Alistair Burt

My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects to lay draft regulations for the early closure of the Renewables Obligation to large solar PV before Parliament early in the new year. An illustrative draft was published alongside the Government Response and is available on the government website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-changes-to-financial-support-for-solar-pv

The amendments to the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) were laid in October and are due to come into effect by 1st January 2015. The Government has finished consulting on a further question arising from that consultation (defining what is meant by “other-than-standalone”) and the Secretary of State expects to lay a further amendment to the FITS Order and necessary modifications to the licence conditions early in the new year.

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills responded to the letter from my Rt hon Friend of 2 September 2014, received in his Department 22 October, on 18 November 2014.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman publish information on staffing and their performance in their Annual Report and Resource Accounts which are laid before Parliament. I have asked the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to write to the Hon. Member with further detail on the specific questions raised. Copies of the reply will be placed in the House Library.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman publish information on staffing and their performance in their Annual Report and Resource Accounts which are laid before Parliament. I have asked the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to write to the Hon. Member with further detail on the specific questions raised. Copies of the reply will be placed in the House Library.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman publish information on staffing and their performance in their Annual Report and Resource Accounts which are laid before Parliament. I have asked the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to write to the Hon. Member with further detail on the specific questions raised. Copies of the reply will be placed in the House Library.

In 2017, of 308.1 TWh electricity used in England and Wales, 293.3 TWh (95.2 per cent) was generated in the UK. This includes electricity used by generators, for pumped storage, losses, and final consumption.

Data for 2018 split by regions of the UK are not yet available. These will be published in December 2019.

In 2017, of 308.1 TWh electricity used in England and Wales, 14.8 TWh (4.8 per cent) was imported from Europe into the UK via interconnectors. This includes electricity used by generators, for pumped storage, losses, and final consumption.

Data for 2018 split by regions of the UK are not yet available. These will be published in December 2019.

The 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme is currently developing proposals for the Rural Connected Communities (RCC) project. This aims to build the business case for 5G, and rural mobile coverage by testing a range of technical solutions and commercial models, building and proving demand through new use cases.

When the application process for the RCC project is open, as a mainly rural area, North East Bedfordshire may wish to submit a bid, subject to the competition’s final eligibility requirements.

At Budget 2018, £200 million was allocated from the National Productivity Investment Fund for the Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme. This is to start our "Outside-In" approach identified in the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, which seeks to ensure that around 10% of UK premises that are not likely to get commercial full fibre coverage by 2033 are addressed at the same pace as the rest of the country.

We will make further announcements on this policy shortly.

11,257.

The Department does not hold information on BT's commercial investment in broadband roll-out.

In Phase 1 of the Superfast Broadband Programme there are 44 contracts between Local Bodies and providers. 33 of these used the Broadband Delivery Framework. Nine suppliers started the competitive dialogue tender process for the Framework and three submitted final tenders. Two of these tenders were accepted. Of these, only one supplier has submitted bids for individual projects.

For the remaining 11 local projects an OJEU procurement was used by the Local Bodies. Across the 11 projects a total of 19 different suppliers were invited to submit bids. Four different suppliers submitted ITT responses at the end of the procurement processes.

All three contracts so far signed for Phase 2 of the programme have used the Broadband Delivery Framework that was established as part of Phase 1.

Local authorities have a duty to consider the placement for each child and are required to ensure that children in care are provided with suitable accommodation that meets their needs.

Many children in care aged 16 and 17 live in foster care or children’s homes, which are inspected by Ofsted. Data from Ofsted’s latest annual report (2017/18) show that 84% of providers are judged as good or outstanding and 2% are inadequate.

We are supporting local authorities to increase sufficiency of fostering, secure and non-secure residential placements and ensure that placements meet children’s needs. This includes investing £5 million in an innovation programme funding 3 projects to increase councils residential care capacity and improve commissioning practice.

