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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • James Cleverly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    James Cleverly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cleverly on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what contribution from the public purse has been made to the Commonwealth Secretariat in each of the last five years; and how much the UK is expected to so provide in each of the next five years.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK remains the largest financial contributor to the Commonwealth Secretariat, providing around 32% of the total budget. To establish a reasonable baseline, financial contributions to the Secretariat’s general budget are based on scales agreed at the UN. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) assessed contributions for the last five years were as follows:

    2011/2012 £5,168,586

    2012/2013 £5,262,654

    2013/2014 £5,326,331

    2014/2015 £5,455,484

    2015/2016 £5,469,640

    UN scales of assessment 2016 – 2018 were agreed in New York in December 2015. They will form the basis for future FCO contributions to the Secretariat’s general budget. Under existing Commonwealth guidelines, the budget is shared amongst the membership in accordance with three principles: Capacity to Pay, Equitable burden sharing and shared ownership and responsibility. This ensures that all members enjoy an equal voice within the organisation.

    In addition to FCO assessed contributions, the Department for International Development also makes voluntary contributions to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation and a number of Commonwealth programmes.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the merits of exempting operators of electricity storage from Balanced Services Use of System charges.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department and Ofgem are jointly considering the need to address the legislative status of storage, which has potential implications for the charging regime for storage. Ofgem have recently published “Making the electricity system more flexible and delivering the benefits for consumers”, in which they state, “While storage has been providing flexibility in other countries, and pumped storage has historically played a strong role in GB, the potential of battery and other forms of storage to smooth intermittent generation or contribute to local balancing has not yet been fully realised in the UK… We will therefore: undertake work with DECC to clarify the legal and commercial status of storage and explore whether changes to the regulatory and commercial framework are needed to enable its efficient use, seeking input on options from stakeholders. Where changes are needed, they will be informed by considering the interactions and implications of a new regulatory framework for storage on all segments of the market”:

    https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/docs/2015/09/flexibility_position_paper_final_0.pdf.

    “

  • Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average response time to dwelling fires was for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14.

    Mike Penning

    I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.

    Information on average response times to dwelling fires for each fire and rescue service and for each year is available in Table 3b of the Department’s Fire incidents response times: England publication at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fire-incidents-response-times-england-2014-to-2015

    “

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what contingency arrangements her Department has made for the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the upcoming EU referendum.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    I refer the Honourable Member to the answer provided by my Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister on Thursday 14 January 2016 (UIN: 21952).

  • Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they intend to take against landlords who fail to maintain their properties in a safe and fit state of repair.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Housing Health and Safety Rating System assesses the health and safety risks in all residential properties. Under the Housing Act 2004, following an Rating System inspection, if a local authority identifies a serious hazard they can take action, including issuing an Improvement Notice or a Hazard Awareness Notice. In extreme circumstances, the local authority may decide to make repairs themselves, or to prohibit that property from being rented out. Where a landlord fails to comply with a statutory notice, this is an offence, and they can be prosecuted by the local authority. From October 2015 we introduced protection for tenants from retaliatory eviction, where they have a legitimate complaint about the condition of the property.

    The Housing and Planning Bill will strengthen local authorities’ ability and incentives to tackle rogue landlords by introducing measures including:

    • A database of rogue landlords and property agents convicted of certain offences;
    • Banning orders for the most serious and prolific offenders;
    • Civil penalties of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution;
    • Extension of Rent Repayment Orders to cover illegal eviction, breach of a banning order or failure to comply with a statutory notice;
    • A more stringent fit and proper person test for landlords of licensable properties such as Houses in Multiple Occupation.

    My Department also recently announced a further £5 million of funding across 48 local authorities to tackle the worst rogue landlords in their areas.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of paragraph 16 of the agreement between the Scottish and UK governments on the Scottish fiscal framework, whether there is any obligation on the Scottish Government (1) to spend all or a certain proportion of the money passed to them for NHS services under the Barnett formula on those services; or (2) to account to the Scottish Parliament for not doing so.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The mechanical application of the Barnett Formula ensures that the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly receive a population share of changes in UK government funding on the services for which they have devolved responsibility. In accordance with the principles of devolution and the devolution Acts themselves, it is for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their funding (from the block grant or taxes/borrowing) to public services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and it is for the devolved legislatures to hold them to account. The Scottish Government’s new fiscal framework does not alter this.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure charities in receipt of public funds do not express a view on the forthcoming European Union Referendum.

    John Penrose

    The rules on campaigning at the referendum are set out in the European Union Referendum Act 2015 and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. There is no general restriction on institutions and organisations in receipt of public funds expressing a corporate opinion on the European Union Referendum. However, there are restrictions on organisations whose expenses are met wholly or mainly from public funds publishing certain material relating to the referendum in the final 28 days.

    As the independent regulator for charities in England and Wales, the Charity Commission published guidance for charities on 7 March 2016 regarding the forthcoming EU referendum. This clearly sets out the threshold necessary to justify any charitable activity on this specific issue.

  • 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 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate of real world diesel emissions for Euro 6 vehicles, relative to the laboratory test limit, was used in the evidential basis supporting her Department’s conclusion that eight air quality zones would not comply with Nitrogen Dioxide limits by 2020 if no action is taken.

    Rory Stewart

    The modelling used for the air quality plan was based on the best available data and uses the latest COPERT (Computer Programme to Calculate Emissions from Road Transport) (4v11) factors to calculate emissions from diesel cars.

    These COPERT factors reflect that there is a difference between laboratory testing of vehicle emissions and real world emissions. They assume Euro 6 diesel cars are, on average, emitting 2.8 times the level of emissions allowed for the Euro 6 standard.

    In May, the Government will present the results of its vehicle testing programme (www.gov.uk/government/publications/vehicle-emissions-testing-programme-conclusions) to European Research for Mobile Emission Sources (ERMES), the body responsible for collating vehicle emission data, to inform its updated emissions factors later this year. This will ensure that EU-wide emission factors continue to focus on the latest data updated on the basis of real world testing.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many special needs schools offer (a) before-school care, (b) after-school care and (c) both before and after-school care in England; and what proportion of special needs schools each of those numbers represents.

    Edward Timpson

    This data was collected for the first time in the January 2016 school census. Later this year we will update the school performance tables and plan to publish alongside them information about all schools’ childcare provision including breakfast clubs. This will include information on all state funded and non-maintained special schools.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will estimate the proportion of Countryside Stewardship schemes that will be signed-off before the Autumn Statement.

    George Eustice

    The application deadline for Countryside Stewardship multi-annual agreements is 30 September. Natural England will be looking to make offers to all successful applicants before the Autumn Statement.