Tough Immigration Controls and Scientists

Parliamentary Information Office updates: More to the point we discourage our own science  postgrads  from continuing  in research. In general there is no way to earn enough money to get married, buy a house or start a family. Grants are short term and you have to spend more time on applying for them than you do on your research.
The system is absolutely pathetic.



Parliamentary Information Office updates: If there were corporate headquarters in Britain with research facilities and budgets that paid applied scientists a living wage then there might be some credability to his words.

Manuafacturing left a generation ago and university applied science programmes have been closing ever since.



Valuable article on parliamentary information office

About the Core Principles

Parliamentary Information Shares on Internet: Strangely enough I was under the impression that MPs were supposed to represent the people that elected them. Some are trying hard to tell DC that their electorate don't want the EU, want strict controls on immigration, want a fairer welfare system and don't want gay marriages. That's not being selfish. DC seems oblivious to the real feeling of the country and is selfishly pursuing his own agenda.


Parliamentary Information Shares on Internet: An organisation always gets it's character from the top in my experience and I have never seen a UK which  has been more full of  hypocrisy than this one.Every day we get examples of this.  People who were born rich, have a lifestyle which they have not earned, never cease to tell the rest of us that austerity is good for you. There is no gain without pain apart from for them. There is even this wind baggery from those who were born poor but now rich and consider themselves above the frey. There is a cost to all this moral hazzard and that is the corruption of the state.



useful parliamentary information office articles

Business Advisory Panel

Parliamentary Information Shares on Internet: "We're busy doing nothing,
Working the whole day through.
Trying to find lots of things not to do.
We're busy going nowhere,
Isn't it just a crime,
We'd like to be unhappy but,
We never do have the time"



Parliamentary Information Shares on Internet:  Another added that it was “bizarre” that the shake-up followed criticism by the Advisory Panel of the Coalition’s strategies.'

Absolutely par for the course for the odious Cameron - he cannot take any form of criticism whatsoever - the Bullingdon boys know it all.





Other new various news resource as parliamentary information office Review website.

Shipping: our lifeline

Parliamentary Information Shares on Internet: Ours is an island nation wholly dependent upon our maritime industry and some 90+% of the world's
goods are carried by sea safely and in an environmentally friendly way. Yet it only hits the headlines when there is some form of tragedy ... oil spill, wreck or piracy. The publishers of the Parliamentary Yearbook intend to do their best to remedy this lack of good news are including a series of reports on the importance of our marine industry within the next edition. They will be covering maritime companies from all sectors of the business and I am pleased to report that my organisation will be one of only six charterers featured. I wish that more publications would give shipping the credit it
deserves.


Parliamentary Information Office online shares more updates as informative news.

Taxes On Shopping And Household

Parliamentary Information on Internet: Taxes, environmental subsidies, rip off energy, utility and public transport companies.
Britain is being ripped of by the state, big business and environmental zealots and if it doesn't change this country will fall apart.

Parliamentary Information on Internet:  Right from the start of this government, Osbourne has has two priorities. Cut capital expenditure, raise as many taxes as possible. Everything else is too difficult for him to contemplate.

Parliamentary Information Office 

Families’ Pay And Benefits

Parliamentary Information on Internet: Over 53% of households get more from taxpayers than they pay in taxes. It can’t go on but are they likely to vote for it to stop?



Parliamentary Information on Internet: The holes in the budget, and the Chancellor using the OBR guess of what the deficit might be for 2012-13, to boast that he has reduced it, are just another total deception.


This follows the wrong claims by David Cameron and Jeremy Hunt that spending on the NHS has risen since 2010.  The chairman of the UK Statistics Authority, Andrew Dilnot, has had to write to these gentlemen to get them to correct their figures, which ignore the Treasury statistics.



Parliamentary Information Office Website

Commercial property in Parliament’s handbook

Avi Barr, head of Leases for Landlords has been approached by the producers of the Parliamentary Yearbook to provide some editorial comment. The Parliamentary Yearbook is referred to in Parliamentary debates and is supplied to members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords as well as key – industry figures. The focus of this year’s handbook is urban regeneration and
renewal and the producers are keen to obtain a commercial property perspective that we can offer as a result of our unique focus on driving forward the commercial property letting market from a legal standpoint.

Visit Parliamentary Information Office

Mortgage Deal Discussion

Parliamentary Information on Internet: When the FLS ends, (which it will soon) unless its triggered some kind of mega recovery in house buying it will be back to usual on the rate front.

Potentially dangerous if the low rates persuade first time buyers to dip their toes in the market and inevitably leading to a yet longer depression in the house market.

The only true way forwards is a real correction in house prices which by my calculations hasn't really happened yet, another 5 yo 7 years of stagnation will see to that in real terms, or a further 20% drop in nominal prices. In the meantime these gimmicks do nothing but generate headlines.


Parliamentary Information on Internet: Remember, remember, unless your in the M25 belt, the chances of your home not being in negative equity in the next 3-5 years is SLIM.


parliamentary information office for Parliamentary updates.

Info Shared

Parliamentary Information on Internet: As a matter of interest, do these honours increase the pensions of those employed within the Public Service - it would not surprise me at all if they did.  Another nice little hidden 'bonus'.


Parliamentary Information on Internet: The comment that in the last list 72% of 1,200 ie 864 awards went to those actively engaged in charitable or voluntary work. That leaves 336 awards for other reasons.
I would be interested to see the proportions those numbers bear to the number they are drawn from eg 864 from SAY 1,000,000 around the country doing charitable/voluntary work (ie 0.0864%) and 336 from SAY 10,000 Civil servants (ie 3.36%)
Suggests the awards are skewed.

parliamentary information office

Parliamentary Information On Internet

Parliamentary Information on Internet: More blogs to read.