In fostering, we have invited local authorities and their partners to bid for seed funding to conduct feasibility studies into new or expanded collaborative approaches. This is across sufficiency planning, commissioning, recruitment and training of foster parents. In addition, arrangements for young people preparing to step up to, or down from residential care, or return home from foster care. The department is also increasing the number of secure children’s homes beds through our £40 million capital grants programme. In addition, the department has invested nearly £6 million in a pilot programme called Staying Close, which will provide further support for young people leaving residential care.

Where it is judged to be in the child’s best interests, local authorities can also accommodate children in care and care leavers aged 16 or 17 in suitable unregulated provision.

Suitable accommodation is defined in regulations in the Children Act Volume 2 statutory guidance, a copy of which is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/441643/Children_Act_Guidance_2015.pdf.

Unregulated accommodation can be the right option for some older children in care and care leavers aged 16 or 17, providing a stepping-stone towards living as an independent adult. In some cases, the quality of accommodation provided may not be reaching the standards we would expect, so I have asked Sir Alan Wood, the Chair of the Residential Care Leadership Board, to collect evidence to help us understand where improvements might be needed.

In light of Sir Alan Wood’s findings, we will consider whether further steps need to be taken to ensure that all children in care aged 16 or 17 are living in settings that are safe and provide the wrap-around support that they need.

Apprenticeships are paid jobs that give young people the chance to reach their potential; acquire transferable skills much valued in the labour market and the apprentice does not have to contribute to the costs of their learning.

We are encouraging a wide range of people into apprenticeships – our ‘Get In Go Far’ campaign is aimed at 14-24 year-olds, their parents, teachers and employers. This major four-year campaign aims to influence public perceptions, awareness and attitudes towards apprenticeships as a route into a successful career, encouraging more young people to apply and more employers to offer apprenticeship opportunities.

From May 2017, we have proposed giving employers and providers a cash payment each of £1,000 when they train a 16-18 year old, and we will fund 100 per cent of apprenticeship training costs for small employers with fewer than 50 staff when they employ 16-18 year old apprentices.

The National Careers Service provides independent, professional advice on careers, skills and the labour market, including on the benefits of apprenticeships and how to apply for vacancies.

We pledged to introduce the manifesto commitment to give working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds 30 hours of free childcare from September 2017, and we have already made excellent progress in meeting this deadline.

We have already put in place legislation to support 30 hours through the Childcare Act 2016, announced increased funding of £1billion extra per year by 2019/20 to support the introduction of 30 hours and launched a consultation on how we can allocate funding in a fairer way. We have also: identified £50million of capital funding to create new childcare places; consulted on the operational delivery of 30 hours; and have worked to provide parents applying for 30 hours and Tax-Free Childcare with a single online application process for both government offers.

We have brought forward the implementation of the additional 15 hours to September 2016 for some families in eight areas. These areas will test how we can implement 30 hours in a way that works for children, parents and childcare providers.

Since the beginning of this month, working parents in York, Northumberland, Newham, Wigan, Staffordshire, Swindon, Portsmouth and Hertfordshire have been enjoying the benefits of 30 hours of free childcare.

My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and my noble Friend the Lord Nash met the headteacher and chair of governors of Sandy Upper School, together with my hon. Friend in December 2014. They were pleased to note the rapid improvement in standards at the school.

Several Members have enquired about the protection of specific wild bird species with reference to the findings of the 2016 review of Special Protection Areas (SPA). The answers are available on the Parliamentary website.

Defra officials, in liaison with Natural England, are finalising an assessment of how best to implement the SPA review in England. This draws on the advice and options set out in the second phase of the Review in 2017. It will include advice on how to prioritise implementation to achieve the best conservation outcomes including for nightjar.

Border Inspection Posts (BIPs) that handle imported product of animal origin at UK ports and airports are provided by commercial operators. The BIP at Heathrow Airport is comprised of three separately managed inspection centres including one that handles imports of live animals. Norbert Dentressangle operates one of two inspection centres that are approved to handle different types of product of animal origin.

Defra has received representations from and on behalf of businesses that currently rely on the inspection centre currently operated by Norbert Dentressangle. Officials have responded informally to understand better these concerns.

