Tag: Ronnie Cowan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average length of time is that feed-in tariff applications have been queued since applying for full accreditation; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the timelines of that accreditation process.

Jesse Norman

Ofgem aims to approve applications in under 12 weeks where all the necessary information has been provided. Those applications still in the process after 12 weeks are likely to be complex or require further clarification from the applicant. The average time that full accreditation applications have been in the queue since applying is currently five and a half months.

Ofgem is committed to continuous improvement of accreditation processes and works with applicants to get applications approved as quickly as possible. In order to accomplish this Ofgem has now doubled the level of staffing in this area and made process improvements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role he expects the UK to play in discussions at the UN General Assembly on multilateral nuclear disarmament; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan

The UK plays a full and active role in the UN First Committee on disarmament and international security. We are considering nearly 70 resolutions covering the whole spectrum of First Committee activity working with other States to prevent proliferation and to make progress towards multilateral nuclear disarmament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many visits the armed forces made to state secondary schools in (a) Inverclyde and (b) Scotland in each of the last five years.

Mark Lancaster

The Armed Forces never visit schools for recruitment purposes and would only ever visit a school after being invited by a teacher to support school activities. Similar contributions to schools are made by the Police, Fire, Ambulance and other emergency services. The Armed Forces receive numerous requests from schools each year and the three Services take these opportunities to both explain their role, and to assist schools in teaching valuable skills such as leadership, teamwork and citizenship.

These visits can comprise presentations, citizenship talks, meetings with staff, participation in career events, practice interviews and activities with the students, such as science and maths challenges, and other indoor or outdoor exercises.

Information on the number of visits by the Royal Navy and the Army to secondary schools is presented below, by Financial Year (FY); the category of secondary educational establishment (such as state or independent) is not recorded. Details of visits by the Royal Air Force could not be provided in the time available and I will write to the hon. Member when the information is available.

Royal Navy

FY	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16
Scotland	267	176	176	150	88
Inverclyde	1	0	3	4	0

Note: 2015-16 to 12 February 2016.

Army

FY	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16
Scotland	191	199	175	203	279
Inverclyde	Not Known	Not Known	Not Known	6	1

Note: 2015-16 includes events confirmed to the end of March 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many applications for feed-in tariffs under the renewables obligation order-feed-in tariff application process for larger systems managed by Ofgem are awaiting accreditation.

Andrea Leadsom

The total number of Renewables Obligation Order Feed-in Tariff (ROO-FIT) applications which are awaiting accreditation as of April 2016 is 1993. This includes 472 applications for preliminary accreditation, 1456 applications which have converted to full accreditation or applied for full accreditation, and 65 amendments to existing accredited installations. Ofgem aims to approve applications in under 12 weeks where all the necessary information has been provided.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other (a) NATO member states and (b) Commonwealth countries on the upcoming discussions at the UN General Assembly on multilateral nuclear disarmament; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan

The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) has had discussions with a number of counterparts on the important issue of multilateral nuclear disarmament. The UK Government firmly believes that the best way to achieve a world without nuclear weapons is through gradual disarmament, negotiated using a step-by-step aproach and within the framework of the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were recruited to the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force, (c) Royal Navy and (d) reserve forces in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Mr Julian Brazier

Intake to the UK Regulars by location is unavailable. However, the Ministry of Defence publishes UK Regular strengths by stationed location in our Quarterly Location Statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/location-of-all-uk-regular-service-and-civilian-personnel-quarterly-statistics-index

Information on intake into the Volunteer Reserve by stationed location is provided in the attached table.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what research his Department has undertaken on the potential merits of implementing a universal basic income.

Priti Patel

My department has not undertaken any research on this topic.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many foreign consulates or diplomatic offices have closed in Scotland since 2010.

Mr David Lidington

One such mission has closed in Scotland since 2010.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to provide specialist local NHS services to treat gambling addiction.

Alistair Burt

The Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust provides the only specialised national problem gambling clinic. However, specialised addiction services, which mainly deal with substance misuse, do tend to accept people with gambling problems referred to them. People can also access addiction services in primary care and secondary care, which may provide support for problem gambling.

People may also access psychological therapies through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. Although problem gambling is not listed amongst the provisional diagnosis categories that IAPT treats, IAPT practitioners would be able to treat common mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety, which may be present in people with gambling addiction problems.

Data is not collected centrally on the number of specialist National Health Service professionals which provide support and treatment for gambling addiction.

Data is not collected on the funding of services to treat people with gambling problems. Funding to provide NHS mental health services is allocated to clinical commissioning groups which are best placed to commission local health services based on the needs of their local populations. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning local alcohol and drug treatment services which may also refer people to gambling support services where they identify people with gambling issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that oil produced in UK waters is sent to oil refineries in the UK.

Andrea Leadsom

The UK encourages a well-functioning global market for oil and oil products. The UK’s 6 refineries are well supplied by both domestically produced and imported crude oil, which they purchase in line with their commercial strategy. This diversity and flexibility of supply ensures that UK refineries and consumers are able to benefit from the most affordable prices.