Parliamentary Information on Internet: More forum for helpful discussion.

Parliamentary Information on Internet: Social Media supports sharing of beneficial information.

Parliamentary Information on Internet: Articles give complete view of information.

Parliamentary Information Office can be the bridge between people and information.

Independence Referendum Question

parliamentary information office: Mrs Curran said this showed he is “willing to fix the rules of the referendum to suit his own ends” and introduce “an uneven playing field into the biggest decision Scots will ever take”.

Want to know why Curran said this! Apparantly the 'Better Together campaign' want to spend more money than the Yes campaign on advertising their opinion.

Now call me a silly sentimental fool but surely equal amounts of advertising would be fair!

I may be wrong, of course!




parliamentary information office: I notice that, in another article today, Simon Johnson happily indulges Margaret Curran's accusations that the SNP is guilty of 'casual dishonesty'. As a little extra, Mr Johnson goes on: ' Mr Salmond has claimed he could not commission legal advice about a separate
Scotland’s EU status until the Edinburgh Agreement was signed', and selectively quotes a couple of sceptics on this point.

Nothing at all, however, about the investigation of this issue by Scotland's senior law officer, the Lord Advocate, and his vindication of the SNP's position: in his view, it was 'sensible and prudent of the Scottish Government not to seek
specific legal advice before the signing of the Edinburgh Agreement with
the UK Government'.

This judgement was available to Simon Johnson yesterday. It completely discredits the charge he was trying to establish in the minds of Telegraph readers, in support of Mrs Curran's accusations. Did he not know about it, because he is just not very well-informed about Scottish politics? Or did he choose not to report it - a true case of 'casual dishonesty'?



parliamentary information office: One of the stock reasons that British Unionists give for why Trident has to be based on the Clyde is that the the Sea Lochs of the Western Scotland are normally covered in cloud, so satellites cannot spy on the base. This makes Faslane an ideal site for the nuclear deterrent.

According to Google, this is a either at worst a lie or at best a crock of BS.


Parliamentary Information Office for news on business, social activities, politics, education.

Significant Politics Information

parliamentary information office: What is the point of government being an entitlement system for MPS? What is needed is a government that is competent to serve the people. There is a massive imbalance regardless of race sex etc of MPs from the public sector or who have no life experience whatsoever outside of politics. The top echelon in all parties largely have no experience outside of politics and are too young to have had useful experience in the world. We need a far more balanced parliament with a drastically higher percentage who have worked at high levels in the private sector for many years who can bring in expertise the bureaucrats and politicians totally lack of dealing with complex financial situations. Kids with no experience outside the public sector regardless of sex or race are not up to the job and have proved it.


parliamentary information office: The Tory political faction emerged within the Parliament of England to uphold the legitimist rights of James, Duke of York to succeed his brother Charles II to the throne. James II was a Catholic, while the state institutions had broken from the Catholic Church—this was an issue for the Exclusion Bill supporting Whigs, the political heirs to the nonconformist Roundheads and Covenanters. There were two Tory ministries under James II; the first led by Lord Rochester, the second by Lord Belasyse. Some were later involved in his usurpation with the Whigs, which they saw as defending the Anglican Church. Tory sympathy for the Stuarts ran deep however and some supported Jacobitism, which saw them isolated by the Hanoverians until Lord Bute's ministry under George III. Conservatism emerged by the end of the 18th century—which synthesised moderate Whig positions and some of the old Tory values to create a new political ideology, in opposition to the French Revolution. The likes of Edmund Burke and William Pitt the Younger led the way in this. Due to this faction eventually leading to the formation of the Conservative Party, members of that party are colloquially referred to as Tories, even if they are not traditionalists. Actual adherents to traditional Toryism in contemporary times tend to be referred to as High Tories to avoid confusion.


parliamentary information office: Quotas would just lower the already dreadfully low standard of our MP's We have today an example of a Nadine Dories who has decided that making a few bob on I'm A Celebrity is more important than serving her constituents. Her lame excuse is Parliament is in recess and there was me thinking that all these MP’s were busy doing constituency work when Westminster is in recess, well that’s what they keep telling us. Not bad a being paid twice us mugs the taxpayers are paying here and she gets the TV Company to pay her as well. What are the chances she might try claiming it as expenses as well. How much is the airfare to Australia. First Class of course What happened to that promise to allow the electorate to have the power to recall their MP/ This sounds a suitable case for it. Oh I forget that was another of the election promises that just got quietly swept under the carpet.


parliamentary information office: If a woman has the talent, the dedication, the determination, the stamina and an extremely thick skin, - plus an understanding and supportive family, of course she can become an MP and barge her way to the political peak. Maggie Thatcher did - and as far as I know she did it on her own merits and without the assistance of a "skirt" quota. The sad truth is that very few women possess many or all of the above attributes and even less have the ability to betray their own convictions to toe a party line, break promises, lie and cheat and sell their souls purely for financial gain. I don't know what it takes to become a professor of politics and gender - and I'm even less understanding of why such a person should consider woman in politics to be an elevation to their status above and beyond their traditional roll of being the commonsense and control portion of the male love affair with achievement and power. BTW, - I am a mere man - with respect and fear of the powerful influence a female holds over a male journey to the summit of her ambitions.


Parliamentary Information Office for Parliament job updates.

