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  • Crispin Blunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Crispin Blunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the capital costs of (a) replacing the Vanguard fleet with four new Successor submarines and (b) other foreseeable elements within the Trident renewal project up to the late 2030’s.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, our latest estimate is that manufacturing the four Successor submarines is likely to cost a total of £31 billion, including inflation over the lifetime of the programme. We will also set a contingency of £10 billion. The MOD budget for the Spending Review period published in Budget 2016 included this latest estimate for the relevant period.

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many allegations of (a) sexual assault, (b) voyeurism, (c) sexual activity in a public lavatory and (d) exposure have been dealt with summarily by a commanding officer in each year since 2009.

    Mark Lancaster

    Commanding Officers do not have the power to deal by summary hearing with the offences of sexual assault, voyeurism, sexual activity in a public lavatory or exposure. These charges can only be dealt with by Court Martial or Service Civilian Court.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, to what extent the Royal Navy plans to increase naval patrols in the Mediterranean to respond to the increase in attempted illegal crossings by migrants from North Africa.

    Penny Mordaunt

    We are encouraging the EU counter-migration mission, Operation SOPHIA, to increase its role in tackling irregular migration across the Central Mediterranean. Indeed, earlier this week the EU Foreign Affairs Council agreed on the need to evaluate options for increasing SOPHIA’s impact on human trafficking networks. This may include broader security support to the legitimate Libyan authorities, for example through potential capacity building. The UK currently has HMS ENTERPRISE deployed in support of Operation SOPHIA, and although we have no immediate plans to increase naval patrols in the Mediterranean, we are keeping our contribution under review as the operation’s requirements change.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the number and location of overseas deployments of Army Reserve personnel were in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of potential increases in the number of such deployments in the next 12 months.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The number and location of Army Reserve deployments in the last 12 months are shown in the following table:

    Location

    Personnel Number

    Afghanistan

    65

    Algeria

    ~

    Bahrain

    ~

    Cyprus

    175

    Egypt

    ~

    Ethiopia

    ~

    Falkland Islands

    10

    Iraq

    35

    Italy

    ~

    Jordan

    ~

    Kenya

    5

    Kuwait

    ~

    Latvia

    15

    Malawi

    ~

    Nigeria

    15

    Oman

    ~

    Senegal

    10

    Sudan

    ~

    Sierra Leone

    15

    Somalia

    ~

    Tunisia

    ~

    Ukraine

    ~

    Uganda

    ~

    Rounding is necessary, as a means of disclosure control and the preservation of anonymity; it also improves the clarity of output and conveys an appropriate level of precision to users.

    ‘~’ is less than five.

    It is expected that reserve mobilisation is likely to double during 2016.

    Formed Reserve bodies will be deploying on some 23 overseas exercises this year; the majority of these will be at Company level. 4 PARA will also deploy for one rotation of the Falkland Islands Reinforcement Company in June-July 2016, while the intent is for 4 LANCS to be the Cyprus lead in October 2016.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) accountability of internet service providers to their customers and (b) role of the regulator in upholding the rights of those customers.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Internet Service Providers are accountable to Ofcom – and in turn to their customers – through Ofcom’s ‘General Conditions (14)’. These conditions include ensuring that an effective complaint handling procedure is in place, and Ofcom can impose a penalty of up to 10% of turnover for failure to comply.

    Ofcom, as the UK’s independent communications regulator, has a duty to secure alternative dispute resolution (ADR) schemes for domestic and small business customers to make sure their rights are upheld. Ofcom periodically reviews the two approved ADR schemes (Ombudsman Services: Communications and the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme) and monitors their ability to deal with complaints independently, transparently and effectively.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his plans are for the body that will replace the BBC Trust.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government will set out its plans for the future of the BBC in a White Paper in the Spring.

  • Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to commence Section 154 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, on fixed penalty notices for leaving litter.

    Rory Stewart

    No timetable has been set for when Section 154 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 will be commenced.

    Defra has announced plans for a new litter strategy and we are working with industry, experts and councils across England to improve the way we all tackle the scourge of litter. The litter strategy will promote affordable and replicable ways to influence littering behaviour and reduce littering. This will include work on ways to deal with littering from vehicles.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) full-time equivalent civil servants work in his Department and (b) civil servants work full-time on the Northern Powerhouse agenda.

    Mr Mark Francois

    There are currently 1651 full time equivalent civil servants working in the Department for Communities and Local Government.

    The Northern Powerhouse is a key ambition of this Government which requires input from officials across DCLG and other Government Departments, across a wide range of policy areas. This enables bottom-up ownership of the Northern Powerhouse agenda by Northern areas to ensure the North can influence, direct and benefit from the Northern Powerhouse, including through Devolution Deals.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the current level of housing provisions; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the most vulnerable have access to suitable housing.

    Brandon Lewis

    There was an estimated 23.4 million dwellings in England as of 31 March 2014, an increase of 137,000 dwellings on the previous year. This includes 4 million social and affordable rented dwellings (Private Registered Providers plus local authority tenures) (1).

    We are doubling the housing budget to deliver one million more homes, including spending £8 billion to build 400,000 new affordable housing starts by 2021, the biggest new affordable homes programme since the 1970s, and committing £2.3 billion towards delivering 200,000 new Starter Homes.

    (1) Source: DCLG Dwelling Stock Estimate, 2014, England
    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/423249/Dwelling_Stock_Estimates_2014_England.pdf

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of local authority areas in which the Safe Places scheme is used.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Department has made no estimate of the number of local authority areas in which the Safe Places scheme is used.