Tag: Valerie Vaz

  • Valerie Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Valerie Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assets of (a) President Assad and (b) the Syrian government have been frozen in the UK; and what the value is of those assets.

    Harriett Baldwin

    In view of the situation in Syria, Council Regulation (EU) No 36/2012 of 18 January 2012 imposed an asset freeze against listed Syrian individuals and entities. The EU Regulation, which has direct effect in the UK, requires that all funds and economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by listed persons are frozen.

    Those listed under this regime include natural and legal persons, entities and bodies who have been identified as being responsible for the violent repression against the civilian population in Syria, persons and entities benefiting from or supporting the regime, and natural or legal persons associated with them. These persons and entities include, but are not limited to, President Assad and several members and agencies of the Syrian government.

    The approximate aggregate value of funds frozen in UK jurisdiction under EU Regulation 36/2012 is £151,080,000 (based on an annual audit in September 2014). These funds continue to belong to the individuals and entities listed under the Regulation and are not seized or otherwise held by HM Government.

    The Regulation states that HM Treasury can use this information only for the purpose for which it was provided. In order to comply with this requirement, and to comply with UK data protection law, the figure is provided on an aggregate basis so as not to disclose data relating to funds held by particular individuals or entities.

    HM Treasury publishes the names of those subject to EU financial sanctions on the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK, which can be found on the gov.uk website.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Valerie Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to announce her decision on the designation of the 23 marine conservation zones proposed in tranche 2.

    George Eustice

    Decisions on the marine conservation zones being designated in the second tranche will be announced by the end of January 2016.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.

    Stephen Hammond

    The department has three numbers in use detailed in the chart below.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-04-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the extent of the availability of free telephones in jobcentres for jobseekers to contact officials within his Department.

    Esther McVey

    Jobcentres provide face to face support for claimants. There is also controlled access to telephones for claimants who need to contact officials in this department over the phone.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-04-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of allowances being paid to senior bank executives to enable them to avoid the EU bonus cap.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The UK is at the forefront of global efforts to tackle excessive pay in the financial sector and ensure that pay is aligned with performance; our tough Remuneration Code requires deferral of at least 60% of bonuses of senior bankers and limits the amounts that can be paid in cash. Bonuses are down significantly since their peak under the last Government, and are now largely deferred and paid in shares.

    In contrast, the EU’s bonus cap is a poorly thought through measure that undermines rather than reinforces our efforts by pushing up fixed pay. It was introduced without any proper impact assessment and has serious issues around its compatibility with the EU Treaty, and for these reasons we are challenging it in the European Court of Justice. However, pending the outcome, the Government is fully implementing the cap in the UK.

    The Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority have responsibility for ensuring that remuneration practices in the banking sector are compliant with the new rules.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.

    Andrea Leadsom

    HM Treasury do not use 0845, 0844 or 0830 telephone numbers.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many chemistry teachers in secondary schools in each constituency have a chemistry degree.

    Mr David Laws

    An estimate for the information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how long the recruitment period will be for subject knowledge enhancement courses for 2015-16.

    Mr David Laws

    Recruitment to subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses is a matter for providers of initial teacher training and lead schools in the School Direct programme. We have announced funding support for SKE courses up to 31 March 2015 and will make a further announcement for the period beyond that in due course.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many chemistry teachers undertook a chemistry subject knowledge enhancement course in each of the last five years.

    Mr David Laws

    There are two types of subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses: pre initial teacher training (ITT) SKE, to support recruitment of trainee teachers in shortage subjects; and post ITT SKE, to support workforce challenges in schools.

    We have surpassed our target for trainees entering chemistry teacher training in each of the last three years, recruiting 121% of the target in 2011/12, 108% in 2012/13, and 127% in 2013/14.

    In addition, the latest annual School Workforce Census (2013)[1] shows that 80.4% of chemistry teachers who teach pupils from years 7 to 13 have a relevant post-A Level qualification, up from 72.7% in the 2010 census[2].

    Data for the number of chemistry SKE courses for 2009-2013 is below. Post ITT SKE courses were available only from the academic year 2011/12. SKE course data for 2013/14 is not yet available.

    Academic year

    Number of pre ITT chemistry SKE courses undertaken

    Number of post ITT chemistry SKE courses undertaken

    2009/10

    577

    N/A

    2010/11

    522

    N/A

    2011/12

    574

    87

    2012/13

    399

    91

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2013

    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-workforce-in-england-november-2010-provisional

  • Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many primary schools in England have a (a) science subject leader and (b) subject leader who has a science degree.

    Mr David Laws

    The information requested is not collected centrally.