Disease Threat

parliamentary information office: “Lessons need to be learnt
from this. It seems there were questions being raised in Brussels about this
disease that were never pursued to a conclusion.”
Questions not pursued by Brussels or Westminster on Ash tree fungus, immigration, human rights, agriculture and Fisheries. All paid for via generous subsidies and fat cat salaries for the elites.
Will the same tears be shed when indigenous Europeans are a threatened species, when humans are threatened?


parliamentary information office: why should the fungus not have the right to survive, the bigotry of the Ash tree fanatics should be investigated as a hate crime by the police.


parliamentary information office: These outbreaks are always unfortunate but I'd be more concerned about the recent reports of a similar fate which might affect indiginous oak species.
The Ash is not exactly the most attractive woodland tree & has proliferated widely since the Elm was decimated by Dutch Elm Disease.
We have several in neighbouring gardens & if they do succumb to 'dieback' I shan't be shedding any tears if they are cut down.


parliamentary information office: Its the way of the world with mass transit of stuff and people, its the sign of things to come , look at the Himalayan balsam and jap knot weed growing with gay abandon  . This fungus won't kill all the trees and evolution will ensure the resistant will survive and reproduce.



Parliamentary information office is significant resource to get political guide.

Parliamentary Enquiry

parliamentary information office: There are people living in Britain today who will go hungry or live in cold conditions because they cannot afford heating while this man and others of his ilk STEAL our money. We must demand that he is fully investigated and prosecuted. We must also end 'Parliamentary Privilege'....immediately.



parliamentary information office: "I have received so many messages supporting me from Labour and Tory MPs as well as members of the public but I love the House of Commons and I hope by resigning I can serve by showing that MPs must take responsibility for their mistakes and accept the consequences of being in breach of the House rules".
Unfortunately there are not many messages of support on this site, but I'm sure you'll find lots of other like minded people to support you  if you ever reach prison, which is where you deserve to be.


parliamentary information office: Am I correct in thinking that if the Commons withholds details of MacShanes fiddling it would in effect block any police investigation?If so this is intolerable, a law making body protecting one of their own from the consequences of his law breaking.Knowing about M.P.s and their cavalier attitude to the public purse I am not surprised.There is any irony in the MacShane case the committee chairman who found against him Kevin Barron was involved in a house renting scam with another M.P.Barron makes my case regarding the M.P.s and the public purse,it's there to be ripped off.
MacShane deserves all he gets,what a pity two other  fiddlers Laws and £35,000 expenses ' mistake' Francis Maude escaped and were welcomed into government by David Cameron.Maude claimed £35,000 on a mortgage for a flat while renting out a house he owned nearby.MacShane is punished for his fiddling, Laws and Maude escape, why ,Cameron insiders? As Cameron lets them off I ask what is the difference between Cameron and the 'fiddlers three'?


parliamentary information office: When is he going to repay the money he stole from me and the rest of our law-abiding taxpayers?

I would hope that his political party now washes its hands of him and not give him some other job via the back door.


Yearbook Info - parliamentary information office

UPDATE 1-UK govt scrambles to clarify Cameron's energy pledge

LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The British government scrambled on Thursday to clariify Prime Minister David Cameron's unexpected pledge to parliament that energy suppliers would be forced to give customers their cheapest tariffs.


Energy Minister John Hayes, called to an urgent questions session at the House of Commons by the opposition Labour Party, said the government was only considering introducing such a law.


"The government is considering this policy as part of inclusion in the Bill," Hayes told parliament's lower house, referring to an energy bill due in November.


Cameron's comments on Wednesday were stronger than this and followed energy suppliers including British Gas and RWE npower boosting tariffs on retail gas and electricity prices for the coming winter season.


"I can announce that we will be legislating so that energy companies have to give the lowest tariff to their customers," Cameron had told parliament.


His statement took energy companies by surprise and it remained unclear whether firms would be obliged to put consumers on the lowest tariff or just offer it.


"We were not expecting the announcements that have been made by the prime minister," said Angela Knight, head of trade association Energy UK.


The opposition accused Cameron of throwing policy into disarray and questioned whether such legislation was actually in the works.


"It is another shambles and the prime minister is at the heart of this, because he put this policy out there and everyone is running around now to redefine it," Shadow Energy Secretary Caroline Flint told BBC TV.
"There was nothing in the white paper from the government on this, there was nothing in the draft bill on this, and now they are trying to cobble together energy policy," Flint said, adding Cameron should admit it was a "slip of the tongue".


Cameron, visiting Brussels on Thursday, appeared to moderate his language on what the energy bill would achieve.


"I want to be on the side of hard-pressed, hard-working families who often struggle to pay energy bills," he said.


"That is why I said in the House of Commons yesterday we are going to use the forthcoming legislation, the Energy Bill, coming up this year, so that we make sure, we ensure, that customers get the lowest tariffs," he told reporters.


TARIFF CONFUSION


The prime minister's spokeswoman denied he had misspoken on Wednesday, saying he had "set out his intention", adding that details would be provided in the pending energy bill.


However, she also seemed to soften Cameron's message when she said the government would be requiring companies to offer the lowest tariffs, which is in line with a policy announced in April.


"At the moment people take advantage of the lowest tariffs by switching from supplier to supplier, but only very few people do that," she said.


"The proposals that we are going to bring forward is about encouraging more competition between companies and it is getting the market working for all consumers, rather than just a small minority who currently switch," she said.


One option under consideration was requiring firms, who offer a variety of pricing plans, to automatically switch customers to the lowest tariff within the payment option they had chosen, Cameron's Downing Street office said in a statement.


"We think approaches like this will make things more transparent and promote competition between the companies to offer the cheapest tariffs," the statement added.



Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/18/uk-energy-idUSL5E8LINPL20121018

Scottish independence: The road to referendum

October 2012

* A Section 30 order drawn up to transfer the right to hold a referendum from Westminster to Scottish Parliament at Holyrood

*Findings of the Scottish Government's “Your Scotland, Your Referendum” consultation published

Autumn/winter 2012

*Electoral Commission watchdog begins preparations, including testing the fairness and clarity of the question

February 2013

* Section 30 Order  agreed by the Privy Council

Spring 2013

* Referendum Bill goes before Holyrood Parliament

October 2013

* MSPs take part in the crucial Stage 3 vote at the Scottish Parliament

November 2013

* Royal Assent  given to the Bill

* The Scottish Government issues White Paper on its “prospectus for independence”. Other parties put forward their vision for the future of Scotland

Summer 2014

* The pro and anti-independence campaigns intensify

Autumn 2014

* The  referendum takes place

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/scottish-independence-the-road-to-referendum-8212476.html

Uk/China Low Energy Co-Operation

The Parliamentary Information Office reported in 2010 on the building of the 2050 Pathway Calculator and has been flowing closely its adaptation for use in other countries

Unprecedented collaboration between energy strategists from the UK and China will culminate today in the start of a high level conference, 18-21st September in Beijing, aimed at understanding how best to tackle climate change and ensure energy security.

China’s Energy Research Institute (ERI) has been working with its British counterparts to adapt the UK Government’s ‘2050 Calculator’ to their own economy. The online tool, which will be available to the public, exposes the risks and trade-offs associated with different future energy scenarios. For example: what balance could be struck between energy efficiency and building new power supply? What is the role for new nuclear? Which technologies will be adopted?

The UK is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050, relative to 1990 levels. We need a transformation of the UK economy while ensuring secure, low carbon energy supplies to 2050, and face major choices about how to do this. In 2010, the Department for Energy and Climate Change built the 2050 Calculator to help the public engage in the debate and for Government to ensure its short- and medium-term planning was consistent with achieving the long-term aim. In the Carbon Plan published in December 2011, the Calculator was used to illustrate three 2050 futures that show some of the plausible routes towards meeting the target.

The 2050 Pathways work presents a framework through which to consider some of the choices and trade-offs we will have to make over the next forty years. It is system-wide, covering all parts of the economy and all greenhouse gases emissions released in the UK. It is rooted in scientific and engineering realities, looking at what is thought to be physically and technically possible in each sector.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change is working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Department for International Development to engage with experts from other countries in developing 2050 Calculators.

The 2050 Calculator can be readily adapted for use by other countries: China, Belgium and South Korea have already tailored the Calculator for their own use.

Following dialogue between the UK and the Chinese Government, the Chinese Energy Research Institute decided to build their own China 2050 Calculator, to be published at the 2050 Energy and Emissions Pathways Conference.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with the support of the British Embassy Beijing, are to jointly host the conference, alongside China’s Energy Research Institute (ERI), which will showcase the work to date and look to further countries taking part.

Ed Davey, DECC Secretary of State, said:

“The 2050 Calculator is a ground-breaking tool to help countries better plan their future energy strategy, in a transparent and evidence-based way. We welcome the work of our Chinese colleagues.”

Using the latest and most detailed data available, ERI have created a tool that allows the user to select how China will achieve its energy security up to 2050. The tool covers the entire energy sector, and will be open to experts and ordinary people alike, to model how different energy decisions will affect the whole country.

The UK’s 2050 Calculator, the first of its kind created, provides a comprehensive analysis of plausible pathways to a secure, low carbon energy system in the UK to 2050.

An online user-friendly web application, My2050, is also available in the UK, which allows the public to develop their own energy scenarios out to 2050.

DECC Director of Strategy, Ravi Gurumurthy said:

“We are collaborating with China and other countries in building a wider base for this innovative and practical analysis, and I would like to invite other interested countries to join us in enriching this collaboration further.”

Together, the UK and China will engage with other developing and developed countries at the Conference to promote the use of this modelling methodology.

The Parliamentary Yearbook will continue to report on environmental issues and their impact on the UK as we go through the months ahead.

Web: www.parliamentaryinformationoffice.co.uk

Email: parliamentaryyearbook@blakemedia.org

18th September 2012

Uk/China Low Energy Co-Operation

The Parliamentary Information Office reported in 2010 on the building of the 2050 Pathway

Calculator and has been flowing closely its adaptation for use in other countries

Unprecedented collaboration between energy strategists from the UK and China will culminate

today in the start of a high level conference, 18-21st September in Beijing, aimed at understanding

how best to tackle climate change and ensure energy security.

China’s Energy Research Institute (ERI) has been working with its British counterparts to adapt the

UK Government’s ‘2050 Calculator’ to their own economy. The online tool, which will be available

to the public, exposes the risks and trade-offs associated with different future energy scenarios. For

example: what balance could be struck between energy efficiency and building new power supply?

What is the role for new nuclear? Which technologies will be adopted?

The UK is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050, relative

to 1990 levels. We need a transformation of the UK economy while ensuring secure, low carbon

energy supplies to 2050, and face major choices about how to do this. In 2010, the Department for

Energy and Climate Change built the 2050 Calculator to help the public engage in the debate and

for Government to ensure its short- and medium-term planning was consistent with achieving the

long-term aim. In the Carbon Plan published in December 2011, the Calculator was used to illustrate

three 2050 futures that show some of the plausible routes towards meeting the target

The 2050 Pathways work presents a framework through which to consider some of the choices

and trade-offs we will have to make over the next forty years. It is system-wide, covering all parts

of the economy and all greenhouse gases emissions released in the UK. It is rooted in scientific and

engineering realities, looking at what is thought to be physically and technically possible in each

sector.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change is working with the Foreign and Commonwealth

Office, and the Department for International Development to engage with experts from other

countries in developing 2050 Calculators.

The 2050 Calculator can be readily adapted for use by other countries: China, Belgium and South

Korea have already tailored the Calculator for their own use.

Following dialogue between the UK and the Chinese Government, the Chinese Energy Research

Institute decided to build their own China 2050 Calculator, to be published at the 2050 Energy and

Emissions Pathways Conference.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with the

support of the British Embassy Beijing, are to jointly host the conference, alongside China’s Energy

Research Institute (ERI), which will showcase the work to date and look to further countries taking

part.

