Blog

  • Oliver Heald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Oliver Heald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Heald on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2015 to Question 2734, what progress her Department has made on restoring physical habitats on chalk rivers in North East Hertfordshire constituency.

    Rory Stewart

    Through its Restoring Sustainable Abstraction (RSA) Programme, the Environment Agency (EA) is working with local water companies and the Catchment partnerships to significantly improve the condition, flow and habitats of chalk streams Beane, Mimram and Lee.

    As part of the Programme, Affinity Water and the EA have committed to investing £3 million by 2020 in habitat improvement projects for these chalk streams. These are currently in the planning and design stage. Delivery will accelerate as the Programme progresses over the next five years.

    In order to achieve the greatest benefit from these works, Affinity Water has agreed to reduce abstraction from local chalk streams by over 40 million litres per day by 2024. It will significantly reduce abstraction at the Whitehall pumping station on the River Beane by 2018 by building a pipeline, currently under construction, to supply customers with water from alternative sources.

    The EA partnership project at Waterford Marsh, also on the River Beane, has seen improvements for both wildlife and people through chalk stream restoration, pond creation, access repair, and the provision of new information boards.

  • Mrs Sheryll Murray – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mrs Sheryll Murray – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Sheryll Murray on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2015 to Question 16561, if she will publish her response to the European Commission’s proposals referred to on bass management.

    George Eustice

    I am finalising the UK approach on management of all stocks, including bass, for negotiation at the December Fisheries Council. We do not publish the UK negotiating position, however my officials, in consultation with me and their counterparts in the Devolved Administrations, have been discussing our views with the European Commission, the Presidency and other Member States. We have also been taking on board the views of stakeholders. I can assure the honourable member that I will be seeking an outcome on bass management which is based on achieving sustainability of the stock and which recognises the interests of the commercial and recreational fishing sectors.

  • Chris Law – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Chris Law – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps the Government is taking to help create renewable energy industry jobs in Dundee.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Government support has helped to create a thriving renewables sector and drive strong progress on UK supply chain development. According to DECC analysis based on BIS 2015: Size and Performance of the Low Carbon Economy the sector currently supports around 16,000 jobs in Scotland.

  • David Nuttall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Nuttall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to safeguard gas and electricity supplies in the event of a terrorist attack.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government takes the security of the energy sector very seriously and DECC works closely with industry and the relevant agencies in order to ensure a robust and proportionate security regime.

  • Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress her Department expects the UK to make towards its obligation to deliver 15 per cent of energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020 in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018, (d) 2019 and (e) 2020.

    Andrea Leadsom

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich on 6 July 2015 to Question 4832:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-06-30/4832/

    “

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether it is her policy to replace the Green Deal with other measures to help improve home energy efficiency.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government is committed to meeting its legally binding target to help as many fuel poor homes as reasonably practicable reach energy efficiency Band C by 2030, with interim targets on Band E by 2020 and Band D by 2025.

    This Government has also set a specific goal of insulating 1 million homes by the end of this Parliament, in line with our commitments on fuel poverty.

    A reformed domestic supplier obligation (ECO) from April 2017 will upgrade the energy efficiency of well over 200,000 homes per year. This will help to tackle the root cause of fuel poverty and continue to deliver on our commitment to help 1 million more homes this Parliament. We are providing support for households to improve their energy efficiency through the new supplier obligation, which will run for 5 years.

    Our extension of the Warm Home Discount to 2020/21 at current levels of £320m pa will alsohelp households who are at most risk of fuel poverty with their energy bills.

  • Chris Law – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Law – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) households and (b) people in Dundee receive winter fuel payments; and what the average value of each award will be this year.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not available. The Winter Fuel Payment caseload and expenditure information for winter 2014-15 is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/winter-fuel-payment-recipient-and-household-figures-2014-to-2015.

    “

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she plans to take to improve home energy efficiency.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government is committed to meeting its legally binding target to help as many fuel poor homes as reasonably practicable reach energy efficiency Band C by 2030, with interim targets on Band E by 2020 and Band D by 2025.

    This Government has also set a specific goal of insulating 1 million homes by the end of this Parliament, in line with our commitments on fuel poverty.

    A reformed domestic supplier obligation (ECO) from April 2017 will upgrade the energy efficiency of well over 200,000 homes per year. This will help to tackle the root cause of fuel poverty and continue to deliver on our commitment to help 1 million more homes this Parliament. We are providing support for households to improve their energy efficiency through the new supplier obligation, which will run for 5 years.

    Our extension of the Warm Home Discount to 2020/21 at current levels of £320m pa will alsohelp households who are at most risk of fuel poverty with their energy bills.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what binding measures have been agreed at COP21 which commit China and the US to reducing their carbon emissions.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The 21st Conference of Parties (CoP) in Paris delivered an historic and unprecedented legally binding agreement that takes a significant step forward towards reducing, on a global scale, the emissions that cause climate change.

    For the first time, all countries, including China and the US, are legally bound to: set out their plans to reduce emissions; take domestic mitigation measures towards implementing those plans; revisit those plans every five years in light if a global stocktake of progress towards the long term goal in the Agreement; and report on progress made to implement and achieve these plans and subject their report to independent review and multilateral consideration.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what targets the Government has set for improving the energy efficiency of low-income homes.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government is committed to meeting its legally binding target to help as many fuel poor homes as reasonably practicable reach energy efficiency Band C by 2030, with interim targets on Band E by 2020 and Band D by 2025.

    This Government has also set a specific goal of insulating 1 million homes by the end of this Parliament, in line with our commitments on fuel poverty.

    A reformed domestic supplier obligation (ECO) from April 2017 will upgrade the energy efficiency of well over 200,000 homes per year. This will help to tackle the root cause of fuel poverty and continue to deliver on our commitment to help 1 million more homes this Parliament. We are providing support for households to improve their energy efficiency through the new supplier obligation, which will run for 5 years.

    Our extension of the Warm Home Discount to 2020/21 at current levels of £320m pa will alsohelp households who are at most risk of fuel poverty with their energy bills.