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  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that calculation of cost estimates for the new generation of Successor Trident submarines has taken into account optimism bias in compliance with the HM Treasury Green Book and supplementary guidance.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Successor cost estimates take into account optimism bias in a way consistent with Green Book guidance.
    As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, the level of contingency represents around 35% of the submarine cost to completion. This is a prudent estimate based on past experience of large, complex projects, such as the 2012 Olympics.
    The cost estimates have been subjected to, and will continue to be the exposed to, rigorous cross-Government scrutiny.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what definition his Department use of the term exigency of duty.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence Police policy on overtime working states that:

    "Exigencies of Duty should be interpreted as relating to situations where there is an unavoidable operational need, which necessitates a change of rostered duties".

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to address the shortfall in personnel numbers within the Ministry of Defence Police; and when his Department plans to take such steps.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence Police commenced a recruitment programme to bring new officers into the Force in late 2013. The Force is currently planning to recruit around 200 new officers during financial year 2016-17.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many additional Ministry of Defence Police Officers will be required to operate at full capacity in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20 as a consequence of the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

    Mark Lancaster

    As part of the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review we are reviewing a series of options that are expected to change the way we provide our policing and guarding at some sites. Work is under way to assess the feasibility and implication of these options. Estimates of numbers of total Ministry of Defence Police officers were provided in my answer to Question 18989 from the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Kevan Jones MP) on 10 December 2015.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether overtime for Ministry of Defence Police stationed at HM Naval Base Clyde is (a) voluntary or (b) compulsory.

    Mark Lancaster

    All Ministry of Defence Police officers can be asked to work beyond their normal conditioned hours if there is an unavoidable operational need to do so. Where there is a requirement to cover essential duties by the use of overtime working, volunteers are sought in the first instance in order to minimise the need for compulsory overtime working

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) range and (b) maximum flying time of the Boeing P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft is.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Range and endurance will vary significantly depending upon the profile of the mission being flown, however the P-8A Poseidon’s range and endurance may be characterised as 4,000 plus nautical miles and over eight hours of endurance.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) UK and (b) other maritime patrol aircraft are currently based at RAF Lossiemouth; and how much longer he anticipates this will be the case.

    Penny Mordaunt

    There are no Maritime Patrol Aircraft currently based at RAF Lossiemouth.

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement (Philip Dunne) to question 17832 from the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle) on 3 December 2015.

  • Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when 100 per cent of residents in St Albans will have access to superfast broadband; and when ultrafast broadband will be rolled out in St Albans.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Based on current delivery plans, it is estimated that 98% of premises in the St Albans constituency will have access to superfast broadband by the end of June 2018. Additional funding sources, including Herts & Bucks share of the £129 million of early gainshare funding that BT will return in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved, could allow coverage to be extended further in St Albans and the rest of the area covered by the Herts & Bucks broadband project.

    Virgin Media already provides services over 100Mbps in many urban areas, including extensive network coverage in St Albans.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the number of people who will no longer be able to live in supported accommodation as a result of the application of the cap on local housing allowance for people in such accommodation.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not available.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what specific funding has been allocated to provide support for rough sleepers in each year since 2010.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. Over the last Parliament, we invested over £500 million to enable local authorities and the voluntary sector to support the most vulnerable in society, including rough sleepers, by preventing and tackling homelessness in their local areas.

    Some specific initiatives that targeted rough sleeping includes:

    • Rolling out No Second Night Out across England through the £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund(2011-12 to 2013-14). Over two-thirds of rough sleepers in 20 key areas outside London did not spend a second night on the streets.
    • Investing £5 million in the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond(2013-14 to 2016-17), run by the Greater London Authority to turn around the lives of 830 of London’s most entrenched rough sleepers. Over half have achieved accommodation, employment or reconnection outcomes.
    • Investing £1 million to support the StreetLink service(2012-13 to 2015-16), a website, app and telephone line that allows members of the public to connect rough sleepers into local support services. Over 17,000 rough sleepers have been found and helped since December 2012.
    • Investing £8 million in the Help for Single Homeless Fund (2014-15 to 2015-16) to improve services for vulnerable single homeless people, including rough sleepers. 34 successful projects in 168 local areas are supporting around 22,000 individuals.
    • Supporting local areas to improve the quality of hostels through the Homelessness Change Programme(2012-2015), which provided £42.5 million of capital funding for new and refurbished bed spaces and facilities to provide meaningful activities to support pathways to independent living.

    But one person without a home is one too many, which is why we will increase central investment over the next four years to £139 million for innovative programmes to prevent and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping. We also want to help local authorities provide advice and assistance to those at risk of homelessness which is why we have protected the homelessness prevention funding for local authorities through the provisional local government finance settlement, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.

    The Government will continue to work closely with the voluntary sector and local authorities on how we improve the impact of homelessness services and break the cycle of homelessness.