Ed Davey, DECC Secretary of State, said:

“The 2050 Calculator is a ground-breaking tool to help countries better plan their future energy

strategy, in a transparent and evidence-based way. We welcome the work of our Chinese

colleagues.”

Using the latest and most detailed data available, ERI have created a tool that allows the user to

select how China will achieve its energy security up to 2050. The tool covers the entire energy

sector, and will be open to experts and ordinary people alike, to model how different energy

decisions will affect the whole country.

The UK’s 2050 Calculator, the first of its kind created, provides a comprehensive analysis of plausible

pathways to a secure, low carbon energy system in the UK to 2050.

An online user-friendly web application, My2050, is also available in the UK, which allows the public

to develop their own energy scenarios out to 2050.

DECC Director of Strategy, Ravi Gurumurthy said:

“We are collaborating with China and other countries in building a wider base for this innovative

and practical analysis, and I would like to invite other interested countries to join us in enriching this

collaboration further.”

Together, the UK and China will engage with other developing and developed countries at the

Conference to promote the use of this modelling methodology.

The Parliamentary Yearbook will continue to report on environmental issues and their impact on the

UK as we go through the months ahead.

Web: www.parliamentaryinformationoffice.co.uk

Email: parliamentaryyearbook@blakemedia.org

18th September 2012

Increase In Number Of Free Schools

The Parliamentary Information Office has been monitoring progress in Government policy relating to education, particularly relating to the plurality of our system and continues to report on changes as they occur

The Government yesterday announced that 55 new Free Schools will open this September. The first 24 Free Schools opened in September 2011 while a further 114 have been approved to open in 2013 and beyond.

Free Schools aim to achieve higher standards and offer a genuine alternative. They are funded by the Government but have greater freedoms than local authority-run schools. They are run by teachers – not local councils or Westminster politicians – and have freedom over the length of the school day and term, the curriculum and how they spend their money.

Independent state schools have existed for several decades. In the 1980s, City Technology Colleges were established in deprived areas. In the 1990s, existing state schools were given more freedom and independence under the status of Grant Maintained schools. In 2000, Academies were established – like City Technology Colleges, they are independent state schools in deprived areas, with sponsors from business and education. In 2005 the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, expanded the Academy programme, citing charter schools in the United States and Free Schools in Sweden as a model for the UK.

The schools opening this month include:

• Dixon’s Music Primary Academy, in Bradford, which is the first specialist music primary school in England.
• Everton in the Community Free School, on Merseyside. The alternative provision school is being run by Everton Football Club and will cater for pupils aged 14 to 19 not in mainstream education.
• Bilingual Primary School, in Brighton & Hove, will be the first bilingual Free School in England, specialising in English and Spanish.
• School 21, in Newham, east London, is a teacher-led all-through Free School, including a sixth-form, in an area of significant deprivation. One of the founder members, and the executive head teacher, is Peter Hyman, previously a speech-writer for ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair.
• Rosewood Special Free School, in Southampton. A special school for children who have Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities.
• Tiger Primary School, in Maidstone, Kent, where all children will learn Mandarin and a musical instrument.
• Perry Beeches II The Free School, in Birmingham, is a new 11-18 Free School set up by an existing outstanding secondary school, Perry Beeches The Academy. The academy’s head, Liam Nolan, turned round the school’s performance from 21 per cent of pupils achieving five A*-C GCSEs including English and maths in 2007 to 77 per cent this year.
• London Academy of Excellence, in Newham, east London. This is a sixth-form Free School which is being run by eight leading independent schools including Brighton College and Eton College.

Of the new Free Schools opening this September, 19 are primary schools, 19 are secondary schools and seven are all-age schools. There is one 14-19 school and one 16-19 school. Five are alternative provision schools – the first Free Schools of their type – and three are special schools.

The schools are spread across England. They are primarily concentrated in areas of deprivation or areas where there is a shortage of school places. 25 of the 55 schools are located in the most deprived 25 per cent of communities in the country. 33 of the schools are in areas where there is need for more school places.

12 have been set up by teachers, 19 by parent or community groups, 9 by charities and 13 are set up by existing education providers. Two existing independent schools will join the state sector as Free Schools.

Groups that were successful in applying to open a Free School went through a robust process to make sure they were suitable and capable to run a school. They had to:

• provide evidence of demand for the particular new local school they wanted to set up;
• set out in detail the curriculum the school would offer, the type of teachers it would recruit, and how the school would run its pupil admissions to make sure they are fair;
• develop robust plans for how the school planned to run its finances (which then were scrutinised to make sure the school was financially viable);
• secure an appropriate site for the school that provided value for money for the taxpayer; and
• be CRB checked and undergo in-depth vetting by the Department’s Due Diligence Unit.

Like other state-funded schools, Free Schools are inspected by Ofsted, will have their exam and test results published and will have to teach a broad and balanced curriculum. Action will be taken if results slip or if teaching isn’t up to scratch. Free Schools also have to abide by the same rules for pupil admissions as other schools – making sure that these are fair and inclusive of children from different backgrounds.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

“Every child should have the choice to go to an excellent local school. These new schools have been set up by idealistic people who are determined to give parents the kind of choice that only the rich can currently afford. The first 24 Free Schools are enormously popular and I expect this second wave to be equally successful.”

Liam Nolan, executive head teacher of Perry Beeches II, Birmingham, said:

“This is a fabulous opportunity for us to expand our brand of success into a new community and to work with a new group of young people in the heart of Birmingham. This is one of the beauties of Free Schools, that the very best schools can extend their outstanding practice.”

