Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what financial assistance is available to UK businesses in the oil industry supply chain who face financial difficulties resulting from the reduction in the price of oil.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government has taken steps to help reinvigorate the supply chain by stimulating more investment opportunities in the UK Continental Shelf through a £1.3bn package of tax cutting measures and £20m of new funding for a second round of seismic surveys, announced at the end of January 2016.

    The government has taken forward the rapid implementation of the Wood Review and the Oil and Gas Fiscal Review, establishing the Oil and Gas Authority, and in recognition of the current economic pressures hitting the industry, has established a cross-government, Ministerial oil support group. This will look at issues such as how to support the supply chain and workers through this difficult period.

    UKTI also continue to work with supply chain companies to access overseas opportunities in countries including Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan and Mexico.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will assess the suitability of the hinterland of the Port of Blyth as a location for an ultra-super critical coal fired power station; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    With the exception of proposals for nuclear generating stations, the choice of location for any energy generation project is a matter for the developer concerned, and the location`s suitability will be considered as part of the consent application process. Any new coal plant must demonstrate carbon capture and storage on at least 300 MW of its proposed generating capacity and comply with the Emissions Performance Standard.

  • Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Dowden on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 1.233 of the March 2015 Budget, how much of the £1.25 billion funding for child and adolescent mental health services has been allocated.

    Alistair Burt

    Following the March Budget 2015 announcement of £1.25 billion additional funding for children and young people’s mental health services being available over the following five years, £143 million has been allocated for 2015-16. From this, £75 million has been allocated to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to work intensively with key partner agencies to transform local services through delivery of their Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and £68 million is being spent centrally on workforce and system development to support local transformation. For 2016-17, £119 million has been included in CCG baseline allocations. The profile of spending for future years has not yet been fully determined.

    The guidance for LTPs issued in August 2015, specified that plans had to be signed off by Health and Wellbeing Boards to ensure a shared ambition across all local partners, and included details of a robust bespoke assurance process for 2015-16, put in place by NHS England. This included the completion of detailed financial tracking templates, backed by a programme of regional and national support, to ensure that the additional money was spent for the purposes intended and that locally determined key performance indicators are being met. The intention from 2016-17 is to mainstream children and young people’s mental health as part of the normal NHS England planning cycle and to integrate LTPs into the new Sustainability and Transformation Plan.

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the operation of the fair funding formula for schools; and when she expects the latest revision to that formula to be implemented.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The first stage of a two-part consultation for national funding formulae for schools and high needs closed on 17 April. We are currently considering the responses. We will publish the second stage of the consultation later this year, alongside the government’s response to the first stage of the consultation. This second stage will set out the detailed design of the formulas, and will provide illustrative allocations for all schools and areas.

    We have proposed to introduce the new national funding formulae from 2017-18.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on finalising the route for the second stage of High Speed 2; and when he expects to announce the decision on that route.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    In November last year the Secretary of State confirmed plans for accelerating construction of Phase Two from the West Midlands to Crewe so that it opens in 2027, six years earlier than planned.

    We are developing our plans for the rest of Phase Two and we intend to make a decision on the rest of the route in autumn 2016.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that A-level provision will be available in Knowsley Metropolitan Borough by September 2017.

    Robert Halfon

    It is essential that the young people of Knowsley have good options for their post-16 education. The Department is currently exploring options for future A level provision in Knowsley with providers, local trusts and the local authority. The goal is to attain a collaborative approach to securing excellent post-16 provision in Knowsley.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, which local authorities have asked the Local Government Boundary Commission to consider changes to their boundaries; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Local Government Boundary Commission for England informs me that it has no plans to conduct any Principal Area Boundary Reviews, but their current programme includes 13 electoral reviews requested by:

    • Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council
    • London Borough of Croydon
    • Harborough District Council
    • Tendring District Council
    • West Berkshire District Council
    • Babergh District Council
    • Forest of Dean District Council
    • South Gloucestershire Council
    • Cheshire West & Chester Council
    • Forest Heath District Council
    • St Edmundsbury Borough Council
    • Scarborough Borough Council
    • Carlisle City Council
  • Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether children from low socioeconomic status backgrounds with lower 11-plus test scores are more or less likely to be offered grammar school places than children from higher socioeconomic status backgrounds; and what steps they are taking to achieve equality of opportunity in education.

    Lord Nash

    The Department does not collect data on the selection test scores of prospective applicants to grammar schools.

    We are committed to ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. The recent report by the Public Accounts Committee on ‘Funding for disadvantaged pupils’ stated that, since the introduction of the pupil premium, the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has closed by 4.7 percentage points in primary schools and by 1.6 percentage points in secondary schools.

    We continue to invest in our academies and free schools programme, which is already raising standards in areas serving some of our most disadvantaged young people.

    We are also putting high expectations at the heart of our school system, with a rigorous new curriculum, world-class exams, and a new accountability system that rewards schools that encourage every child to achieve their best.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Prompt Payment Code on (a) UK businesses in the FinTech sector and (b) other businesses.

    Anna Soubry

    The Prompt Payment Code is a voluntary code which organisations from the public, private and third sector can sign up to. The Government monitors a variety of sources to monitor the level of late payment debt. We are not able to assess the direct effect of the Prompt Payment Code on any individual sector.

    New transparency measures will allow us to monitor the payment performance of signatories. Through powers in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 the Government will introduce a new reporting requirement on the UK’s largest companies – including many Code signatories – to report on their payment practices and performance. We plan to introduce this next year, and the Code will make full use of this new information. From next year small and medium-sized Code signatories will also report on their payment performance directly to the Code. Small and medium-sized companies will report, on an annual basis, on a comply or explain basis.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent people in other EU countries who have been convicted for murder, violent assault or rape from travelling to the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK has always and will continue to operate our borders securely and enforce our immigration laws. This includes carrying out full checks on all arriving passengers in order to identify any criminal, security and immigration concerns. All passengers are checked against police, security and immigration watchlists and where we are aware of individuals who pose a risk, Border Force officers can, and do refuse them entry. However, that requires other countries to inform us of individual’s criminal histories.

    This Government has also introduced a new power to enable the UK to require entry clearance applicants to provide an overseas criminal record certificate, helping to reduce overseas offenders gaining visas to enter the UK. From 1 September 2015, Tier 1 Investor and Tier 1 Entrepreneur entry clearance applicants and their adult dependents are now required to provide a criminal record certificate from the country/countries in which they have been living for the past ten years. This will be rolled out to other categories at a later stage on a phased basis.

    The UK is leading calls in Europe to improve the sharing of criminal records information between Member States, allowing us better to identify criminals before they try and enter the UK. This includes accelerating work to develop a more comprehensive system for sharing information on non-EU nationals who receive criminal convictions within the EU. In the light of the unprecedented migratory flows into Europe, the UK is leading calls for systematic and complete identification, registration and fingerprinting of those entering the EU as well as greater sharing of information about those who pose a risk. The Home Office is also leading work to progress recommendations from a project to tackle serious offending by mobile EU criminals (SOMEC Project). This project examines the threat from offenders crossing internal EU borders who pose a risk.