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  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons statistics on National Lottery good causes expenditure has not been updated on the gov.uk website since December 2014; and when he plans to publish those updated statistics.

    Tracey Crouch

    We have encountered significant technical difficulties in updating the National Lottery Grants Database which have proved much more complex to resolve than anticipated. The delay in updating is very unfortunate however we have been working hard to resolve the issue and expect an update to be accessible in the New Year. Meanwhile, information about grants can be found on the websites of many distributors.

  • Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the use of performance advancing drugs in UK sport.

    Tracey Crouch

    The Government supports the work of UK Anti-Doping which works tirelessly to ensure athletes and sport are clean. Through testing programmes, intelligence sharing with law-enforcement agencies on supplying and trafficking, and its excellent athlete education initiatives, UKAD is one of the world’s most highly regarded national anti-doping organisations.

  • Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to provide to internet service providers detailed information relating to the broadband Universal Services Obligation announced by the Prime Minister on 7 November 2015.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government’s Universal Service Commitment will allow universal access to speeds of at least 2 Megabits per second through the option of satellite broadband connections by the end of 2015.

    In addition, an £8 million Market Test Pilot fund is piloting a number of technologies and funding models, including satellite solutions. The results of these pilots will help inform future policy to extend superfast broadband coverage beyond 95%. Avanti, a broadband provider using satellite technology, is currently operational in Dumfries and Galloway and providing superfast coverage.

  • Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government is taking steps to promote satellite broadband access in areas where fixed line broadband is limited or available at slower speeds than average.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government’s Universal Service Commitment will allow universal access to speeds of at least 2 Megabits per secondto any household in the UK,through the option of satellite broadband connections by the end of 2015.

  • Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) location is of each mast which has been erected and (b) status is of further masts currently in planning as part of the Mobile Infrastructure Project.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    There are 15 live MIP masts as at the end of November 2015. These masts are in the following locations:

    • Grantham and Stamford, Lincolnshire

    • Weaverthorpe, North Yorkshire

    • North Molton, Devon

    • Portesham, West Dorset

    • Roadwater, Somerset

    • Ipswich, Suffolk​

    • Rattlesden, Suffolk

    • Seaton, Cornwall

    • Peakswater, Cornwall

    • Calstock, Cornwall

    • Weston Green, Cambridgeshire

    • Rothwell, Lincolnshire

    • Manaccan, Cornwall

    • Londonderry, Derry and Strabane – Northern Ireland

    • Fermanagh, Fermanagh and Omagh – Northern Ireland

    Over 50 other potential mast sites are currently being progressed by our supplier with the aim of delivering as many of these as possible by the project end date of 31 March 2016.

  • Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been spent on the Mobile Infrastructure Project as of the end of November 2015; and what proportion of that figure was spent on (a) construction, (b) planning permission, (c) administration and (d) other costs.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    As at the end of November 2015, spend on the Mobile Infrastructure Project is £9.1 Million. The breakdown of this spend is not in the format requested but the following information can be provided:

    • Site Builds – £0.9 Million.

    • Site Searches and acquisitions, which includes obtaining planning permission – £5.1 Million.

    • Supplier management and programme management costs and one-off supplier deliverables – £3 Million

    The above spend relates to concluded and ongoing activities to enable identification of suitable locations to build masts. The spend in respect of Site Builds includes payments for some of the masts that are already on air.

  • Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many community projects have benefited from monies allocated by Scotland’s Big Lottery Fund in Dumfries and Galloway constituency in the last five years.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    Information on the community projects in the Dumfries and Galloway constituency that have benefited from monies allocated by the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland in the last five years is available on the Big Lottery Fund websitehttps://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/about-big/big-lottery-fund-in-your-constituency.

    “

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2015 to Question 15582, whether he has commissioned legal advice on the findings of the Quality Contract Scheme Board and the consequences for buses.

    Andrew Jones

    The Quality Contract Scheme Board’s report concerns a proposal under existing legislation. The Department has considered the report internally but has not sought any external legal advice on the findings of the Quality Contract Scheme Board.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 39 (d) of the North East Devolution Agreement, what representations he has received on north east Air Passenger Duty mitigation; and what steps he is considering to implement the commitment to protect Newcastle Airport from the impact of devolution of Air Passenger Duty to Scotland.

    Damian Hinds

    The government published a discussion paper at Summer Budget 2015 exploring three potential options to support English regional airports from the impacts of Air Passenger Duty devolution. We received a large number of responses, including from stakeholders in the North East. We will respond to the consultation in due course.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 40 of the North East Devolution Agreement, what progress he has made on developing an agreed implementation, monitoring and evaluation plan for evaluating the impact of north east devolution.

    James Wharton

    Implementation, monitoring, and evaluation are key parts of any Devolution Deal, and my officials are working closely with representatives of the North East Combined Authority to ensure that we have robust arrangements in place.