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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of his Department’s staff excluding non-departmental public bodies were (a) women in top management posts women, (b) women, (c) black and minority ethnic and (d) disabled.

    Brandon Lewis

    The current proportion of women in DCLG top management posts is 36.8%. Whilst there is more to do to ensure the Civil Service has the very best possible mix of existing and future talent, I would observe that this is an increase from 33.0% from 2009-10, and is higher than the Civil Service workforce target of 34.0%.

    I also refer the rt. hon. Member to my answer of 17 March 2014, Official Report, Column 398-400W.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what advice or guidance his Department provides to employers in the media industry on equality monitoring.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Promoting greater equality of opportunity in the workforce is a matter the Government takes seriously. The Government is actively engaging with leading organisations in the media industry who are working together through the Creative Diversity Network to help address the under-representation of ethnic minorities in that sector. The industry will outline the steps it intends to take at a roundtable event in early July. Equality data monitoring is among a number of issues that will be discussed. In addition, Ofcom has a number of duties relating to equality of opportunity, as set out in the Communications Act 2003. These include requiring all UK licensed radio and television broadcasters’ licences to have in place arrangements for promoting equal opportunities in employment on the basis of gender, race and disability, and to review those arrangements with regard to any relevant guidance published by Ofcom.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of readiness to defend its Overseas Territories in the event of attack.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) regularly consults with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other Government Departments and intelligence agencies, as well as our allies and partners, constantly to review or identify potential threats to UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs). In the first instance the MOD seeks to deter such attacks using deterrence measures including, where necessary, permanently based military garrisons or dedicated patrols, visits by deployed military forces, and more broadly the maintenance of world class deployable military forces. Should deterrence fail to prevent an attack, the Department remains confident that it has the necessary contingency plans and high readiness deployable forces in the UK and elsewhere to respond accordingly to any attack on a UKOT.

  • Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, page eight, if he will provide a breakdown of the costings used to work out that reserves cost around 87 per cent of the costs of regulars when mobilised.

    Anna Soubry

    The figures used by the NAO in paragraph 11 of their report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, were taken from Future Reserves 2020: The Independent Commission to Review the United Kingdom’s Reserve Forces. I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 97. This involved considerable work to develop a Regular: Reserve Cost Comparison Model.

  • John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what levels of stock his Department holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables.

    Gregory Barker

    The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not keep a central record of stock levels for stationery, treasury tags or any other office consumables. This is because individual teams within the Department are responsible for their own particular needs (with weekly deliveries when required), negating the need for an overall ‘Departmental’ store.

    However, printer cartridges are procured and stored by the Departmental IT team. The stock is regularly checked with an aim to ensure there are always approximately 80 cartridges on site (of varying types and colours) to cover four Central London buildings/offices.

  • Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, page five, if he will provide a breakdown of the £5.3 billion savings that reductions in the army would save from 2012-13 to 2021-22.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The vast majority – approximately 85% – of the savings referred to in the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, are the direct result of the reduction in the size of the Regular Army from 94,000 to 82,500.

    The remaining savings arise from associated cost reductions, such as the reduced requirement for civilian support.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the situation in Ukraine.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) discussed the situation in Ukraine with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on 23 April. The Foreign Secretary pressed for the immediate implementation of the 17 April Geneva agreement. He urged Russia to take steps to de-escalate the situation in eastern and southern Ukraine, including making a clear public statement calling for illegally armed groups in eastern Ukraine to disarm and vacate occupied buildings. He also invited Russian diplomats to join efforts by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Monitoring Mission in eastern Ukraine.

  • Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Seabeck on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department in the last parliamentary Session did not receive a substantive answer by the time of the 2014 prorogation; and when each such question was first tabled.

    Elizabeth Truss

    Two parliamentary questions tabled to the Department for Education, PQs 198493 (tabled on 13/5/2014) and 198434 (tabled on 12/5/2014), did not receive substantive answers by the time of prorogation. The questions had reply on dates during prorogation, and therefore could not be answered due to the House’s rules regarding notice periods.

    As a courtesy, both Members have been sent copies of the answers that they would have received had the Department been permitted to give the answers in the usual way.

  • Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tracey Crouch on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on NHS service provision for seriously ill children and their families of the specialist senior nurses posts funded by the charity Well Child.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    We have not made any central assessment of this role. We are aware of the valuable work which Well Child does, and we were able to support Well Child with a grant in 2010-11 from the £19 million we made available for funding local schemes to support children’s palliative care services.

    We understand that Well Child funds each nurse for a period of three years after which time the individual National Health Service health provider commits to continue the post. Each nurse is employed and managed by the local healthcare trust in which they work and therefore it would seem that the providers would be best placed to comment on the impact they have made.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the marine aggregate industry.

    Lord De Mauley

    The UK Marine Policy Statement (MPS) is the framework for preparing Marine Plans and taking decisions affecting the marine environment. The MPS sets out the policy objectives for key activities taking place in the marine environment. This includes an assessment of marine aggregate resources, potential impacts from extraction activities and issues for consideration by decision-makers. Within English waters marine aggregate extraction activities are regulated by the Marine Management Organisation.

    Government, regulators, The Crown Estate and the British Marine Aggregate Producers Association (BMAPA) have collaborated on an extensive programme of research (over £25 million in ten years) into understanding and minimising the environmental impacts of aggregates dredging. Following the completion of that programme BMAPA and The Crown Estate recently commissioned and published Aggregate Dredging and the Marine Environment – an overview of recent research and current industry practice. The report is available on The Crown Estate website at www.thecrownestate.co.uk

    The marine aggregate industry has and continues to engage constructively with Government and regulators in developing marine plans and licensing policy and Marine Conservation Zones.

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