I understand that the operator of the second animal product inspection centre at Heathrow has expressed an interest in providing alternative inspection facilities. Their facility will require some structural and other changes and these will need to be checked by the Animal and Plant Health Agency. Any fundamental change to the existing facility will also need to be approved by the Food and Veterinary Office of the European Commission. This could require an inspection of any new facilities.

I also understand that the parties involved are also exploring contingency measures that could operate whilst any planning and building work is carried out. The aim is to ensure that there is a continuous Border Inspection capability for all types of product of animal origin at Heathrow.

I appreciate the importance that the bio-pharmaceutical industry and other importers attach to the maintenance of inspection facilities for animal product at Heathrow Airport. I welcome the discussions that are currently taking place between various interested parties. Defra will continue to follow developments closely and officials will provide any advice needed to assist the possible development the other animal product inspection centre at Heathrow Airport.

Border Inspection Posts (BIPs) that handle imported product of animal origin at UK ports and airports are provided by commercial operators. The BIP at Heathrow Airport is comprised of three separately managed inspection centres including one that handles imports of live animals. Norbert Dentressangle operates one of two inspection centres that are approved to handle different types of product of animal origin.

Defra has received representations from and on behalf of businesses that currently rely on the inspection centre currently operated by Norbert Dentressangle. Officials have responded informally to understand better these concerns.

I understand that the operator of the second animal product inspection centre at Heathrow has expressed an interest in providing alternative inspection facilities. Their facility will require some structural and other changes and these will need to be checked by the Animal and Plant Health Agency. Any fundamental change to the existing facility will also need to be approved by the Food and Veterinary Office of the European Commission. This could require an inspection of any new facilities.

I also understand that the parties involved are also exploring contingency measures that could operate whilst any planning and building work is carried out. The aim is to ensure that there is a continuous Border Inspection capability for all types of product of animal origin at Heathrow.

I appreciate the importance that the bio-pharmaceutical industry and other importers attach to the maintenance of inspection facilities for animal product at Heathrow Airport. I welcome the discussions that are currently taking place between various interested parties. Defra will continue to follow developments closely and officials will provide any advice needed to assist the possible development the other animal product inspection centre at Heathrow Airport.

Border Inspection Posts (BIPs) that handle imported product of animal origin at UK ports and airports are provided by commercial operators. The BIP at Heathrow Airport is comprised of three separately managed inspection centres including one that handles imports of live animals. Norbert Dentressangle operates one of two inspection centres that are approved to handle different types of product of animal origin.

Defra has received representations from and on behalf of businesses that currently rely on the inspection centre currently operated by Norbert Dentressangle. Officials have responded informally to understand better these concerns.

I understand that the operator of the second animal product inspection centre at Heathrow has expressed an interest in providing alternative inspection facilities. Their facility will require some structural and other changes and these will need to be checked by the Animal and Plant Health Agency. Any fundamental change to the existing facility will also need to be approved by the Food and Veterinary Office of the European Commission. This could require an inspection of any new facilities.

I also understand that the parties involved are also exploring contingency measures that could operate whilst any planning and building work is carried out. The aim is to ensure that there is a continuous Border Inspection capability for all types of product of animal origin at Heathrow.

I appreciate the importance that the bio-pharmaceutical industry and other importers attach to the maintenance of inspection facilities for animal product at Heathrow Airport. I welcome the discussions that are currently taking place between various interested parties. Defra will continue to follow developments closely and officials will provide any advice needed to assist the possible development the other animal product inspection centre at Heathrow Airport.

Omitting scheduled station stops (‘skip-stopping’) is used in exceptional circumstances where there is disruption to restore the service to schedule for the peaks as quickly as possible.

We expect the operator to make the correct operational decisions which balance the needs of passengers who are inconvenienced by taking stops out of service against the wider advantage to passengers of getting services back on schedule as soon as possible. Operators are expected to communicate this to passengers in good time where possible, and to provide affected passengers with advice on the alternative options to complete their journey.