Marina Gutierrez, Chair of the Bilingual Primary School Trust, Brighton, said:

“I am delighted that this project has now become a reality and that Brighton & Hove's children will have bilingualism as an educational choice.”

Free Schools have proved hugely popular with parents. All 24 which opened last year have filled, or almost filled, all their places for this year. Many have expanded to meet demand and many have large waiting lists.

New York Charter Schools, one of the inspirations behind Free Schools, have been shown to substantially narrow the attainment gap between rich and poor – by 86 per cent in maths and 66 per cent in English. In Chicago they halve the achievement gap between inner-city students and their wealthier suburban counterparts.

In England academies, which have the same freedoms as Free Schools, improve at a faster rate to state secondary schools – between 2010 and 2011 the proportion of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at A* to C including English and maths rose by 5.7 per cent in academies, compared to 3.1 per cent in state secondary schools.

The Parliamentary Information Office will continue to report on free school development as we go through the months ahead.


Web: www.parliamentaryyearbookinformationoffice.co.uk
Email: parliamentaryyearbook@blakemedia.org
4^th September 2012

2012 Inclusion Summit

The Parliamentary Information Office has watched with considerable interest the changes in attitudes and the effect of the London Paralympic Games as part of its commitment to monitor community action to increase diversity and inclusiveness in our business and social activities

As the world gathers to experience the inspiring Paralympic Games in London, business leaders, governments and the Paralympic Movement have come together for a two day summit to discuss inclusion and accessibility, how this impacts on society, and what the Paralympic Games represent as a catalyst for societal change.

The summit aims to build on the success of the Accessibility Summit in Vancouver in 2010 and is being run by the IPC Academy and held in Lancaster House from 6^th to 8^th September.

Just opposite Buckingham Palace and close to St James’ Palace, Lancaster House is a stunning venue. A classic example of opulent Victorian design, with its ornate decoration and the dramatic sweep of it’s great staircase, Lancaster House has set the scene for what is an important and vital occasion.

At the London 2012 Paralympic Games the world has been inspired by the remarkable performances of Paralympians. Indeed, the Paralympic Games are first and foremost about elite sport as the pinnacle of achievement for these athletes and teams. More broadly the Games provide a platform and a point in time for the world to reflect and appreciate the diverse nature of the people around us. As such, the Paralympic Movement inherently creates an inclusive and accessible ethos which leads societies it touches towards progressively inclusive communities.

Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary General said of the paralympic movement:

“The United Nations convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities aims to achieve human rights and development for all. The Paralympic Games are a powerful force for advancing this objective; they inspire not only athletes, but all of us, to recognize the unlimited potential of all persons”.

Presenters at the Summit include:

• Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee
• Lord Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Olympic & Paralympic Games
• Stevan Griffiths, Head of Technical Services, International Rugby Board
• Dmitry Chernyshenko, President, Sochi 2014 Organising Committee
• Carlos Arthur Nuzman, President, Rio 2016 Organising Committee
• Stephen Frost, Head of Diversity and Inclusion, LOCOG
• Margaret Hickish, Inclusive Design Director, Movement Strategies
• Peter Searle, CEO UK and Ireland, Adecco
• Keith Williams, CEO, British Airways
• Gerry Walsh, Head of Procurement, LOCOG
• Patrick de Maeseneire, CEO Adecco Group
• Bruce Roch, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Adecco Group, France
• Steve Girdler, Director of London 2012 Partnership, Adecco
• Katja Saarinen, active paralympic athlete
• Aileen McGlynn OBE, active paralympic athlete
• Florence Gravellier, retired paralympian athlete
• Jayne Pletser-Dent, Curriculum Manager for Inclusive Education, International Baccalaureate
• Patrick Glennon, Senior Vice President for the International Paralympic Committee
• Daniel Moylan, Chairman, London Legacy Development Corporation

The Summit is being presented in partnership with the Adecco Group, one of the world's leading provider of HR solutions, and UK Trade & Investment, the UK Government department that works with businesses based in the UK to ensure their success in international markets.

Patrick De Maeseneire, CEO Adecco Group said:

"The skills, drive, commitment and resilience that Paralympians bring to the workplace are truly unique. We experience this first hand at Adecco, where Paralympic athletes are a part of our team. Through our involvement in the IPC Athlete Career Programme, we are able to share with other companies how valuable Paralympians are for their workforce while we support the athletes themselves on their career paths beyond elite sports. The inclusion of people with disabilities in the working world is high on our agenda and we are proud of Adecco UK’s role as the Official Recruitment Services Provider for the London 2012 Games. With a key focus on diversity and a disability talent pool, this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games can be assured of a truly diverse and inclusive workforce.”

The Parliamentary Information Office will continue to report on inclusiveness as we go through the months ahead.

Web: www.parliamentaryyearbookinformationoffice.co.uk
Email: parliamentaryyearbook@blakemedia.org
7^t September 2012

Coalition Cabinet Shuffle

The Parliamentary Information Office is, with constitutional pundits generally, following closely the reaction to the Prime Minister’s first Cabinet shuffle since the General Election in 2010.

David Cameron has shuffled his cabinet, making thirteen changes in total and raising much speculation about a shift of his government to the right leaving the Lib Dems and the coalition weakened over policies such as crime, the environment, Heathrow airport and business-friendly policies.

Downing Street itself announced that the shuffle, which would be the only major change made to the Cabinet before the 2015 election, is an attempt to promote ministers capable of delivering on policies already announced.

At Prime Minister’s questions today Mr Cameron said, in response to a question by the Leader of the Opposition “Let me explain what this reshuffle is all about. It is not that there are two economic Departments in our country, the Treasury and Business; I want every single Department to be about the economy. I want the transport department building roads; I want the communities department building houses; I want the culture department rolling out broadband; and I want the agriculture department backing British food. This is a Government who mean business, and we have got the team to deliver it.”

