Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how the religious character of a faith school will be maintained if the school is converted into an academy.

    Lord Nash

    When a faith school becomes an academy it retains its religious character by virtue of Section 6 of the Academies Act 2010. The academy’s religious character is protected through provisions within the academy’s funding agreement with the Secretary of State and the academy trust’s articles of association. Once a faith school becomes an academy any change to its religious character would only take place with the consent of the relevant religious body and the Secretary of State.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of levels of implementation of the greening requirements of the Basic Payment Scheme and its effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions and delivering improvements for pollinators and other wildlife in the farmed landscape.

    George Eustice

    We are in the final stages of processing 2015 BPS claims and making payments so it is too early to make an assessment of Greening implementation. However, an ex-ante assessment of the economic and environmental impacts of Greening in England, based on Defra’s Farm Business Survey, was published in the evidence annex to the Explanatory Memorandum which accompanied the Statutory Instrument 2014 No. 3259.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many meetings she has had with chief executives of FTSE 100 companies since May 2015 at which she raised the issue of increasing the number of women on company boards.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities and I have met with many business representatives since taking on our roles as Ministers for Women and Equalities. We have also met employers and business representatives as part of our plans to introduce gender pay gap reporting and always ensure that we use these opportunities to raise the issue of achieving a better gender balance on boards. This includes attending and speaking at conferences and events, including at the 30% Club and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which represents 190,000 businesses in the UK.

    Since May 2015, we have met numerous business leaders at conferences and events, including meetings with:

    • Lord Davies of Abersoch CBE

    • Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, CBE, CEO, Mitie Group PLC (in her capacity as Chair of the Women’s Business Council)

    • Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, CBE, CEO, Mitie Group PLC

    • Cilla Snowball, CBE, Group Chairman and Group CEO, Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO

    • Denis Woulfe, Partner, Deloitte LLP

    • Emer Timmons, President, BT Global Services UK

    • Fiona Dawson, Global President, Mars Food, Drinks, and Multisales, Mars Food

    • Sue Langley, OBE, Non-Executive Chairman, A J Gallagher UK, UK Asset Resolution Limited (Northern Rock Asset Management and Bradford & Bingley)

    • Sue O’Brien, OBE, Partner, Ridgeways Partners

    • Amanda Harrison, HR Director, Centrica PLC

    I also spoke at the launch of Lord Davies’s final report, which was attended by a large cross section of over 100 businesses.

  • Peter Lilley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Peter Lilley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Lilley on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the report, The Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy, published in March 2015, whether estimates of gross value added for electricity generation include (a) the value of renewable obligation certificates and (b) the element of the feed-in tariff and Contract for Difference prices which are above the market price of energy.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The report on the Size and Performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy is based on a bottom-up analysis of company accounts from those businesses participating in the sector.

    The report estimates gross value added within the sector by taking gross profit less the sum of employment costs, depreciation and amortisation. This definition is consistent with the approach generally taken in official statistics as a measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy.

    To the extent they are included within company accounts, the report captures the value of renewable obligation certificates and the element of the feed-in tariff which is above the market price of energy. However, this will exclude payments to householders and other non-business or charity electricity generators.

    No element of Contracts for Difference (CfDs) will be included in the estimates as the report only covers the period 2010 to 2013, before the introduction of CfDs.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Prime Minister, if he will create a group at ministerial level of representatives from the relevant government departments to ensure that progress is made on the Government’s sport strategy with cross-departmental coordination.

    Mr David Cameron

    I refer my hon. Friend to ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’, published in December 2015, a copy of which can be accessed on the gov.uk website.

  • Baroness Deech – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Deech – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Deech on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Middle East water research programme as a vehicle for collaboration between researchers in the UK, Israel and the Middle East.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Science and Innovation network and the British Council in Israel manage the Trilateral Water Research programme, which was launched in 2015. The effectiveness of the programme as a platform for cross border research can be measured by the fact that five research projects have been launched involving leading researchers in the water research field from Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Gaza, Morocco, Jordan and the UK. The projects look at varied aspects of water management in the region and seek to provide innovative solutions while cementing links between academic institutions and facilitating cutting-edge research.

    The programme is subject to monitoring and evaluation procedures in two stages. The first is the selection process for acceptance into the programme and receipt of a research grant. This process is a robust academic selection mechanism involving scientific peer review and is managed centrally by the British Council’s London Institutional Links team in accordance with the procedures that govern the wider Global Institutional Links programme.

    The second stage of monitoring and evaluation will be during project implementation. Projects will be monitored via narrative and financial reporting, in addition to reporting on Researchfish, the British Council’s chosen research evaluation platform. Projects were contracted and finance awarded in April 2016 so reports are not yet available.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 1 June (HL344), which countries participate in the EU Gendarmerie Force; what is its purpose; and whether it could operate on British soil.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The European Gendarmerie Force comprises police forces with military status from Spain, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, and Poland. Its work relates to crisis management operations and it’s purpose is set out in the Treaty of Velsen and the Declaration of intent, both of which are available at: http://www.eurogendfor.org/organisation/what-is-eurogendfor.

    The European Gendarmerie Force’s insignia differs from the EU’s flag or branding. The UK does not participate in the European Gendarmerie Force and in the event that it ever sought permission to operate in the UK that would require the agreement of the appropriate authorities.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many people working for his Department on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Guto Bebb

    The Wales Office has no direct employees or contracted workers. Staff at the Wales Office are subject to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) policies for pay and agency contract purposes. No permanent staff working at the Wales Office are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation. We have less than five agency staff and none are paid less than the national living wage. No staff are on zero hours contracts.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many pregnant women in (a) Liverpool Wavertree constituency, (b) Liverpool, (c) the Liverpool City Region and (d) England received treatment from alcohol services in each year since 2010.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The data is not published in the requested format.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many civil servants in his Department are members of trades unions; how much working hours facility time is claimed by each such civil servant; and what the cost of that facility time is to his Department.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department does not hold records of the number of staff who are members of a trade union. This is a matter for the trade unions.

    The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to Civil Service facility time and the cost of its provision, on a quarterly basis. The latest data is Quarter 4, 2014 and is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time