Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Nicholas Soames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nicholas Soames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2014-04-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the next 40 infrastructure projects are that the Government plans to undertake; and in what order the Government plans to undertake those projects.

    Danny Alexander

    The Government published its top 40 priority infrastructure investments in its National Infrastructure Plan (December 2013). This included projected construction start and finish dates. The relevant information is contained in Annex A of the Plan, accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-infrastructure-plan-2013

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  • Biography information for Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Biography information for Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Maria Eagle on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

    1

    Dan Rogerson

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy), on 17 June 2014, Official Report, column 516W.

  • Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-04-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of employees hired under the Employment Allowance Scheme are (a) employed on zero-hours contracts and (b) paid below the living wage as set by the Living Wage Foundation.

    Mr David Gauke

    The information requested is not available.

    The Employment Allowance is available to businesses and charities and is worth up to £2,000 off their total employer Class 1 National Insurance contributions (NICs) bill.

    Employers are likely to use the NICs savings from the allowance in a variety of ways. Research by the Federation of Small Businesses suggests that employers may use these savings to increase wages, employ more staff or invest in their business.

  • Biography information for Lord Mann – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Biography information for Lord Mann – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Mann on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

    1

    George Eustice

    The UK is committed to the protection of endangered species, including through playing a leading role in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES promotes the sustainability of endangered species through either prohibiting trade or strictly controlling any trade through a licensing system. The breeding and ranching of endangered species for commercial gain can be permitted under CITES. The UK fully supports the aims of CITES and works to ensure that assessment of whether trade should be permitted for any particular species is based on robust scientific evidence.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the costs of the (a) Baha Moussa inquiry and (b) Al-Sweady inquiry are classified by his Department as being operational and reclaimable from the Treasury Special Reserve.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The costs of the Baha Mousa and Al-Sweady inquiries were not deemed by the Department to be true net additional costs associated with activity to support specifically authorised operations and were not reclaimed from the Treasury Special Reserve.

  • Gavin Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gavin Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Williamson on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much special educational needs funding per head his Department allocated to pupils in (a) Staffordshire, (b) Birmingham, (c) Wolverhampton and (d) the UK in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

    Mr David Laws

    Funding for special educational needs (SEN) in England is not allocated as a separate amount per pupil. SEN funding is part of the overall Dedicated Schools Grant allocated to each local authority to fund their schools budget. It is for local authorities, in consultation with their schools forums, to determine the individual allocation to schools.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2012, Official Report, column 260W, on China: animal welfare, whether his Department has made representations to the Chinese government on standards of animal welfare in fur farms in China.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We have not made specific representations on animal welfare in fur farms. However the UK is supportive of international efforts to protect animal welfare. We hosted a high level international conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in London in February 2014 where the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt hon, Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) spoke to highlight the importance of action on this issue.

    Over 40 countries, including China participated in the conference, during which, we secured significant commitments, including on the ivory trade, on government procurement of wildlife products, and on treating international wildlife trafficking as a serious organised crime. We are following up with China and other participating countries on this issue.

    Following the conference, Chinese authorities have passed a new law making the consumption of rare wild animals an offence punishable by ten-years in prison.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what dates the Violence Against Women and Girls Inter-Ministerial Group has met since 1 February 2013.

    Norman Baker

    The Violence Against Women and Girls Inter-Ministerial Group has met on the following dates since 1 February 2013:

    6 February 2013
    4 June 2013
    11 December 2013
    11 February 2014

  • Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 93W, on conditions of employment, how many people in his Department were employed on zero hours contracts in each of the last two years up to the most recent period for which records are available.

    Jeremy Wright

    Information on the number of staff employed on zero-hour contracts in the Ministry of Justice is set out in the table below. The figures refer to staff in Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service and National Offender Management Service as these are the only parts of the Ministry where zero hours contracts have been used.

    Period

    Headcount

    01/04/10 – 31/03/11

    238

    (HMCTS)

    01/04/11 – 31/03/12

    218

    (HMCTS)

    01/04/12 – 31/03/13

    172

    (HMCTS)

    01/04/13 – 31/03/14

    153

    [146 HMCTS + 7 NOMS]

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is undertaking a review of zero hours policy and practice and in the light of this work Cabinet Office will ascertain whether any changes need to be made to UK procurement policy.

  • Gerry Sutcliffe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Gerry Sutcliffe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerry Sutcliffe on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the level of potential loss of trade to independent high street opticians following the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s decision to award its vision testing contract to Specsavers.

    Stephen Hammond

    In the past, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) dealt with many individual opticians on an ad-hoc basis. Although the individual cost per optician was relatively low, the aggregated spend on the service meant that the contract had to be tendered via the Official Journal of the European Union process. This is in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2006.

    As part of the procurement process, the DVLA identified that 2,009 optical practices carried out vision testing services. The new contract means that independent practices are no longer required to carry out on average 20 assessments per year. This equates to around 10 hours of work.