided under the new environmental land management scheme.

    The Dark Peak Nature Improvement Area (NIA) in the Peak District, one of the twelve NIAs announced in 2012, is focused on improving upland peatland habitats across an area of 25,000ha.

    In September 2013 we launched the pilot UK Peatland Code which provides a basis for business sponsorship of peatland restoration. An initial suite of restoration projects from across the UK have been identified covering over 25,000 ha of mainly blanket bog.

    Upland peat restoration is also being addressed through Defra’s Research and Development Programme, with over £1 million committed between 2010 and 2015 to identify restoration techniques with the best environmental outcomes.

  • John Hemming – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    John Hemming – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Hemming on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the opening of the airport on St Helena does not lead to the development of child sex tourism in that territory.

    Mark Simmonds

    Safeguarding children in St Helena is a critical priority for the St Helena Government and the UK. Whilst Territory Governments have the principal responsibility for ensure the safeguarding of children in the Overseas Territories, the UK provides practical assistance and support. DFID and the FCO have been supporting child safeguarding initiatives in the OT’s for the last nine years, most recently through the Safeguarding Children in the Overseas Territories (SCOT) programme (2013-2016), which followed on from an earlier SCOT programme (2009-2013) and a regional Child Protection Programme (CPP, 2005-2008). This new programme will focus on gaining a deeper understanding of the problem including how to detect, prevent and address child abuse.

    Following recent further allegations relating to child abuse in St Helena, the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs agreed to establish an independent panel of experts to investigate these specific allegations and related matters. In response to these allegations the island’s Executive Council said: “We have taken great steps on St Helena to protect our children and vulnerable people against abuse of any kind. We know that there are concerns, as there are in any community, but solid progress has been made in improving our safeguarding capabilities. We know there is still more to do, and we will continue to strive for further improvements

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not hold all of the required data centrally and could not answer this question in full without incurring disproportionate costs. However, we recently investigated duplicate supplier payments for the eight month period from April to November 2013 and identified just one duplicate invoice, with a value of £2,501. Our financial control system prevented any payment being made. The FCO has several controls in place to prevent duplicate payments.

  • Tessa Munt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tessa Munt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tessa Munt on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason none of the £42 million his Department has made available for increasing the use of radiotherapy is to be spent on treating cancer patients with Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy this year.

    Jane Ellison

    In July 2011, the National Radiotherapy Implementation Group concluded that current evidence supports treatment withstereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) for only a small number of patients. The evidence supports its use in the treatment of early stage lung cancers for patients who are unsuitable for surgery (approximately 1,000 per annum).

    NHS England recognises the positive clinical impact that its national policy on SABR for the treatment of early non-small cell lung cancer has had. It is currently examining the potential use of SABR in patients with oligometastatic disease – where a cancer is in the early stages of spreading.

    NHS England is also currently undertaking a review of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and SABR for intracranial conditions to establish what the national demand is in line with its national clinical commissioning policies on SRS and SABR, and what the national capacity requirements are for this specialised treatment. Following the review it is planned that a final decision will be taken by the Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group in October 2014.

    Later this year, the Radiotherapy Clinical Reference Group will review its current policy position on SABR to assess whether there is new evidence to recommend its use on other conditions. It is important to ensure that treatments commissioned are supported by robust evidence of their benefit to patients.

  • Joe Benton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Joe Benton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joe Benton on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many women who underwent an abortion in 2013 had previously had an ectopic pregnancy.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on women who had an abortion and had previously had an ectopic pregnancy is not available.