The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that women’s rights are not undermined by the use of Sharia law.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Government is committed to the protection and promotion of women’s rights. Sharia law has no jurisdiction in England and Wales and the Government has no intention of changing this position. Everyone is equal before the law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what amount the Government spent on full-time students in technical colleges in 2013-14.
Matthew Hancock
The funding available for adult further education and skills in 2013-14 financial year was £4.1bn of which £3.6bn was routed through the Skills Funding Agency to support the capacity for 3 million learners. More detailed data on spend in that financial year are not yet available.
The funding available for apprenticeships in 2013-14 financial year was £1,566m of which £802m was provided by the Department for Education for those aged 16-18 and £764m was provided by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills for those aged 19 and over. More detailed data on spend in that financial year are not yet available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what support the Emergency Planning College has provided to the planning and preparation for the Giro D’Italia Big Start in Northern Ireland in May 2014.
Mr Oliver Letwin
The Emergency Planning College (EPC) has had no requests for direct support of the planning and preparation for the Giro D’Italia Big Start in Northern Ireland in May 2014. The EPC has however delivered a variety of civil protection and resilience planning courses in Northern Ireland for various organisations, including Sports NI.
The Emergency Planning College (EPC) has provided 79 courses on emergency planning and crises management courses to 1170 attendees delivered in Northern Ireland since 2006. In addition to the training provided for customer organisations in NI, the EPC has trained 358 practitioners from NI attending residential training courses at the EPC since 2006
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-04-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of allowances being paid to senior bank executives to enable them to avoid the EU bonus cap.
Andrea Leadsom
The UK is at the forefront of global efforts to tackle excessive pay in the financial sector and ensure that pay is aligned with performance; our tough Remuneration Code requires deferral of at least 60% of bonuses of senior bankers and limits the amounts that can be paid in cash. Bonuses are down significantly since their peak under the last Government, and are now largely deferred and paid in shares.
In contrast, the EU’s bonus cap is a poorly thought through measure that undermines rather than reinforces our efforts by pushing up fixed pay. It was introduced without any proper impact assessment and has serious issues around its compatibility with the EU Treaty, and for these reasons we are challenging it in the European Court of Justice. However, pending the outcome, the Government is fully implementing the cap in the UK.
The Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority have responsibility for ensuring that remuneration practices in the banking sector are compliant with the new rules.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the budget of Arts Council England for library development is in 2013-14; and how many staff that body employs to work on its library responsibilities.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The budget set by Arts Council England (ACE) for library development in 2013/14 was £685,000. 5.5 full time equivalent staff are currently employed on ACE library responsibilities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2014, Official Report, column 57W, on special educational needs, which organisations and charities have been consulted on the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice.
Mr Edward Timpson
The consultation on a draft Special Educational Needs Code of Practice was an open consultation and any organisations or individuals could respond. The Department for Education received over 700 responses from a wide range of organisations and individuals including parents; young people; early years; schools; further education professionals; local authorities; health sector professionals and voluntary and community sector organisations, including many from the special educational needs and disability fields.
A short, focused consultation is now being carried out on a revised draft, which takes account of responses to the public consultation and amendments to the Children and Families Bill during its passage through Parliament. A full response to the consultations on the Code of Practice will be published in the next few weeks and this will give details of organisations and charities who responded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment he has made of the potential risks posed by (a) flooding and (b) rising sea levels at the Drigg Low-Level Waste Repository in Cumbria.
Michael Fallon
Radioactive waste management activities are subject to permitting by the Environment Agency under legislation introduced by the Department.
As part of the environmental permitting process for radioactive waste disposal the Agency has required the operators of the Low-Level Waste Repository (LLWR) to consider long term coastal erosion at the site and the need for and feasibility of providing sea defences. These issues are assessed within an Environmental Safety Case submitted to the Environment Agency in May 2011 which has been subject to review by the Environment Agency over the last two to three years and also the subject of a public consultation between November 2013 and February 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Stevenson on 2014-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what amount of new forest has been planted in each year since 2010; and if he will make a statement.
Dan Rogerson
Up to date figures for woodland creation are expected to be available in June this year. In the meantime I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 100W, to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-05-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were convicted of causing death by (a) careless and (b) dangerous driving in the last year for which figures are available; and what the average sentence was for each offence.
Jeremy Wright
Severe maximum penalties, of 14 years imprisonment, are available for those who cause death through dangerous driving or under the influence of drink or drugs and statistics show that the overwhelming majority of those convicted for these offences receive lengthy custodial sentences. The maximum penalty for causing death by careless driving is 5 years imprisonment and for causing death by disqualified, unlicensed or uninsured driving is two years imprisonment. We are keeping the law in this area under review. If any further changes are needed, we will bring forward proposals.
The Justice Secretary made an announcement on 6 May about our plans to strengthen the law in relation to disqualified drivers who cause death or serious injury; increasing the maximum sentence for causing death by disqualified driving to 10 years and introducing a new offence of causing serious injury by disqualified driving, with a maximum penalty of 4 years.
The number of offenders found guilty and sentenced to an immediate custody at all courts and the average custodial sentence length (months) for ‘careless’ and ‘dangerous’ driving in England and Wales from 2008 to 2012 (latest available data) can be viewed in the table.
Court proceedings data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2014-05-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the total expenditure was on Renewables Obligation support in 2013; and what proportion of such support was given to solar power.
Gregory Barker
Renewable Obligation (RO) expenditure is calculated on a financial year basis. Total expenditure in 2012/13 was £1,991m.
The proportion of this support given to solar in 2012/13 can be calculated by dividing the number of RO certificates (ROCs) redeemed by suppliers originating from solar generation (20,932) by the total number of ROCs redeemed by suppliers (44,773,499). This gives a figure of 0.05%.
Source:
RO expenditure published in Ofgem’s 2012/13 RO annual report, available at:
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/renewables-obligation-ro-annual-report-2012-2013
2012-13 ROCs redeemed by technology available at:
https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportManager.aspx?ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=0 (Compliance certificates report).
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