In a symbol of the commitment to delivery, Mr Cameron has appointed LOCOG chief executive, Paul Deighton, as Treasury minister based in the Lords to deliver infrastructure.

Although No 10 said the shuffle did not mean any change in coalition policy, his appointments have caused much speculation to the contrary.

Justine Greening, a fierce opponent of a third runway at Heathrow, along with Theresa Villiers, another opponent, have been moved from Transport. Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary has been demoted following his handling of health reforms to be replaced by a surprise appointment in Jeremy Hunt. Chris Grayling’s appointment as Justice Secretary in place of Ken Clarke is seen by many as a move to the right on sentencing, legal aid and the Human Rights Act.

Only three Ministers have been moved entirely from Government … Caroline Spelman from Environment; Cheryl Gillan from the Wales Office and Sir George Young as Leader of the House.

The full Cabinet list is shown below:

Rt Hon David Cameron mp (Con)
Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service

Rt Hon Nick Clegg mp (LD)
Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council 

Rt Hon George Osborne mp (Con)
Chancellor of the Exchequer

Rt Hon William Hague mp (Con)
First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Rt Hon Chris Grayling mp (Con)
Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice

Rt Hon Theresa May mp (Con)
Secretary of State for the Home Department

Rt Hon Philip Hammond mp (Con)
Secretary of State for Defence

Rt Hon Dr Vincent Cable mp (LD)
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith mp (Con)
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Rt Hon Edward Davey mp (LD)
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt mp (Con)
Secretary of State for Health

Rt Hon Michael Gove mp (Con)
Secretary of State for Education

Rt Hon Eric Pickles mp (Con)
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin mp (Con)
Secretary of State for Transport

Rt Hon Owen Paterson mp (Con)
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rt Hon Justine Greening mp (Con)
Secretary of State for International Development

Rt Hon Theresa Villiers mp (Con)
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Rt Hon Michael Moore mp (LD)
Secretary of State for Scotland (and provides ministerial support to the Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet Office)

Rt Hon David Jones mp (Con)
Secretary of State for Wales


Rt Hon Maria Miller mp (Con)
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for Women and Equalities

Rt Hon Danny Alexander mp (LD)
Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Rt Hon Lord Strathclyde (Con)
Leader of the House of Lords, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Rt Hon Grant Shapps mp (Con)
Minister without Portfolio (Minister of State)

Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke qc, mp (Con)
 Minister without Portfolio, Cabinet Office

Also attending Cabinet meetings

Rt Hon Francis Maude mp (Con)
Minister for the Cabinet Office, Paymaster General

Rt Hon Oliver Letwin mp (Con)
Minister of State — Cabinet Office (providing policy advice to the Prime Minister in the Cabinet Office)

Rt Hon David Willetts mp (Con)
Minister of State (Universities and Science) — Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Rt Hon Andrew Lansley mp (Con)
Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal

Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell mp (Con)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Chief Whip

Also invited to attend Cabinet meetings when required

Rt Hon Dominic Grieve qc, mp (Con)
Attorney-General

The Parliamentary Information Office will watch developments with considerable interest and continue to report on this and other constitutional issues.

Web: www.parliamentaryyearbookinformationoffice.co.uk
Email: parliamentaryyearbook@blakemedia.org
5^th September 2012

New Rules On E-Waste From The European Commission

The Parliamentary Information Office has reported over the years on industrial and domestic waste management and recycling and is monitoring closely progress across Europe as well as in the UK

Improved rules from Brussels on the collection and treatment of e-waste entered into force last week. E-waste (i.e. waste electrical and electronic equipment, or WEEE) is one the fastest growing waste streams, and it offers substantial opportunities in terms of making secondary raw materials available on the market.

Systematic collection and proper treatment is a precondition for recycling materials like gold, silver, copper and rare metals in used TVs, laptops and mobile phones. The new Directive is a clear step forward in terms of environmental protection and a major boost to resource efficiency in Europe.

Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said:

"In these times of economic turmoil and rising prices for raw materials, resource efficiency is where environmental benefits and innovative growth opportunities come together. We now need to open new collection channels for electronic waste and improve the effectiveness of existing ones. I encourage the Member States to meet these new targets before the formal deadline."

The Directive introduces a collection target of 45% of electronic equipment sold that will apply from 2016 and, as a second step from 2019, a target of 65% of equipment sold, or 85% of electronic waste generated.

Member States will be able to choose which one of these two equivalent ways to measure the target they wish to report. From 2018, the Directive will be extended from its current restricted scope to all categories of electronic waste, subject to an impact assessment beforehand.

The Directive gives Member States the tools to fight the illegal export of waste more effectively. Illegal shipments of WEEE are a serious problem, especially when they are disguised as legal shipments of used equipment to circumvent EU waste treatment rules. The new Directive will oblige exporters to test whether equipment works or not, and provide documents on the nature of shipments that could be thought illegal.

Another expected improvement is the reduction of administrative burdens through harmonisation of national registration and reporting requirements. Requirements by Member States' registers for producers of e-waste will now be aligned more closely.

Currently only one third of electrical and electronic waste in the EU is separately collected within the documented system. The existing EU collection target is 4 kg of WEEE per capita, representing about 2 million tons per year, out of around 10 million tonnes of WEEE generated annually in the EU. By 2020, it is estimated that the volume of WEEE will increase to 12 million tons. The final target of the new Directive, an ambitious 85% of all WEEE generated, will ensure that in 2020 around 10 million tons, or roughly 20kg per capita, will be separately collected in the EU.

Next Steps

By 14 February 2014 at the latest, Member States will have to amend their existing legislation on WEEE and align it with the new Directive and the new targets. Consumers can then return small e-waste at large retail shops unless existing alternative schemes are shown to be at least as effective. From the date of national transposition onwards, a reversed burden of proof will apply to shipments of used equipment which are suspected to be illegal waste shipments.

