Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Toby Perkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Toby Perkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) Official Receivers and (b) all Insolvency Service officials who will receive training leading to a (i) personal insolvency partial licence and (ii) corporate insolvency partial licence.

    Jenny Willott

    The legislation relating to official receivers and Insolvency Service technical staff, does not require study to hold an Insolvency Practitioners’ Licence and, as such, no staff will receive training that will lead to either a personal insolvency partial licence or a corporate insolvency partial licence.

    Under S399(1) of the Insolvency Act 1986 “………the official receiver, in relation to any bankruptcy, winding up, individual voluntary arrangement, debt relief order or application for such an orderis any person who by virtue of the following provisions ………….is authorised to act as the official receiver ………..” and S399(2) “The Secretary of State may ……. appoint persons to the office of official receiver ……………….”.

    All technical staff are required to study for, and pass, a bespoke accredited training programme at Qualifications & Credit Framework Level 3 and are required to undertake a minimum of 5 days Continuous Professional Development per year.

    Incidentally, over 50% of Official Receivers hold a professional qualification e.g. ACCA.

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

    Mr Francis Maude

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Leicester South on 2 April 2014 (Official Report) Column Ref: 721W.

  • David Lammy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    David Lammy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many libraries in Greater London have (a) closed and (b) reduced opening hours since May 2010.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The detail requested is not held centrally by this Department, however the Annual Report to Parliament published in January this year indicated our estimate of static library closures in England since the beginning of 2010, is around 90. While the number of public libraries has reduced there has been a notable growth in the number of libraries managed or run by the community. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) collect, annually, from the individual library authorities, public library statistics which contain information relating to the net figure of public libraries open in each year, as well as the number and type of libraries and the average hours of opening per week. This shows the number of library service points open 10+ hours per week in England (incl. mobiles) at 31 March 2013 was 3,181. However, CIPFA do not collect data on the number of library closures or those that have reduced their opening hours. Copies of CIPFA statistics are available in the libraries of both Houses.

  • Helen Goodman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Helen Goodman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many paintings, artefacts and other objects were lent from the collections of grant-in-aid funded national museums and galleries to regional museums and galleries in each year since 2010-11.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has collected and published the following data about the number of venues in the United Kingdom to which the sponsored national museums have lent objects from their collections.

    Number of UK loan venues

    Institution

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    British Museum

    178

    162

    169

    Imperial War Museum

    90

    376

    104

    National Gallery

    17

    35

    35

    National Maritime Museum

    71

    74

    81

    National Museums Liverpool

    193

    228

    239

    Science Museum Group 1

    164

    185

    240

    National Portrait Gallery

    133

    118

    118

    Natural History Museum

    182

    131

    32

    Royal Armouries

    107

    106

    120

    Sir John Soane’s Museum

    7

    3

    4

    Tate Gallery

    153

    147

    128

    Victoria and Albert Museum

    241

    262

    242

    Wallace Collection 2

    N/A

    N/A

    N/A

    1 From 2011-12, the total includes figures for the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, following its merger with the Science Museum Group.

    2 The Wallace Collection cannot lend items under terms of its bequest.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what research his Department has commissioned on a potential relationship between domestic abuse experienced by children and low educational attainment in later life.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education has not commissioned research on the possible relationship between domestic abuse and a child’s subsequent educational attainment. Reports published earlier this year by the Early Intervention Foundation and by Coordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse highlighted the impact on children’s wellbeing of exposure to domestic abuse. Though these reports did not focus on later educational attainment, they illustrated potential disruption to children’s lives that is likely to affect their education. The Government is committed to safeguarding children from any form of abuse.

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

    Gregory Barker

    My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State reviewed the situation on 23 January 2014 and was content for no action to be taken on this matter.

  • John Stevenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    John Stevenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    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 steps he plans to take to replace productive conifer forest cover lost as a result of the (a) Open Habitats Policy and (b) Ancient Woodlands Policy.

    Dan Rogerson

    Open habitats policy has a mechanism within it to ensure there is a balance between woodland creation and woodland loss based on the composition and productivity of the woodland that is being removed.

    The Forestry Commission monitors the area of woodland restored to open habitats and uses the data along with the quality of biodiversity benefit to determine whether compensatory planting should be required when granting a felling licence.

    Keepers of Time, the Ancient Woodland Policy, promotes the restoration of Plantations on Ancient Woodlands to site native species for biodiversity benefits. There is no reason why these woods should not still be managed productively, albeit with a different timber crop.

  • Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-05-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit budgeting advances were made between April 2013 and April 2014.

    Esther McVey

    Budgeting support is available at the start of a Universal Credit claim. The requested information is not currently available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    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 estimate he has made of how much solar farm capacity (a) has been installed in the UK and (b) will be installed (i) in 2015-16 and (ii) by 2020.

    Gregory Barker

    Energy Trends published in March 2014, show that at the end of 2013, there were 2698MW [1] of installed capacity across all scales of solar photovoltaic. From January to the end of March 2014, the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), which tracks all renewables projects over 0.01MW through the planning system (including both building mounted and ground mounted solar PV), shows an additional 264.37MW [2] of solar PV installed.

    It is not possible to state precisely how much solar PV will be installed in 2015-16.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/295362/ET_March_2014.PDF .

    [2]

    https://restats.decc.gov.uk/app/reporting/decc/monthlyextract

    “

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-05-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Highways Agency will be able to recover VAT in the same way as it can as an executive agency of his Department when it is transformed into a government-owned company.

    Mr David Gauke

    Special provisions apply to Government Departments and health authorities that enable them to recover VAT incurred on certain of their non-business activities. These are set out in section 41(3) of the VAT Act 1994.

    New bodies are not automatically covered by the above provisions, but the Treasury keeps all taxes under review.