Officials meet regularly with GTR to discuss performance and the operator has confirmed that it tries to protect stations like Arlesey where there are no alternative modes of transport. Where trains do miss these stations GTR has a procedure to try and ensure that the next fast service does call there.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not hold information in this way.

Since 1 October 2014, vehicle excise duty (VED) automatically ends when the DVLA receives notification that a vehicle has been sold to a new keeper or the motor trade. VED also ends when DVLA is notified that a Statutory Off Road Notification has been made or a vehicle has been stolen, exported or scrapped. When the DVLA record is updated with one of these qualifying events, a refund is usually generated automatically to the registered keeper. This can take longer in a small number of cases where further enquiries by the DVLA are necessary or the vehicle keeper is asked to provide additional information.

The following table sets out the volume of refunds of vehicle excise duty issued in each financial year since 2014.

*Figures for 2016/17 are April to August

Between October 2014 and August 2016, the DVLA has issued over 10.7 million vehicle excise duty refunds. The following table sets out the number of complaints about refunds received each month by the DVLA since October 2014.

I would be delighted to visit again the Black Cat roundabout.

Work on this important Pinch Point Scheme is now nearing completion and the impact that the work has had on neighbouring businesses will soon end.

I am keen to ensure that the impact of all construction work on local businesses is minimised wherever possible, as is the Highways Agency. I am aware that the close proximity of these particular works to neighbouring businesses has been the cause of some frustration, however, I am also aware of the efforts made by the Highways Agency to listen to local concerns and to address them during the construction phase where it has been possible to do so.

Once completed, the improvements made at the Black Cat Roundabout will benefit not only its near neighbours but the local and wider economies through safer and less congested journeys.

The table below shows the funding provided by DWP to Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council in relation to local welfare assistance schemes for 2013/14 and 2014/15.

The Department has no plans to allocate funding to enable IT connectivity between primary care optical practices and hospital eye departments. NHS England is continuing to work with the eye care sector and other key stakeholders on this area of work and will be considering priorities for IT investment later this year.

For the cessation period which ended 16 August 2018, closing reserves were £203,657 which was returned to the Department, as the Founder, at close on 16 August 2018, in line with the requirements of the Trust Deed.

The Department has since directly financed the NHS Business Services Authority to administer the England Infected Blood Support Scheme to provide discretionary ex gratia financial assistance, to those individuals who have been shown to be infected or affected, by hepatitis C and HIV throughout the 1980s and 1990s. On 30 April 2019, the Department committed to increase the total amount of financial support for these individuals from £46 million to £75 million.

This information is not held centrally. Decisions regarding the planning of services in a local area are the responsibility of individual clinical commissioning groups.

The new infected blood payment scheme will contain a discretionary element.

The three existing discretionary schemes will remain in place until the new scheme administrator is in place later in 2017. This will ensure a smooth handover of the discretionary elements under the new scheme.

Further details of the discretionary support scheme will be provided in advance of the new scheme being set up.

Information published by NHS England shows that the proportion of hospital outpatient appointments that were missed by patients has decreased from 10.3% in 2009-10 to 8.9% in 2015-16.

It is the responsibility of National Health Service hospital trusts to make their own arrangements for reducing the number of missed appointments. Intensive Support Teams within NHS Improvement have published an information sheet¹ containing a range of initiatives that NHS hospital trusts should consider.

The Department, in conjunction with behavioural scientists at Imperial College, has conducted randomised controlled trials at Barts Hospitals NHS Trust into the content of the most effective text reminder. The results were published in an online academic journal² in September 2015 and summarised on the Department’s website³ in January 2016.

The NHS e-Referral Service replaced Choose and Book in June 2015. From 2016-17, as well as booking appointments, patients have been able to change or cancel their appointment on a smartphone, tablet or computer.

The NHS Constitution is clear that patients have responsibilities too, including “to keep appointments, or cancel within a reasonable time.”

