Category: Speeches

Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to increase the UK’s energy storage capacity for excess energy from renewables; and what financial support she is making available to increase the capacity of pumped hydro systems.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is investigating the potential barriers to deployment of energy storage and possible mitigating actions, focussing in the first instance on removing regulatory barriers but also considering whether more needs to be done to stimulate investment in energy storage. DECC plans to issue a call for evidence in spring 2016 on this area.

DECC has provided more than £18m of innovation support since 2012 to develop and demonstrate a range of energy storage technologies. This support has included a grant to a UK pumped hydro storage company to analyse the potential for wider deployment of new pumped hydro storage facilities in novel sites around Great Britain – for example, in disused quarries or other brownfield sites or using drinking water reservoirs.

January 1, 2023
Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to instruct local authorities to ensure that Discretionary Housing Payments are awarded to full-time carers affected by the benefit cap until their exemptions are implemented.

Lord Freud

It is important that local authorities are allowed to use their discretion to ensure Discretionary Housing Payments are awarded to those who most require assistance based on local circumstances. We have, however, amended the Discretionary Housing Payments Local Authority Good Practice Guide to reflect that those entitled to Carer’s Allowance or Universal Credit including the carer element should be considered as a priority group for whom Discretionary Housing Payments are specifically aimed.

January 1, 2023

William Cash – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Cash on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine plants have closed in the last two years; and what the (a) generation size and (b) location was of each of those plants.

Andrea Leadsom

The following Combined Cycle Gas Turbine plants have closed within the last two years:

*Name of Plant*	*Capacity (MWe)*	*Location*
Barking	1,000	London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, East London
Roosecote (mothballed in 2012; demolition in 2015)	229	Barrow in Furness, Cumbria
Killingholme (Centrica)	665	Killingholme, Humberside

This excludes combined cycle gas turbine plants which remain available under National Grid’s Supplementary Balancing Reserve and/or plants which have converted to open cycle operation at reduced capacity or have otherwise reduced capacity.

January 1, 2023

Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to review the health impact of prescribing from online pharmacies; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

As health professionals, online prescribers are regulated by their respective professional regulator. The General Medical Council (GMC) expects all doctors to take account of its guidance on remote prescribing and relevant clinical and other guidelines, regardless of how they prescribe.

Doctors working independently or in private practice, including on-line prescribers, with a business based in England, are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), if they provide a regulated activity and are within scope of the CQC registration. They are required to provide people with safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led care.

Online pharmacies, like other registered pharmacies, are regulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and are required to comply with the GPhC’s standards for registered pharmacies. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, working in online pharmacies, are also regulated by the GPhC and must comply with the GPhC’s standards of conduct, ethics and performance.

The Department has not recently reviewed on-line prescribing.

January 1, 2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 45147, what his Department’s total spend has been to date.

Mr David Jones

The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) is properly resourced. Detailed work is underway to establish the final budget required and this will be voted on and published as part of the Supplementary Estimate process. Total expenditure by the Department will be set out in the Annual Report and Accounts in the usual way.

January 1, 2023
Lord Marlesford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2015-11-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 10 November (HL3150) about littering, when they expect to (1) start, and (2) complete, the process of seeking the views of local authorities about the size of the fine, the form and content of the penalty notice and exemptions to the keeper’s liability, and other details that need to be finalised before they implement section 54 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

As set out in our manifesto, we will review the case for increasing the fines for littering, and will begin a consultation on this later this year. The outcome of this work will inform the potential level of any civil penalty for littering from a vehicle.

We plan to begin working with councils early next year to understand better their current enforcement practices and resources, and the barriers to effective enforcement. This will help us to consider the practicalities of implementation of any new regulatory approach (including any necessary exemptions to keepers’ liability). It will also help us to assess the new burdens on councils that would be associated with establishing a new civil penalties regime. Appropriate funding to cover any new burdens would have to be agreed before any regulations can be made.

January 1, 2023
Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2015 to Question 18122, (a) how many times and (b) on what grounds Palestinian academics have not been given permission to attend academic conferences in the UK in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

Acquiring information on the number of times academics of Syrian nationality have been refused entry to attend an academic conference would involve examining each individual case record held by UK Visas and Immigration for the category. To do so would incur a disproportionate cost.

In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide information on the reasons for refusing entry to the UK.

All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules.

January 1, 2023
Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that young people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis are made aware of their possible suitability for lung transplants.

Jane Ellison

There are a number of lung diseases of childhood, including pulmonary fibrosis that may require lung transplantation, depending on disease progression and severity.

These conditions should be referred to, assessed and initially managed by a tertiary paediatric respiratory unit, who would confirm the diagnosis and monitor treatment.

If the treatments failed to hold the progression of the disease, then a referral to one of the two paediatric lung transplant centres, Newcastle and Great Ormond Street may be appropriate.

January 1, 2023

Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Sea King HC4, (b) Wildcat, (c) Gazelle, (d) Apache, (e) Chinook HC2/3, (f) Puma HC2 and (g) Merlin Mk 3/3A helicopters are (i) in the Forward Available Fleet, (ii) in the Sustainment Fleet and (iii) classed as Short-Term Unserviceable.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Forward Fleet comprises aircraft which are serviceable and those which are short-term unserviceable.

The Sustainment Fleet numbers represent those aircraft in our Depth Fleet, which comprises aircraft which are undergoing planned depth maintenance or upgrade programmes.

Short-term unserviceable aircraft are undergoing minor works, forward maintenance or any other unforeseen rectification or technical inspection work that can arise on a day-to-day basis. Figures shown are the average for December 2015, the most recent data available.

Query	Sea King HC4	Wildcat BRH Mk1	Wildcat HMA Mk2	Gazelle	Apache	Chinook HC2/3 Note 1	Puma HC2	Merlin Mk 3/3A
Forward Available Fleet	7	19	14	19	32	0	13	17
Sustainment Fleet	0	8	3	7	18	0	10	8
Short-Term Unserviceable	2	12	7	12	13	0	4	10

Note 1:

All Chinook HC2/2a aircraft have undergone modification with new cockpit avionics and are now HC4 variants. In December 2015 there were 26 HC4 aircraft in the forward fleet and 12 in sustainment.

The (eight) Chinook HC3 were all removed from the forward fleet last year and are undergoing modification with new cockpit avionics and a new digital automatic flight control system. Once modified, these aircraft become Chinook HC5 variants.

January 1, 2023

Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Dogs Trust pilot quarantine on disrupting the illegal importation of puppies under the Pet Travel Scheme.

George Eustice

I welcome the Dogs Trust initiative to pay the quarantine costs of dogs and puppies identified at Dover as being not compliant to enter Great Britain under the EU Pet Travel Scheme. Since 2 December 2015, 108 puppies have been licensed into the quarantine facilities, mainly due to concerns that puppies were under the minimum age for travelling.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency will carry out an assessment of the effectiveness of the initiative following its conclusion.

January 1, 2023