Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that children at primary and secondary schools have access to a healthy and balanced dinner each day.

    Mr David Laws

    The independent School Food Plan, published in July 2013, is designed to increase the quality and take-up of school meals in England and ensure that the food available conforms to healthy standards. As part of the School Food Plan, we are introducing new statutory food-based standards for schools in England from January 2015 and funding three organisations to increase take-up in junior and secondary schools.

    From September 2014 we are introducing free school meals for every child in reception, year 1 and year 2 in state-funded schools in England, to ensure that every child in those year groups has access to a nutritious lunch. We are targeting infants in order to help establish good eating patterns early. Our intention is that by providing a meal when children start at school, they and their parents will see the benefits of school meals and continue to choose them throughout their education.

  • Robert Syms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Robert Syms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Syms on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much of mean electricity generation in the UK will be represented by the proposed development at Navitus Bay over its lifetime.

    Gregory Barker

    The Department does not undertake analysis or hold information of this nature relating to specific developments. Provisional data for 2013 is that total UK electricity generation was 356,649 Gigawatt hours (GWh). Based on the average 5 year offshore wind load factor from 2008 to 2012 inclusive of 33.1% a wind farm of 1 Gigawatt (GW) of installed capacity is expected to produce 2.9GWh of electricity generation. The Department publishes estimated energy and emissions projections to 2030, the latest update can be accessed at this link:-

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-energy-and-emissions-projections-2013

    “

  • Robin Walker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Robin Walker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robin Walker on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on co-ordinating efforts to secure the release from prison of Meriam Ibrahim.

    Mark Simmonds

    Through our Embassy in Khartoum, the UK has been coordinating international efforts, including EU, Troika and others, to secure the release of Meriam Ibrahim from prison. We are also working with EU partners in Brussels to ensure an effective EU response.

    My Ministerial colleagues and I will continue to lobby forcefully, bilaterally and with other partners, for Meriam’s release.

  • Liam Fox – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Liam Fox – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Fox on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the threat ISIS and other Islamist groups in Syria pose to (a) the wider Middle East and (b) other areas.

    Hugh Robertson

    The UK is deeply concerned by the growth of terrorism in Syria and Iraq. ISIL are a brutal terrorist group who want to impose rule on people using their extremist ideology, violence and extortion.

    ISIL’s advance in Iraq shows that they are a serious threat. It shows clearly the importance of taking a strong stand against extremists, and that is why we are giving our full backing to the moderate groups in Syria who are fighting them. It is not yet clear what the recent developments in Iraq mean in the longer term, but clearly ISIL’s ability to operate in both Syria and Iraq is a cause of concern for the international community.

  • Crispin Blunt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Crispin Blunt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what restrictions apply to the discretion of clinical commissioning groups to commission immunisation services.

    Jane Ellison

    Policy on what national immunisation programmes should be implemented and how best to implement them is the responsibility of the Department working with Public Health England and NHS England.

    Responsibility and funding for national immunisation programmes rests with NHS England. Clinical commissioning groups are free to consider the need and resourcing for local immunisation activity with their partners in local authorities, who are responsible for taking appropriate steps to improve local public health.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will carry out and publish a written risk assessment of the care.data programme; for what reason no such written risk assessment has been published; and which Minister in his Department took the decision not to publish such an assessment.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    There has been no decision made not to have a risk assessment for the care.data programme. Risks and issues are considered by the care.data programme board at regular meetings.

  • Jessica Morden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jessica Morden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much has been spent on courier services for passports outside the DX contract since 1 January 2014.

    James Brokenshire

    Her Majesty’s Passport Office has incurred no costs outside contractual
    arrangements with DX since 1 Januar

  • Keith Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were employed by HM Passport Office on (a) 1 January, (b) 1 February, (c) 1 March, (d) 1 April, (e) 1 May and (f) 1 June 2014.

    James Brokenshire

    The formal record for workforce data is made on the last day of each calendar
    month.
    Her Majesty’s Passport Office has employed the following numbers of full-time
    equivalents
    (FTEs).
    (a) On 31 December 2013: 3,333
    (b) On 31 January 2014: 3,390
    (c) On 28 February 2014: 3,434
    (d) On 31 March 2014: 3,469
    (e) On 30 April 2014: 3,489
    (f) On 31 May 2014: 3,506

    In order to ensure that the data is reported on a consistent basis, figures for
    April and May figures include 196 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) corporate services
    staff that transferred to the Home Office on 1 April 2014. This was part of a restructure
    of the Home Office Corporate Services function.

    Figures are for permanent civil servants employed by Her Majesty’s Passport
    Office, including Part Year Appointments and permanent members of staff
    employed on contracts for 9 months of the year. This excludes staff on secondment
    or loan, and agency and temporary staff – with these staff included, the March 2014
    figure is 3,444.

    Please note, Her Majesty’s Passport Office records migrated to the Department’s
    strategic record system during this period and are subject to enhanced validation
    checks. Several months in this time series have a variance of +/- 2 FTE.

  • Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Leader of the House, what visits each of the Ministers in his Office have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

    Mr Andrew Lansley

    In February 2013, I visited the Scottish Parliament to examine Parliamentary procedures and practices.

    In May 2013, the Deputy Leader of the House and I undertook an overseas visit to the European Institutions in Brussels. This visit provided an opportunity to consider and promote the role of national parliaments, including the House of Commons, in the processes of European legislation.

    In December 2013, the Deputy Leader of the House visited Northern Ireland to engage with various Northern Irish charities and campaign groups on the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill.

    In February 2014, I and the Deputy Leader of the House visited the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff to examine Parliamentary procedures and the work of the Petitions Committee.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Gordon Marsden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a) availability and (b) effectiveness of scrubber technology on maritime vessels.

    Stephen Hammond

    In October 2012, and again in March 2013, I chaired ‘round table’ meetings of industry stakeholders (from the shipping, ports, exhaust gas cleaning system technology, oil refining and logistics sectors) to consider the best way forward for compliance with the new international and EU sulphur requirements. The potential for reverse modal shift, the maturity and efficacy of scrubber technology and the scope for financial assistance to industry were all key to those discussions. The report commissioned by the UK Chamber of Shipping was produced as a result of those meetings, and officials have taken it into account in producing the Government’s Impact Assessment on the draft UK Regulations to implement the sulphur limits in national law.

    The Government went out to an eight-week public consultation on 29 April 2014 on those draft UK Regulations. Meanwhile, Government officials continue to work closely with the industry and to explore the scope for securing EU finance, possibly under the Trans-European Network (commonly known as TEN-T) programme and affordable capital from the European Investment Bank, for shipowners and ports who wish to invest in scrubber technology or in technology associated with the use of an alternative fuel, such as liquefied natural gas, to comply with the new limits.

    The UK Regulations will be reviewed in accordance with normal Government practice and consistent with the principles of better regulation.