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  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make assistance available to local authorities for the costs of disposing of abandoned boats, vessels and other sea-faring equipment.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Statutory Harbour Authorities (some of which are Local Authorities) have powers to deal with wrecks and unservicable and abandoned vessels within their harbour limits.

    These powers are available under sections 52, 56 and 57 of the Harbours, Docks and Piers Clauses Act 1847 (exercisable by the Harbour Master) and in section 252 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. The powers allow the removal of wrecks and unserviceable and abandoned vessels and recovery of the cost of doing so from the owner or through disposal of the vessel.

    Where there is no statutory harbour authority or conservancy authority in place to use the powers in the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, under s253 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 the General Lighthouse Authority may use the same powers set out in section 252 to deal with such vessels where, in the authority’s opinion the vessel is, or is likely to become, an obstruction or danger to navigation or to lifeboats engaged in lifeboat service.

    The receiver of wreck, who only deals with wrecked vessels and is a statutory appointment under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, has powers under section 243 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 to dispose of unclaimed wrecks one year after they come into the receiver’s possession. The Act sets out the dissemination of the proceeds of sale after disposal expenses.

    Statutory Harbour Authorities operate on a commercial basis without ongoing support from Government and the General Lighthouse Authority are fully funded from a tax on shipping, receiving no money from the UK exchequer. There are no plans for any other funding to be made available.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will ring-fence housing payments for tenants in supported accommodation.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We value the work of the supported housing sector extremely highly and are working closely with them to ensure they are supported as effectively as possible. As part of this, we have commissioned an evidence review of supported housing. The results of this research will determine any appropriate exemptions.

    In addition, the Government has agreed to put in place a year-long exception for all supported housing provided by local authorities and private registered providers from the one per cent rent reduction.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what further assistance his Department plans to give the devolved legislatures for providing access to higher speed broadband services.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Superfast broadband is available to nearly 90 per cent of homes and businesses in the UK, and we are on track to reach 95% by the end of 2017, as set out in our manifesto All of the BDUK superfast broadband contracts with BT contain a claw-back mechanism so that as take-up rises above a set level of 20%, further funding is reinvested in extending coverage, which all the nations will benefit from, including Northern Ireland.

    In November, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) and our ambition is to set this at 10 Mbps. This will give people the legal right to request an affordable broadband connection from a designated provider, up to a reasonable cost threshold, no matter where they live.

    We are also piloting a range of alternative technology approaches to help us understand the options for extending superfast broadband further. We are also encouraging commercial suppliers to meet their commitments to provide further coverage who are themselves investing in new technology to extend coverage.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    I refer my Hon Friend to the answer to PQ 27946

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which arts organisations have received public funding of more than £5 million in the last three years.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Arts Council publishes data on the organisations that have received regular funding and capital funding on their website: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/apply-funding/apply-for-funding/capital-investment-2015-18/large-capital-grants/"

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  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which arts organisations have been allocated capital grants of more than £5 million in the last three years.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Arts Council publishes data on the organisations that have received regular funding and capital funding on their website: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/apply-funding/apply-for-funding/capital-investment-2015-18/large-capital-grants/"

    “

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what criteria Arts Council England uses to allocate funding to theatre companies; and how much such funding has been disbursed to theatre companies in each of the last three years.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Arts Council England (ACE) assesses all applications for funding against the specific criteria for each programme, as well as one or more of its 5 goals of excellence, opportunity, resilience, leadership and young people. ACE investment in theatre over the last 3 years is:
    £136,024,252 in 2013/14; £148,745,455 in 2014/15; and £138,018,756 to date (23 Feb 2016) in 2015/16.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli.

    David Evennett

    The two national events that marked the centenary of the battle of Gallipoli on 24th and 25th Apri 2015, were key commemorative events in the centenary programme.

    The first, a UK-led Commonwealth and Ireland Ceremony was held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Helles Memorial in Turkey on 24 April 2015, the eve of the centenary of the Gallipoli landings. This event was attended by The Prince of Wales, accompanied by Prince Harry, senior representatives of the nations involved in the Gallipoi Campaign and descendants. The Prince of Wales met with descendants on board the Royal Navy’s ship HMS Bulwark.

    The second, on Anzac Day, was held at the Cenotaph in Whitehall. This National Service of Commemoration event was attended by Her Majesty The Queen, senior representatives of the participant nations, and around 2500 descendants, included wreath-laying and a march past the Cenotaph led by military personnel.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) Ofcom has made of the number of (a) business parks which do not have superfast broadband and (b) businesses based in business parks which do not have superfast broadband.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    In its 2015 publication Connected Nations, Ofcom estimated that 68% of SMEs had access to superfast broadband in May 2015, and almost half (around 130,000) in certain business areas were unable to receive speeds above 10Mbit/s.

    The Government is supporting investment to provide superfast broadband coverage to 90% of UK premises by early 2016 and 95% by December 2017. In addition, BDUK’s Connection Voucher Scheme issued around 55,000 vouchers to businesses to enable to access Superfast broadband. However, this does not include the provision of leased lines which offer an alternative connectivity option for businesses.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Vector protected vehicles were in operational use by the army in each year since 2007.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Information is not available in the format requested. However, in May 2009 a total of 130 Vector vehicles were in operational use in Iraq and Afghanistan. Vector was withdrawn from use on operational tasks in 2009.