Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people attempting to enter the UK without valid papers were detained at UK border controls at Calais and returned to the French authorities in the last 12-month period for which figures are available.

    James Brokenshire

    Border Force operates UK immigration controls at the juxtaposed ports in northern France and also operates a multi-layered freight search regime to detect clandestine illegal entry attempts.

    The figures for passenger refusals at the juxtaposed controls in northern France are 3,695 in FY 2014/15.

    Additionally 39,545 attempts at clandestine illegal entry were successfully intercepted by the UK and French authorities at the juxtaposed controls in northern France in FY 2014/15.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 26 September 2014 to Question 209770 asked by the hon. Member for Moray, how much his Department has spent on studies on whether to refurbish or replace the existing Trident warhead design to date.

    Michael Fallon

    As of the end of the last financial year (March 2015), the Ministry of Defence had spent £80 million on technology studies to support refurbishment of the current system and explore options for a potential future warhead, and £5.5 million on studies to support the decision whether to refurbish or replace the existing warhead.

  • Lord Crisp – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Crisp – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why clinical research in mental health is scheduled to receive a tariff 32 per cent lower than for other clinical medicine subjects, including dentistry and nursing, for the same type of research, in the light of the overall increase in funding following the 2014 Research Excellence Framework conducted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is allocated funding from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) Science and Research budget to distribute to higher education institutions (HEIs) in England. Most of HEFCE’s funding is allocated as an unhypothecated research block grant to institutions, ensuring university leaders have flexibility to support their own research priorities. While this block grant is calculated using research quality and volume information from the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF2014) at a subject level, it is a matter for individual HEIs to determine how it is ultimately distributed to particular activities/subjects.

    In developing the REF, the attribution of different disciplines to particular units of assessment was agreed with the relevant professional bodies. Research relevant to clinical mental health was assessed in a unit including psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience. As this unit included a mix of research with higher costs (clinical psychology and psychiatry, and neuroscience) and lower costs (social psychology), the funding was allocated at an intermediate cost rate, reflecting the mix of disciplines.

    REF2014 demonstrated significantly improved research quality in all disciplines, including psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience. As a result, the funding allocated on the basis of performance to this group increased by 16.5 per cent.

    As announced in the Spending Review 2015, the Government is taking forward a review of the REF to ensure that future university research funding is allocated efficiently, offers greater rewards for excellent research and reduces the administrative burden on institutions. This review will be led by Lord Stern, and he is expected to deliver his review to the Government in summer 2016.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils who achieved five A* to C grades at GCSE in 2015 received no higher than a C grade in any subject.

    Nick Gibb

    Of those pupils[1] achieving five A* to C grades at GCSE[2] in 2015:

    • 4.5% received no higher than a C grade in any subject

    • 32.8% received no higher than a B grade in any subject

    [1] Based on pupils at the end of key stage 4 in the 2014/15 academic year

    [2] Based on those pupils entering single award GCSEs only

  • 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 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to ensure the UK meets (a) the EU target to 50 per cent of municipal waste by 2020 and (b) the proposed EU target to recycle 65 per cent of such waste by 2030.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK recycling rate has increased from 11% at the turn of the century, to 44.9% now. This progress is thanks in large part to the hard work of Local Authorities and householders.

    The Government is committed to meeting the 2020 EU recycling target of 50% of household waste.

    Local Authorities are best placed to determine the most appropriate waste collection and recycling services in their areas and we work with them and the Waste and Recycling Action Programme (WRAP) to promote best practice.

    I have asked WRAP to look at what further measures can be taken to improve recycling rates and, in particular the benefits and opportunities there are from having greater consistency in the materials collected and collection systems to enable Local Authorities to recycle more, and to make it easier for householders to put the right materials in the right bin.

    The UK is still assessing the implications of the proposed recycling targets for 2030.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11023, whether discussions are ongoing with EDF about proposals for two reactors at Sizewell and Bradwell; and whether she plans to include those propospals in the process for the signing off of the proposed contract for Hinkley Point C.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government routinely speaks to developers about proposed new nuclear projects. There is no commitment in the documentation for Hinkley Point C in relation to the proposed reactors at Sizewell C or Bradwell. The strike price for Hinkley Point C is £92.50/MWh, which if Sizewell goes ahead will be reduced to £89.50/MWh.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36224, on proceeds of crime, how many reporters received no reply within seven working days following the first working day after the report was submitted; and by what statutory authority appropriate consent is given to reporters who do not receive a reply from the National Crime Agency within the seven day limit.

    Mr John Hayes

    Between October 2011 and September 2015 a total of 61 reporters who requested consent under Part 7 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) received no reply from the NCA within the seven working days (referred to as the notice period in POCA). Where an authorised disclosure is made under section 338 POCA, appropriate consent is afforded to a reporter in cases where no reply is provided by the NCA at the end of the seven day notice period under section 335(3) POCA or in the case where the disclosure is from a nominated officer in the regulated sector, under section 336(3) POCA.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-06-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will discuss with the banking sector steps to ensure that individuals seeking to switch their current account are able to access their historical transaction data to better enable them to secure a similar overdraft to their existing one with a new provider.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government is committed to increasing competition in banking to ensure banks have to work hard to offer the best possible products and services to their customers. A key part of that is making the process for customers switching their current accounts as easy and as effective as possible, to ensure customers are able to hold their banks to account by voting with their feet.

    The Government has already undertaken a lot of work to improve the process for customers switching their current accounts, including helping to deliver the Current Account Switch Service to enable customers to switch banks simply, quickly and reliably, and delivering midata, to enable customers to compare which bank is best for them based on how they use their current account.

    As part of its retail banking market investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is considering what additional improvements could be made to the process of customers switching current accounts, including requiring banks to make historical transaction data available and making it easier for customers to switch their overdraft when they move banks. The CMA is also considering other additional measures designed to support overdraft users.

    The Government welcomes the CMA’s investigation, and stands ready to take action as necessary once it publishes its final report in the summer.

  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many forces personnel, by rank, have purchased a property under the Help to Buy scheme.

    Mark Lancaster

    The information is not held in the format requested.

    However, the latest monthly figures for The Forces Help to Buy Scheme are published at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/546417/20160818-FHTB_Official_Stats_July.pdf

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to support the eradication of malnutrition.

    Grant Shapps

    The Government has made a commitment to improve the nutrition of 50 million people by 2020. Those being helped include children under five, breastfeeding women, women of childbearing age and adolescent girls. This builds on an earlier commitment to help children under five and pregnant and breastfeeding women, through which 28.5 million people had been reached by mid-2015.

    DFID support is focused on the following objectives: greater coverage of nutrition-specific programmes; leverage more nutrition outcomes from other programmes like agriculture, social protection, education, health and water and sanitation; contribute to new solutions to undernutrition; and a more effective international response.