Tag: Parliamentary Question

Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Mills on 2016-05-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs has received related to insolvency procedures in each of the last five years.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) only holds information about dividends paid for each of the last two years. In 2014/15 a total of £70.6m was received. In 2015/16 the figure was £74.5m. These figures represent dividends paid after a company or individual has been made insolvent. HMRC also receives payments in response to the initiation of insolvency proceedings and these payments are sometimes sufficient to allow HMRC to withdraw the proceedings. Data is not available about the amount received by way of these payments.

01/01/2023
Iain Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the security benefits of procuring four Successor submarines.

Michael Fallon

The United Kingdom’s continuous at sea nuclear deterrent will remain essential to our security today, and for as long as the global security situation demands.

A four-boat fleet is the minimum needed to provide the assurance that at least one submarine will always be at sea on covert patrol.

01/01/2023
Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of gas and electricity smart meters (a) that have been installed to date and (b) projected to be installed by the end of 2016.

Jesse Norman

As of the end of March 2016 over 3.6 million smart meters were operating under the programme. The Government publishes official statistics on the rollout of smart meters quarterly. The latest release can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistical-release-and-data-smart-meters-great-britain-quarter-1-2016

The Government receives estimates of forecast smart meter installations from the larger energy suppliers. Their latest projections suggest a further 2.9 million meters are expected to be installed between 1 April 2016 and 31 December 2016.

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01/01/2023
Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve broadband networks in the UK to support small businesses.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Since 2010 the proportion of households and businesses with access to superfast broadband has risen from 45% to 83%. Thanks to the Government’s investment this will rise to 95 per cent by the end of 2017. In addition, the Government’s Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme has been a tremendous success. More than 55,000 small businesses across the UK have taken up the offer, many of which are already seeing significant boosts to their business as a result of improved broadband speeds.

01/01/2023
Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress he has made in implementing the recommendations of NHS Blood and Transplant’s report, Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020: A UK Strategy, published in 2013.

Jane Ellison

Changing behaviour and attitudes towards organ donation is a key feature of the transplantation strategy Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020. This strategy was developed by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) with the support of the four UK Health Departments and sets the agenda for increasing organ donation and transplantation rates to match world class standards over the next few years.

UK Government provides NHSBT with around £60 million a year to support various initiatives and specific projects to help raise organ donation and transplant rates. We continue to take action to build on the increase in donation and transplant rates since 2008, and the current number of people on the Organ Donor Register has increased to 22 million people.

NHSBT works collaboratively with a number of partners to promote organ donation, such as Boots Advantage Card, football clubs and voluntary organisations and the media. Specific initiatives include working with faith groups and communities to encourage organ donation. People can also add their name to the NHS Organ Donation Register via Government owned channels such as applying for a driving licence and paying car tax online.

01/01/2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-18.

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2016 to Question 21704, whether spending by the EU on campaigning during the referendum campaign will be subject to those spending limit rules.

Mr Gary Streeter

As international governmental bodies, the spending limits set out in the European Union Referendum Act 2015 do not apply to EU institutions.

The Electoral Commission has made clear its view that all EU institutions should nevertheless adhere to the same restrictions on the publication of promotional material that apply to governments and publicly funded bodies across the UK in the 28 days before polling day for the referendum. In addition, EU institutions should not, for example, undertake any paid-for advertising activity during the whole referendum period.

The Minister for Europe has deposited in the library of the House of Commons a copy of correspondence with the Director General of the European Commission which says that the European Commission will not take an active part in the referendum and the related campaigns.

Once the rules for the EU referendum have been commenced, referendum campaigners are only able to lawfully accept donations over £500 from certain ‘permissible’ sources. The permissibility rules provide that funding can only be accepted by referendum campaigners from certain sources connected to the UK, and, in the case of the EU referendum, Gibraltar. There are also rules and offences related to using permissible donors as agents to circumvent the rules.

01/01/2023
Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect on the security of the electricity supply from the National Grid of the closure of Rugeley Power Station; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

We are clear that delivering energy security for our families and businesses is non-negotiable. We knew some old coal plants would likely be closing and we have already taken steps to protect supply for the coming winters, which took account of the possibility of further closures. Specifically, National Grid took into account the risk of coal plant closures in considering how much capacity to procure for next winter’s Contingency Balancing reserve.

Longer term, the Capacity Market will drive investment in new capacity as well as get the best out of our existing power stations. We will continue to work alongside National Grid and Ofgem to take whatever additional steps are necessary to protect our energy supply.

01/01/2023

Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many new entrants joined the Army Reserve in 2015; and how many such entrants successfully completed phase (a) one and (b) two training.

Mr Julian Brazier

Both Reserve and Regular recruits undertake initial Phase 1 training in order to become effective soldiers and then proceed to Phase 2 training, where they receive the specific training they need to carry out their defined role. On successful completion of Phase 2, they join the Army Reserve Trained Strength.

For Reserve recruits, Phase 1 initial training consists of two components; Phase 1(A) is delivered as a single week long course or over four weekends. Phase 1(B) is a 15.5 day long course. Phase 2 role-specific training courses are delivered over one period not exceeding 16 days.

Army Reserve recruits are expected to commence Phase 1 training as soon as possible after enlistment. However, factors such as arranging time off work, exam attendance, family commitments, injury or medical clearance can delay a recruit from starting Phase 1 training. Some new soldier entrants are enlisted at risk whilst waiting to be declared medically fit. These entrants are described as Phase 0.

Army Reservists are required to attend at least one period of annual continuous training per year not exceeding 16 days. It is therefore expected that Army Reservists will complete Phase 1 during their first year of service and Phase 2 during their second year of service. Some Army Reservists however are able to complete Phase 1 and Phase 2 training during their first year of service, as demonstrated by the information in the table below concerning the 2015 entrants.

The figures in the table below are as at 1 January 2016 and have been rounded to the nearest 10.

	January-December 2015	April- December 2015
New Entrants to the FR20 Army Reserves	3,640	2,740
Phase 0/Phase 1 Trainee	2,700	2,250
Phase 2 Trainee (completed Phase 1)	500	280
On Trained FR20 Strength (completed Phase 2)	310	130
Left Army Reserves	140	70

01/01/2023

Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will make it its policy to allocate revenue raised from the soft drinks industry levy to maintain the grant for summer schools.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Government has no plans to use the soft drink levy to maintain the grant for pupil premium summer schools. The 2016 budget statement identified that the soft drinks industry levy would be used to double the amount of funding to £320m per annum that we dedicate to sport in every primary school and to make it easier for up to a quarter of secondary schools to extend their school day to include a wider range of activities, including extra sport.

The Government has protected the pupil premium at current per pupil rates for the rest of the Parliament, providing schools with around £2.5 billion per year of additional funding to support their disadvantaged pupils. Schools have the choice to continue running summer schools and can use their pupil premium allocation to fund places for their disadvantaged pupils.

01/01/2023
John Glen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on British farming of the Plan for Public Procurement, published in July 2014.

George Eustice

Total spend on public sector food and catering services is around £2.4 billion. The Plan for Public Procurement launched a new approach to the way the Government and its catering providers buy food. It provides a transparent set of criteria that allow contracting parties to reach agreement about the quality and value of products and services. British farmers are well placed to meet these standards and to compete for a further £400 million of business that the Plan opens up.

01/01/2023