References:

¹ http://www.nhsimas.nhs.uk/fileadmin/Files/IST/NHS_IMAS_IST_Cancellations_and_DNA_s_Information_Sheet__Final__I-26_v1.00.pdf

² http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0137306

³ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reducing-missed-hospital-appointments-using-text-messages

I discussed the issue of Syrian refugees with the Lebanese Prime Minister and the Speaker for Parliament when I visited Lebanon in December. I paid tribute to Lebanon’s generosity as they host nearly 1.2 million registered refugees and made clear that the UK’s support, which is now around £160 million since the start of the Syria crisis, will continue. Following the announcement of new border regulations by the Lebanese authorities, our Ambassador in Lebanon alongside EU partners, reiterated to the Lebanese Prime Minister the international community’s concern that the new border regulations should adequately provide for the most vulnerable humanitarian cases.

I refer my honourable Friend the member for North East Bedfordshire to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary to this House on 16 June 2014 on the outcomes of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. 79 Ministers and 129 country delegations were accredited for Summit, plus 950 experts from civil society, non-governmental organisations, academia, health practitioners, military and policy. Many more members of the public attended the Fringe. The FCO supported participation of the 300 grass roots and civil society activists from conflict affected countries, many of whom had direct experience of sexual violence in conflict. Other organisations who attended also had survivors as part of their delegations. Together we discussed practical action to tackle impunity for the use of sexual violence as a tactic of conflict and continued the long process of changing global attitudes to these crimes.

I refer my honourable Friend the member for North East Bedfordshire to the Foreign Secretary's statement to the House on 16 June 2014 on the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. There were 175 fringe events during the Summit, which included panel discussions and debates, theatre and performance, marketplace with products made by survivors, gallery, silent cinema, exhibitions. We estimate that several thousand members of the public attended the fringe each day. In addition, our Embassies and High Commissions overseas held a global fringe and hosted events for each of the 84 hours of the Summit. These events challenged perceptions and encouraged policy and decision makers and the general public to engage with a subject that for too long has remained hidden.

The Global Summit had two primary objectives: to agree practical action to tackle impunity for the use of rape as a weapon of war, and to begin to change global attitudes to these crimes. The Summit set in motion a series of unprecedented practical steps and commitments. In addition, it significantly raised the profile of this issue and placed it firmly on the international policy agenda.

During the Summit we launched the first ever International Protocol on how to document and investigate sexual violence in conflict as a means of overcoming one of the key barriers to prosecutions of these crimes and announced an ambitious plan to implement the Protocol. The Foreign Secretary announced £6 million in new UK funding to support survivors of rape, and the United States, Bahrain, Australia, Japan and others including European partners also made new pledges. The African Union announced a pilot project in the Central African Republic to respond to the urgent needs of victims of sexual violence, supported by the UK and Japan. In addition the Somali government launched a new action plan, supported by the UN and the international community, for addressing sexual violence, which has blighted the lives of thousands there.

Within the Summit we convened a special meeting on security in Nigeria, where violence against women and girls is a particular concern among the wider impact of Boko Haram. We agreed that a Regional Intelligence Fusion Unit should be made operational immediately. The countries of the region also agreed rapidly to implement joint or coordinated patrols along their borders and Cameroon committed to add a battalion to that regional task force. The UK, US and France pledged to support of these regional efforts. We announced a separate package of support for Nigeria including: increased tactical training for the Nigerian army, assistance to regional security and intelligence cooperation, and a joint UK/US educational programme to educate an additional one million children in Nigeria. All the parties present also agreed on the need for UN sanctions against Boko Haram’s leadership and Ansaru, another dangerous terrorist organisation. Both were listed by the UN Security Council’s Al Qaida Sanctions Committee on 26 June.

Finally, states and delegates at the Summit joined together to sign a Statement of Action, uniting governments, UN Agencies, civil society, experts and survivors with a shared determination to tackle these issues.

One of the principal aims of the Global Summit was to invite members of the public to take part in the Summit and to transform awareness of a taboo and often poorly understood subject. We estimate that several thousand members of the public attended the Fringe events each day.