Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will publish the (a) Environmental and Social Due Diligence and (b) assessment against the Commonwealth Development Corporation Code of Responsible Investing for the investments in companies (a) Shan Orchard, (b) Frontiir Co. Ltd, (c) Solar Home Pte Ltd, (d) MC Easy Microfinance Co. Ltd, (e) Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar Ltd, (f) Advans Myanmar and (g) Irrawaddy Green Tower Project in Myanmar.
Answered by James Duddridge
CDC’s rigorous due diligence process involves assessing a wide range of Environmental and Social, as well as Business Integrity risks and involves the production of multiple separate documents and reports. Ordinarily, CDC does not publish the suite of documents related to the due diligence it undertakes in the course of making investments because these documents contain commercially confidential or sensitive information about the business being reviewed.
On that basis, DFID does not intend to publish the documents related to the due diligence of investments listed above.
CDC does publish an overview of expected development impact, including key elements related to Environmental and Social issues, for new investments into companies and funds. The next update of CDC’s database will be available from July when CDC publishes its Annual Review.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much CDC has invested in companies operating in Myanmar in each of the last five years; and what the names are of those companies.
Answered by James Duddridge
The amount CDC invested into companies in Myanmar in the each of the last five years is:
2015 | Nil |
2016 | $50,965,888 |
2017 | $5,534,404 |
2018 | $2,021,605 |
2019 | $20,273,679 |
The names of companies that received investment in this period are: Shan Orchard, Frontiir Co. Ltd, Solar Home Pte Ltd, MC Easy Microfinance Co. Ltd, Alliance for Microfinance in Myanmar Ltd, Advans Myanmar, Irrawaddy Green Tower Project.
Asked by: Madeleine Moon (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has taken steps to support the Green Alliance’s Community Energy Manifesto; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
I am really impressed by the work community groups up and down the United Kingdom are already doing to help their wider communities decarbonise and get involved in this transition.
In the Clean Growth Strategy, I announced the creation of a Local Energy Contact Group and a Local Energy Programme. The Contact group made up of communities, local authorities and local enterprise partnerships and provides local insight for policy teams across BEIS.
The Local Energy Programme has funded Local Energy Strategies in every Local Enterprise Partnership. These strategies will feed into the newly developed Local Energy Hubs, also funded by BEIS to create capacity and capability to help Local Authorities deliver low carbon energy projects at scale.
I have brought the Rural Community Energy Fund into my department to allow it to integrate better with the other work we are doing on heat and local ownership. Together with the Local Energy Programme, that will be almost £20m committed by this Government to support local energy in the last three years. Alongside this we have launched Prospering from the Energy Revolution, a £100m innovation fund designed to support local areas demonstrate future integrated energy systems.
This funding will unlock commercial investment in our local energy system and following a successful national Local Green finance event in Leeds in January, we will be supporting five regional events this summer to bring investors and local projects together.
The Government has a clear vision for an energy system which fairly rewards flexibility for the value it provides to the system.
We have set out in our The Smart Systems & Flexibility Plan, and in the Progress Update in October 2018, a number of actions to open up markets to distribution-connected flexibility, including community energy groups. We are also consulting on a range of changes to the energy market which offer communities a chance to have their say, and ensuring consumers are at the heart of the future energy system.
Asked by: Greg Hands (Conservative - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What plans he has to strengthen the UK's relations with Pacific Alliance countries.
Answered by Alan Duncan
Latin America is an increasingly important partner to the UK. We have strong and close relationships with all four member states of the Pacific Alliance: Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Trade with the bloc increased by 4.5% from 2017 to 2018. We are strengthening partnerships using tools like the Prosperity Fund, Conflict Stability and Security Fund and International Climate Finance to implement programmes of mutual interest, for example in good governance, green growth, security and justice reform, infrastructure and rural and urban development in order to create the conditions for sustainable economic growth and increased trade.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in implementing decisions taken by the Commonwealth Heads of Government in London in April 2018 on (1) the Commonwealth Blue Charter, (2) the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance on marine plastic pollution, and (3) any other decision taken to improve the environment.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In April last year, the UK hosted one of the most successful Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM) ever. All 53 members of the Commonwealth adopted the Commonwealth Blue Charter, agreed to establish action groups on ocean issues led by Commonwealth member countries and mandated the Secretariat to take forward a Commonwealth Blue Charter plan of action. Since CHOGM, nine action groups have now been proposed of which the UK Government has joined three so far: the coral reef protection, ocean acidification, and ocean and climate change action groups. The UK Government is in the process of joining the action groups on Mangroves and Marine Protected Areas.
