Category: Speeches

Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what (1) proportion, and (2) volume, of excavated spoil from each of the Thames Tideway Tunnel construction sites will be transported from them by river.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Development Consent Order for the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT) requires 100% of the specified materials to be transported by river for construction sites on the Thames foreshore, unless an approved derogation is in place. Derogations could include periods when it is not possible to use river transport due to factors such as river closures, incidents, weather and supply chain failures, and for material not suitable for river transport such as contaminated material that needs specialist disposal or material that is too wet for safe transit without specialist vessels.

The commitment to transportation by river from the construction sites was secured through the River Transport Strategy, which was included in Thames Water’s application for Development Consent for the Tunnel, although it only applies to specific material listed in the Strategy (including excavated material from the main tunnel at main tunnel drive sites and material excavated from the shafts at foreshore sites).

Bazalgette Tunnel Limited (operating as Tideway), the company appointed to design, finance, build and operate the TTT, has estimated the proportion and volume of excavated spoil that will be transported by river from each of the TTT construction foreshore sites (see Table 1 below). The percentages shown for each site demonstrate the anticipated effect of derogations on the amounts of excavated spoil they will be able to transport by river.

However, Tideway and appointed mains works contractors have made commitments to maximise their use of river transport and are therefore working on opportunities to increase the extent of river transport further in liaison with the Local Authorities, Greater London Authority, Port of London Authority and Transport for London.

Table 1 – Excavated specified material percentage and volume by river transport

SITE	% of all excavated specified material transported by river	Volume to be transported by river (m3)
Putney Bridge Foreshore	90%	14,000
Carnwath Road Riverside	90%	353,400
Cremorne Wharf Depot	90%	9,000
Chelsea Embankment	90%	44,400
Kirtling Street	81%	693,600 *
Heathwall Pumping Station	82%	16,300**
Albert Embankment	90%	56,300
Victoria Embankment	90%	27,900
Blackfriars Bridge	90%	72,100
Chambers Wharf	90%	416,100
King Edward Memorial Park	90%	57,500

*excludes shaft and excavated material from ‘other’ minor structures, due to restricted river frontage

**excludes ‘excavated material from ‘other’ minor structures’, due to site constraints

01/01/2023

Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-02-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to respond to the European Parliament’s call for an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia, and if so, how.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

It is up to individual member states, not the European Parliament, to make national arms export licensing decisions.

The Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application.

We are able to review licences and suspend or revoke as necessary when circumstances require.

The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria.

01/01/2023
Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which humanitarian aid operations the Government has been involved in that (a) have involved other EU member states and (b) have been EU-led.

Mr Nick Hurd

To increase transparency and accountability, EU Member States are required to input details of all humanitarian aid allocations on to the European Emergency and Disaster Response Information System (EDRIS). Information on all humanitarian assistance provided by EU Member States globally can be found on EDRIS.

Response to Humanitarian Emergency is led and co-ordinated by the affected country. This is the case for humanitarian emergencies that occur in EU Member States and globally. We would not expect any humanitarian response to be EU-led.

Individual EU Member States lead on humanitarian operations within their sovereign territories but can seek EU assistance through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism and international assistance through the UN.

01/01/2023
Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the claim by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that the proposal to stop collecting data on the wealthiest 1 per cent in the UK would lead to their wealth being underestimated.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government is not proposing to stop collecting data on the wealthiest 1 per cent in the UK.

HM Revenue and Customs consulted on a proposal to cease producing statistics on personal wealth based on Inheritance Tax returns. The consultation suggested that the Office for National Statistics’ estimates of personal wealth, based on the household Wealth and Assets Survey, give a better indication of the overall distribution of wealth.

The Government has not yet published a formal response to the consultation, which has now closed.

01/01/2023
Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what coastguard personnel responded to the incident off Portobello beach in Edinburgh in the early hours of 15 May 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Coastguard Rescue Teams (CRT) from Fisherrow and Queensferry were tasked to respond to the incident off Portobello beach in Edinburgh in the early hours of 15 May 2016.

