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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she plans to publish the recommendations of the Bonfield Review of consumer advice, protection, standards and enforcement for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Bonfield Review is due to report back its findings later this year.

    We are confident that the Bonfield Review will provide a real opportunity to put energy efficiency and renewable energy on a more consumer-focussed and sustainable long-term path for the future.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling of 26 April 2016 on religious discrimination against the Alevi community in Turkey.

    Mr David Lidington

    We have noted the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling and regularly discuss issues concerning freedom of religion and belief, including those of the Alevi community, with our Turkish interlocutors. We will continue to do so. The Turkish government continues to improve protections for all religious minorities in Turkey. We welcome the continuing implementation of the Law on Foundations which has seen a number of properties returned to minority community foundations or the payment of compensation. As we highlighted to Turkey through the 2015 UN Universal Periodic Review of human rights, we would like to see Turkey implement legislation that increases protection of the rights of persons belonging to all minority religious groups, including the status of their places of worship.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the Iraqi government on steps to tackle drug abuse in Iraq.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of reports of drug abuse in Iraq but we have not had discussions with the Government of Iraq on this subject. We continue to support vulnerable communities through our humanitarian assistance. Since June 2014 the Department for International Development has committed £129.5 million to the humanitarian effort in Iraq. That assistance reaches hundreds of thousands of people across the country and includes essential medicine, emergency kits and psychological support.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with employers and providers of apprenticeships on the effect on take-up of the new funding arrangements proposed for apprenticeships for 16 to 18 year olds, published on 12 August 2016.

    Robert Halfon

    Department for Education officials have held regular discussions with employers, training providers and representative organisations since the publication of the funding proposals in August. We will be publishing details of our final funding policy for apprenticeships in England from May 2017 shortly.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent from the public purse on the payment of social security benefits to non-UK citizens in each European Economic Area country for each year from 1997-98 to 2014-15.

    Priti Patel

    The full information requested is not held centrally.

    The Department for Work and Pensions checks the nationality and immigration status of benefit claimants to ensure the benefit is paid properly and to prevent fraud. While this information is used, it is not recorded as part of the benefit payment administrative systems.

    Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables are published on Gov.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/474453/expenditure-by-country-and-region-2014-15.xlsx

    Please note that these figures include a breakdown for UK regions and a combined figure for expenditure abroad or where the region is unknown. Expenditure is not broken down by nationality.

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  • Angela Rayner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Angela Rayner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to section 11.9 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what steps he plans to take to achieve £360 million in efficiencies and savings in adult skills.

    Nick Boles

    The Chancellor published the results of the Spending Review on 25th November 2015. This is a good settlement for further education. Between 2010-11 and 2019-20 the Government will have doubled spending on apprenticeships in cash terms to £2.5 billion, and protected funding for the core adult skills participation budgets in cash terms, at £1.5 billion

    The Government will make £362 million of savings and efficiencies from adult skills funding by 2019-20. We are prioritising funding for participation, with savings being made from supporting budgets. We are also restructuring the sector through locally-led Area Reviews to provide sustainable and high quality provision in the future.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of fraudulent compensation claims against Armed Forces personnel in Iraq.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Government is committed to action to bear down on unmeritorious litigation of all kinds against the Armed Forces, and will be announcing its proposed course of action in due course. Accusations must be investigated, but where they are found to be fraudulent, or where relevant information is withheld, we will robustly defend the reputation of the Armed Forces and the interests of the taxpayer. We welcome the decision of the Solicitors Regulation Authority to refer one firm of solicitors heavily involved in bringing claims from Iraq to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will commission a study into the effect on bird and marine life of off-shore windfarms; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    The Planning Inspectorate is responsible for examining development consent applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects, including offshore renewable energy installations over 100MW in English and Welsh waters and their adjacent offshore waters, and then making a recommendation to the Secretary of State at Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) for the final decision.

    As part of the planning process, the environmental impacts of offshore renewable energy installations are considered through the requirement to undertake project level Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Habitats Regulations Assessments (HRAs). In order to improve the evidence on the extent of the environmental impacts of offshore renewable energy installations, the Offshore Renewables Joint Industry Programme (ORJIP) was initiated by DECC, Marine Scotland and The Crown Estate. ORJIP includes a longer-term project to improve empirical evidence on the impacts of offshore renewables on marine species, such as birds and marine mammals. Further information is available at http://www.carbontrust.com/client-services/technology/innovation/offshore-renewables-joint-industry-programme-orjip/.

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  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions a UK port was not manned by Border Force officials in 2015; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    There was 1 instance where a port with scheduled arrivals was unmanned by Border Force in 2015. In July 2015, Border Force Officers failed to meet a regular charter plane in Cambridge due to a road traffic accident preventing access to the airport. Checks on passengers were completed on the arrival of Border Force Officers.

    In exercising their functions, Border Force officers are mandated to carry out full checks on all individuals entering the UK. Border Force has an established intelligence led approach and risk assessments regarding non-scheduled arrivals. This allows Border Force to provide effective border controls throughout the UK.

  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-04-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Prudential Regulation Authority’s Draft Supervisory Statement on Buy-to-Let Underwriting Standards, published in March 2016, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the 20 per cent growth in buy-to-let mortgage lending over the next three years on home ownership.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government is committed to supporting homeowners. One part of this commitment is ensuring that there is a level playing field between homeowners and landlords. In the 2015 Autumn Statement, we announced a 3 percentage point increase in the rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax applying to the purchase of additional residential properties, such as second homes and buy-to-let properties; and in the Summer Budget of 2015, we acted to restrict, to the basic rate of income tax, the tax relief on finance costs received by landlords of residential property.

    The Financial Policy Committee recently stated that the combination of forthcoming changes to mortgage interest tax relief and the implementation of the PRA Supervisory Statement will probably dampen growth of buy-to-let mortgage lending relative to lenders’ plans.