The UK and Vanuatu also spearhead the groundbreaking Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance (CCOA), the action group to tackle the scourge of plastic pollution in the ocean. The CCOA has gained unparalleled support since its launch in April, increasing its membership from seven to 24 countries across the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Pacific regions. In recognition of our global leadership on tackling the problem of plastic in the ocean, the Prime Minister has announced up to £66.4 million of UK aid to assist Commonwealth countries. This includes a technical assistance facility that will support developing countries in achieving their commitments under the CCOA, which was increased from £5 million to £10 million by the Prime Minister in August last year.
The first phase of the £6 million Commonwealth Litter Programme (CLiP) work in the Pacific region has been completed. Minister Coffey and Pacific country leaders attended a regional conference last month to showcase the marine litter action plans produced by the CLiP with Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. Furthermore, over 35 Government funded Commonwealth Blue Charter Fellowships are underway which continue to support emerging Commonwealth scholars to explore solutions to the marine plastics challenge. We have made tremendous progress in safeguarding our ocean since CHOGM 2018 and we expect even more successful action ahead of the next CHOGM meeting in Rwanda in 2020.
The UK is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals, and tackling climate change and managing the natural environment is a core part of the Government’s international work. For example:
At the International Wildlife Trade Conference hosted in London in October last year, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to tackling the international wildlife trade and we are now investing over £36 million between 2014 and 2021 to counter the trade, including £900,000 of new funding to develop a British military counter-poaching taskforce in Africa.
At last year’s Katowice Climate Change Conference, the UK demonstrated its climate leadership through our instrumental role in the creation of a rulebook to bring the Paris Agreement to life. This common set of rules and metrics is essential for driving genuine climate action globally and for future agreements.
Since April last year the Green Climate Fund has approved the funding of $1.05 billion in funding proposals, and successfully launched its first replenishment for the second resource mobilisation phase. A further $122.5 million has been approved for readiness funding to be deployed this year. Polices related to results management, prohibited practices, the restructuring and cancellation of funding proposals and the appointment of the World Bank as Trustee were also approved. The Fund also selected its next Executive Director, who will serve a four year term from April.
As announced by the Foreign Secretary at CHOGM, the UK and New Zealand co-hosted a meeting at Wilton Park on 16-18 December to discuss climate change and resilience in the Pacific. The Forum was an opportunity to listen to Pacific concerns, needs and priorities in relation to climate change, and provided a space for representatives from across governments and the academic and private sectors to discuss innovative solutions to these challenges.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made in implementing the 25-Year Environment Plan.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The 25 Year Environment Plan sets out the Government’s aim to improve the environment within a generation.
Since the plan was published, the Government has taken decisive action to tackle some of the biggest environmental problems of our age, including:
We will report annually to Parliament on the 25 Year Environment Plan, ensuring we are transparent about our progress and achievements and that we can be held to account. The first annual report is due to be laid before Parliament this spring.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings have been held between his Department and civil society organisations in relation to the Adult Social Care Green Paper since 7 March 2017.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Throughout the development of the Green Paper Ministers and officials have been meeting with and listening to members of civil society. We have records of the civil society organisations who have contributed through the Green Paper roundtable meetings and the Expert Group, however there are many people from civil society organisations who have also contributed through other channels which were less formal or not specifically targeted towards feeding into the Green Paper and their input has also been central in developing the Green Paper.
Since the Department became responsible for publishing the Green Paper there have been:
- Five meetings with the Expert Group;
- Two roundtable meetings with organisations representing people with disabilities;
- A roundtable meeting with organisations representing Carers; and
- A roundtable meeting with Care and Support Alliance and their member organisations.
The expert group includes the following people who have leading roles in civil society organisations:
- Caroline Abrahams, Co-chair of the Care and Support Alliance and Charity Director of Age UK;
- Dame Kate Barker, External Member of the Council at the University of Oxford;
- Dr Eileen Burns, President of the British Geriatrics Society;
- Imelda Redmond, National Director of Healthwatch;
- Professor Paul Burstow, Chair of the Social Care Institute for Excellence;
- Sir Andrew Dilnot, Warden of Nuffield College Oxford; and
- Baroness Martha Lane Fox, founder and Executive Chair of Doteveryone.