01/01/2023
Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many additional employees he plans to hire from outside the civil service for the purposes of negotiating or renegotiating trade deals as a result of the decision to leave the EU; in what roles such employees will be deployed; over what timescale their deployment will take place; and what the cost to the public purse will be of their deployment.

Greg Hands

The Department for International Trade has already established a strong and capable trade policy team with significant negotiating experience. The team has more than doubled in size since 23 June and is still growing. On 8th of September, my rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced an open and fair competition to recruit a new Permanent Secretary to lead the Department. We will continue to hire the brightest and best talent from within the UK civil service and from elsewhere in order to deliver the best outcomes for the UK.

01/01/2023
Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress the NHS has made on piloting the recommendations of the National Maternity Review since that review was published in February 2016.

Mr Philip Dunne

In its report, Better Births, the National Maternity Review set out a vision for future maternity services which provide safe, personalised, kind, professional and family friendly care. The Maternity Transformation programme was established in July to take forward the recommendations of the Review. It brings together partners from across the system and is independently chaired by Sarah-Jane Marsh, chief executive of Birmingham Children’s Hospital. A comprehensive programme of work is being developed to implement the vision set out in Better Births, early progress includes:

– The formation of Local Maternity Systems (LMS) to bring commissioners and providers together and develop a local shared vision for improved maternity services and outcomes;

– The creation of Early Adopters where NHS England is considering applications from LMS to implement key elements of Better Births including personalised care planning, continuity of carer, better postnatal and perinatal mental health care, innovations to the payment system and delivering safer care; and

– The selection of seven Maternity Choice Pioneers who are working to test ways of improving choice and personalisation for women accessing maternity services and roll out Personalised Maternity Care Budgets.

On 17 October my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced a series of initiatives to help us meet our ambition to halve by 2030 the rate of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths and brain injuries that occur during or soon after birth, with the

publication of the Safer Maternity Care action plan. Further detail of the plan can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safer-maternity-care

“

01/01/2023
Maria Miller – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Miller on 2015-11-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the objectives and value of the Landfill Communities Fund; what assessment he has made of progress in the reform process of that fund; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke

Since its introduction in 1996, the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) has contributed over £1.4bn to community projects in areas affected by a local landfill site, it has a significant impact on the communities that benefit. However, as the LCF is a tax credit scheme, it reduces the Government’s tax revenues and we therefore have an ongoing responsibility to seek value for money for the taxpayer.

An HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) consultation on proposals to reform the LCF closed on 10 June. The proposals were designed to improve the flow of LCF money to communities. This is because large amounts of unspent funds – worth twice the annual value of the LCF – had accumulated. The proposals were developed by a government-sector working group including representatives of landfill site operators and those receiving LCF funding.

HMRC are currently reviewing responses to the consultation on the reform proposals, and will publish a response document in due course. Any changes to the LCF will take into account the views of those who responded. However, it is also important that those involved in the sector show they are willing to make changes to ensure that money reaches communities quickly and effectively.

01/01/2023
Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Prime Minister’s oral contribution of 26 November 2015, Official Report, column 1535, what country is responsible for the co-ordination of ground troops; and which coalition countries have agreed to the methodology referred to.

Michael Fallon

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 1 December 2015 to Question 17826 to the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion (Caroline Lucas).

01/01/2023
Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his contribution of 20 June 2011, Official Report, column 52, on the Pensions Bill [Lords], that the Government would consider transitional arrangements, what transitional arrangements the Government considered.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government considered retaining the original timetable for increasing the qualifying age for Pension Credit minimum guarantee to 65 by 2020 for a temporary period, in addition to alternative timetabling options for increasing the State Pension age to lessen the impact on women facing the largest increases relative to the original timetable. The transitional arrangements brought forward by the Government capped the maximum delay at 18 months rather than two years, at a cost of £1.1 billion.

01/01/2023