The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions the Government with the EU on charges for quarry spaces and pest control.
Rory Stewart
No discussions have been held with the EU about changes to the protection of quarry and pest control species.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has put in place to fund walking and cycling infrastructure once the Local Sustainable Transport Fund ends in March 2016.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department has a statutory obligation to deliver the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). The Department has commenced the early first stages of work to develop the first CWIS by summer 2016 following a formal consultation in spring 2016. Detailed content of this Strategy is not yet available.
The Government recently reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking by investing over £300m during this Parliament. This includes delivering the Cycle City Ambition programme in full, and funding the Bikeability cycle training programme, which increases cycle proficiency amongst school children. It also includes a new ‘Access’ fund for sustainable travel building on the legacy of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. It is too early to say what the details of this new Access fund will be as discussions are ongoing, but information is expected to be available in the coming weeks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Johnny Mercer on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to make the rail line through Dawlish more resilient before the next Network Rail Control Period in 2019.
Claire Perry
Network Rail iscurrently implementing a £31million package of schemes to improve the resilience of the Great Western route through the Thames Valley and the West of England.
Network Rail is also progressing an Exeter to Newton Abbot geo-environmental study exploring options for providing a more resilient rail route for the future. The work will produce a short-list of options for further strengthening of the existing railway from Control period 6 (2019-2024) and beyond.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether each Astral exercise between February 2011 and November 2012 assumed a post-incident release of nuclear materials from the transportation packages.
Penny Mordaunt
The Ministry of Defence maintains a Defence Nuclear Emergency Organisation (NEO) to respond in the unlikely event of an emergency involving the transport of defence nuclear materials. The NEO organises regular exercises to test the effectiveness of its emergency response planning and arrangements. These include the Astral series of exercises, which are designed to be challenging, and thus simulate the extremely unlikely event of a release of radioactive material from the transport containers. No radioactive materials are used or released to the environment during the exercises. The specific exercise objectives do not require assessments or estimates of decontamination, environmental or other post-incident decontamination costs or of radiological dose uptakes. The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) undertook the modelling for each Astral exercise between February 2011 and November 2012.
I am withholding information about the physical state, mass quantity, release fraction and total released radioactivity assumed for these exercises as disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice national security.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on the use of teargas against refugees and migrants at the Macedonian border.
James Brokenshire
We continue to work closely with our European partners to address all aspects of the current migration situation as it continues to develop, including regular bilateral and multilateral discussions. There have been no specific discussions on the use of tear gas.
Public order is a matter for national governments and we expect all our international partners to ensure that migrants’ human rights are fully respected.
We are clear that protection in the region of origin is often the best solution, including for refugees, and that those reaching the EU should claim asylum in the first Member State they enter (as per EU rules) rather than seeking to travel further across Europe to their destination of choice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to work with Muscular Dystrophy UK on increasing access to hydrotherapy pools for people with muscular dystrophy and neuromuscular conditions.
Jane Ellison
NHS England continues to work with Muscular Dystrophy UK through the Bridging the Gap Project, which aims to ensure people with neuromuscular conditions, along with their families, play a leading role in the development and commissioning of the services they use.
NHS England commissions some services for patients with neuromuscular conditions nationally as part of its remit to deliver specialised neurological services. However, the majority of services are provided outside of specialised centres and are the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups to provide, should they deem it clinically appropriate. This includes services such as hydrotherapy.
In 2012 Muscular Dystrophy UK, working with the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) issued a call for research proposals into the clinical effectiveness of hydrotherapy in maintaining physical function in people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The call was made because there is little evidence to support the use of hydrotherapy in relation to DMD and other neuromuscular disorders. The NIHR Health Technology Appraisal programme is now funding a pilot study to look at hydrotherapy for the treatment of DMD, with an evaluation report expected in January 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the average price of affordable starter homes that will be built in (a) Tottenham, (b) Islington, (c) Barnet, (d) Haringey, (e) Enfield and (f) London in (i) 2016 and (ii) each of the next four years.
Brandon Lewis
The Starter Homes policy is expected to deliver at least a 20% discount from market value on new homes built for first time buyers under 40 years of age. We recognise that first time buyers can face affordability pressures within parts of London which is why we want Starter Homes to make a significant contribution to housing delivery. The London £450k price cap is not an expectation of the going price for a Starter Home. In London in 2014, the average price paid by a first time buyer was £364k – which would equate to a starter homes price of £291k. We are consulting on starter homes regulations which will set the requirement for starter homes and any exemptions. The Department does not make assessments on the number of starter homes that are to be built by local authority area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-06-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for small businesses of the UK leaving the EU.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
There will be no immediate changes to the UK’s relationship with the EU, in the way goods can move or services can be sold. The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK remains open for business and continues to grow and thrive.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is engaging with small businesses about the issues, risks and opportunities arising as a result of the decision to leave the EU. The Government is working to ensure that the UK remains one of the best places in the world to start and grow a business.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Eames on 2016-09-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current assessment of the significance of the possible changes in the status of the land border between the UK and the Republic of Ireland for commercial life in Northern Ireland.
Lord Dunlop
The open border for people and businesses has served us well and no-one wants to see a return to the borders of the past. There is a strong will – within this Government, among the Northern Ireland parties and in the Irish Government – to preserve the common travel area and to ensure we get the right deal for trade in goods and services with the European Union. We must now focus on securing a deal that is in the interest of both of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on the use of lead ammunition on land owned by the Government.
Rory Stewart
The Government is considering the independent Lead Ammunition Group’s report on the effect of lead shot on human and wildlife health and will respond as soon as possible.
The Food Standards Agency has produced advice on the consumption of lead shot game which can be accessed at https://www.food.gov.uk/science/advice-to-frequent-eaters-of-game-shot-with-lead.
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