Asked by: Lord Barker of Battle (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conclusions of the UN Conference of Parties 24.
Answered by Lord Henley
The 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place in Katowice, Poland, from 2-15 December. In the negotiations we succeeded in securing our main objectives by delivering an operational rulebook that would enable the historic Paris Agreement to be effectively implemented. Inevitably there is still work to be done, but the overall picture is of a rulebook that will drive genuine climate action, providing a common set of rules while allowing for flexibility and support for those countries that need it.
The UK was a strong voice recognising the seriousness of the latest climate science during COP. We played a central role in the progressive alliance of countries striving for a final outcome that coupled robust rules with a call for more ambitious climate action. We did this through supporting the High Ambition Coalition’s Stepping Up Climate Ambition statement and through regularly convening the Cartagena Dialogue of progressive countries.
Outside the negotiations, the UK had a visible presence in Katowice. We celebrated one year of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, 10 years since the passage of the Climate Change Act, and held over 50 events showcasing UK international support, domestic action and low carbon expertise at a UK ‘Green is Great’ Pavilion. We were also pleased to support Poland as COP Presidency with three political initiatives, co-developing their e-mobility declaration and supporting declarations on the importance of a just transition, and forests.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the membership of the (a) Maritime 2050 panel and (b) Clean Maritime Council.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The membership of the Maritime 2050 Expert Panel is:
The membership of the Clean Maritime Council is:
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 127246 on schools: standards, he will list the (a) 26 schools that have remained unmatched to an academy sponsor for over a year, (b) four schools that have remained unmatched for two years and (c) nine schools that have remained unmatched for three years or more.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The information requested is shown in the below tables.
Table1: Number of local authority maintained schools issued with an academy order following an inadequate Ofsted judgement that have not been matched to a sponsor for 1 year or more.
Number | URN | School Name |
1 | 103308 | Wilkes Green Infant School (NC) |
2 | 130980 | Tracks |
3 | 109252 | St Pius X RC Primary School |
4 | 110236 | West Wycombe Combined School |
5 | 105331 | Holy Trinity Primary School |
6 | 107560 | St Joseph's RC Primary School, Todmorden |
7 | 112354 | St Begh's Catholic Junior School |
8 | 112382 | Netherhall School |
9 | 117515 | Barclay School |
10 | 119662 | St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, Bacup |
11 | 100743 | Sedgehill School |
12 | 104648 | St Clare's Catholic Primary School |
13 | 104657 | St Nicholas's Catholic Primary School |
14 | 121426 | Moorside Infant School |
15 | 104917 | St Teresa's Catholic Infant and Nursery School |
16 | 104959 | Savio Salesian College |
17 | 116451 | The Sholing Technology College |
18 | 124445 | King Edward VI High School |
19 | 125991 | Rogate CofE Primary School |
20 | 106445 | Leigh CofE Primary School |
21 | 106496 | Holy Family Catholic Primary School Platt Bridge |
22 | 106524 | Westleigh High School |
23 | 105092 | St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead |
Three schools now have a sponsor match, leaving 23 schools that have remained unmatched with a sponsor for one year or more.
Table 2: Number of local authority maintained schools issued with an academy order following an inadequate Ofsted judgement that have not been matched to a sponsor for 2 years or more.
Number | URN | School Name |
1 | 103808 | Ham Dingle Primary School |
2 | 116432 | Cranbourne Business and Enterprise College |
3 | 123049 | Rose Hill Primary School |
There are now three schools that have remained unmatched for two years, one school had its academy order revoked.
Table 3: Number of local authority maintained schools issued with an academy order following an inadequate Ofsted judgement that have not been matched to a sponsor for 3 years or more.
Number | URN | School Name |
1 | 103538 | Holy Trinity Catholic School |
2 | 112938 | William Allitt School |
3 | 135479 | All Saints Catholic High School |
4 | 119745 | Fearns Community Sports College |
5 | 108081 | Royds School |
6 | 108628 | Norham High School |
7 | 110002 | St Mary & All Saints Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School |
8 | 104834 | De La Salle School |
9 | 106144 | St Anne's Roman Catholic High School, Stockport |
In cases where schools in receipt of an academy order remain unmatched to an academy sponsor, the school will be supported in other ways. This can include a preferred sponsor providing interim support, support provided by the local authority or another sponsor, or a teaching school alliance.
Data correct as of February 2018. Data on the future academies can be found in monthly, 'Open academies and academy projects in development' at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development.