From 2016 onwards, Member States will be required to ensure that 45% of electrical and electronic equipment sold in each country is collected.

From 2018 onwards, the scope of the Directive is widened from today's categories to all electrical and electronic equipment.

From 2019 onwards, the collection target is raised to 65 % of electrical and electronic equipment sold, or the alternative measure of 85 % of WEEE generated.

Some Member States will be able to derogate from the new targets for a limited time, where this is justified by a lack of necessary infrastructure or low levels of consumption of electronic equipment.

The Commission will use the powers given in the new Directive to harmonise the frequency of reporting by producers to the national registers, and the format for registration and reporting. The Commission will review certain changes agreed with the new Directive, for example as regards the scope, in order to identify any undesirable effects.

The existing WEEE Directive (Directive 2002/96/EC) has been in force since February 2003. It provides for the creation of collection schemes where consumers return their used e-waste free of charge. The purpose is to prevent harm to human health and the environment from hazardous substances contained in WEEE, and to increase the recycling and/or re-use of products and materials. In December 2008, the Commission proposed a recast WEEE Directive, and this has now been modified and adopted by the Parliament and the Council.

In January this year Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik announced that, according to a European Commission study, full implementation of EU waste legislation would save €72 billion a year, increase the annual turnover of the EU waste management and recycling sector by €42 billion and create over 400,000 jobs by 2020. Illegal waste operations in Member States are causing missed opportunities for economic growth, but stronger national inspections and better knowledge about waste management would bring major improvements.

Mr Potočnik said at the time:

"We need to see waste as a resource – and to bury that resource in the ground is worse than short-sighted. This report shows that waste management and recycling can make a big contribution to economic growth and job creation. If the existing legislation was implemented properly, we could avoid costly clean-up operations, pollution and health problems. And let's not forget that recycled materials are cheaper than virgin ones – and that they reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on imports."

The Parliamentary Information Office will continue to report on environmental issues and their impact on the UK and our European partners as we go through the months ahead.

Low Carbon Innovation

As part of its ongoing reports on the Government’s energy and climate change policy the Parliamentary Information Office  has been monitoring the achievements of the Government’s Low Carbon Innovation Coordination Group

Low carbon technologies have been put under the spotlight with the publication last week of three in-depth reports into key areas of innovation.

This new analysis, the Technology Innovation Needs Assessments (TINAs), delves into marine energy, electricity networks and storage, and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). The TINAs examine the potential for innovation in these technologies and assess the economic benefits to the UK. This work will also help inform the prioritisation of public and private sector investment to ensure these technologies reach their full potential.

The work has been undertaken by the Low Carbon Innovation Coordination Group (LCICG), which is made up of a range of different bodies including the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Carbon Trust, the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and other organisations with significant low carbon innovation interests.

The LCICG’s TINA Project is a collaborative effort involving all members of the LCICG group and aims to identify and value the key innovation needs of specific low carbon technologies, in order to inform the prioritisation of public sector investment in low carbon innovation.

The TINA analytical framework was developed and implemented by the Carbon Trust with contributions from all core LCICG members as well as input from numerous other expert individuals and organisations.

Each TINA analyses the potential role of the technology in the UK’s energy system; estimates the value to the UK from cutting the costs of the technology through innovation; estimates the value to the UK of the green growth opportunity from exports; assesses the case for UK public sector intervention in innovation; and identifies the potential innovation priorities to deliver the greatest benefit to the UK.

Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said:

“Innovation is key to the growth of the low carbon economy here in the UK. This new analysis will help us better understand the value of these technologies to our growing green economy as well as the barriers to commercialisation, helping us put our available investment in the right place to spur on further innovation.”
Key findings of the Technology Innovation Needs Assessments (TINAs):

• CCS: Innovation across the CCS technology chain could reduce UK energy system costs by £10-45bn to 2050, and innovation to ensure the security of long-term CO2 storage remains particularly critical to CCS viability. The key technological components of carbon capture, transport and injection have been demonstrated at commercial scale, however, component costs and efficiency penalties remain high and uncertain, and many challenges related to full integration remain to be tackled. Innovation could also help create a UK industry with the potential to contribute further economic value of £3-16bn to 2050.
• Electricity networks and storage (EN&S): Advanced EN&S technologies have the potential to address new stresses that are likely to be placed on the electricity system, and to do so more cost-effectively than would be possible through traditional methods of grid reinforcement and fossil-fuel-powered system balancing capacity. EN&S technologies could play an important role in the future energy system, supporting the uptake of renewable electricity generation, renewable heat, electric vehicles (EVs), and other low carbon technologies. Innovation in EN&S technologies could save the UK £4-19bn to 2050 and could help create UK-based business opportunities that could contribute an estimated £6-34bn to GDP to 2050.
• Marine energy: The UK has a large natural resource of marine energy that could make a meaningful contribution to the UK energy mix from around 2025. Cost of energy generated will need to reach around £100/MWh by 2025 for marine energy to be competitive with other technologies. This pathway is ambitious but possible with significant innovation. If successful, innovation in Marine energy could save the energy system approximately £3 - 8bn and help create a UK industry that could contribute an estimated £1-4bn to GDP up to 2050.

The TINA findings will be used to underpin the design and focus of DECC’s and other LCICG’s members’ programmes and activities in these technology areas.

The first TINA on offshore wind was published in February 2012. TINAs for other technology areas including Bioenergy, Industrial Energy Efficiency, Heat, Domestic Buildings, Nuclear Fission and Hydrogen are expected to be published over the next few months.

The Parliamentary Information Office will continue to report on progress as we go through the months ahead.