The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he will answer Question 200690 tabled by the hon. Member for Leeds Central on 13 June 2014.
Kris Hopkins
Question 200690 was answered on 26 June 2014, Official Report¸ Column 270W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many fires have occurred onboard each variant of Joint Strike Fighter aircraft; and what the cause was of each fire.
Mr Philip Dunne
All aircraft variants of F-35 are currently within the Development Test phase of the overall programme. The aim of the Development Test phase is to reveal issues through testing so that solutions can be developed in order to deliver a capable aircraft to the Armed Forces.
There have been no fires on-board either the F-35B (Short Take Off & Vertical Landing Variant) or the F-35C (Carrier Variant).
There have been four fires on-board the F-35A (Conventional Take Off & Landing Variant) that the UK are aware of:
The first fire was within the Integrated Power Pack (IPP) and was due to an internal valve failure. Ground personnel extinguished the fire which resulted in minor aircraft damage. This incident lead to a minor design change.
The second fire was as a result of a hydraulic fluid leak onto a brake assembly following landing. Ground personnel extinguished the fire which resulted in minor aircraft damage.
The third fire was due to a hot brake condition after landing which was extinguished by ground personnel and resulted in a replacement of the wheel/tyre assembly.
Both brake fires remain under investigation with no immediate design change being considered as necessary.
The most recent fire occurred on 23 June 2014 at Eglin Air Force Base during a takeoff roll. The root cause of the incident is currently being investigated.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps he is taking to ensure that the risk of flooding is taken into account in any potential shale gas sites.
Michael Fallon
Any development (including a shale gas site) that is planned near a main river or a flood defence (including a sea defence) will require a flood defence consent from the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency is a statutory consultee in the planning process and can object to any development that they consider to be at high risk of flooding. The Environment Agency will continue to assess each site on a case by case basis and work with operators and local planning to ensure sites are protected from flood risk.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department gathers on the number of people who move to another GP practice.
Dr Daniel Poulter
The Health and Social Care Information Centre has advised that data on the number of people changing general practitioner practice each year is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what monetary thresholds were applied to the cost-per-quality adjusted life year quoted in the evidence submitted as part of the Health Protection Agency’s work with the Inter-departmental Group for the Valuation of Life and Health review in 2008.
Dr Daniel Poulter
I refer my Rt. hon. Friend to the answer given on 26 June 2014, Official Report, column 283W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time staff are employed in the Older Live Cases Unit.
Karen Bradley
There were 332 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff employed by OLCU at the end of
Q1 2014. FTE means that part time employees are counted by the proportion of
full time hours they work, so that staff working half the time of an equivalent
full time colleague would count as 0.5 FTE.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thérèse Coffey on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy that civil partnerships can be dissolved at any county court.
Mr Shailesh Vara
As of 22nd April 2014, the County Court no longer has the jurisdiction to consider divorce or civil partnership dissolution applications. These are now considered by the Family Court.
Hearings in divorce and civil partnership dissolution cases are rare, but from April 2015 if a hearing is required then it can be accommodated at any Family Court venue with the appropriate judicial expertise.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what minimum qualifications staff at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency Maritime Operations Centre in Fareham will need in order to discharge the technical duties of that centre when it is fully operational; and what range of qualifications staff currently employed at that centre have.
Stephen Hammond
Existing Coastguard officers who are successful in getting a role at the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) will need to have successfully passed the following training programmes dependent on the role they are undertaking:
· Maritime Search and Rescue – Foundation
· Maritime Search and Rescue – Intermediate
· Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator
New Coastguard Officers recruited into roles at the NMOC will need to have successfully passed the following training programmes dependent on the role they are undertaking:
· HM Coastguard Foundation Programme
· Maritime Operations Officer Programme
· Senior Maritime Operations Officer Programme
Currently the Maritime Operations Officers externally recruited are undertaking the Maritime Operations Officer Programme and will be qualified prior to the NMOC taking on operational duties in September 2014. All existing Coastguard Officers who are currently employed at the NMOC have the requisite qualifications for the posts they hold.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adrian Sanders on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make it his policy to introduce a legal requirement for pubcos to offer a free-of-tie option in the public house sector.
Jo Swinson
The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, introduced to this House on 25 June 2014, does not include provision for mandatory free-of-tie. The Government recognises that some tenant groups and campaigners support this option, which might appear to offer a simple way of ensuring that tied tenants are no worse off than free-of-tie tenants. We looked carefully at this measure but have decided not to introduce it.
The responses to the Government’s consultation on a Statutory Code and Adjudicator for the pubs sector raised concerns that mandatory free-of-tie would create uncertainty for pub-owning companies and have an unpredictable impact on the wider pubs sector which could even undermine the tied model. Even among the polarised views in the industry, there is strong support for the tie as a business model. What is important to the Government is that there are protections in place so that the tied model operates fairly. The reforms being taken forward in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill will rebalance the relationship between pub-owning companies and their tied tenants, without threatening the balance of the wider industry.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-06-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many apprentices aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) 19 to 24 and (c) 25 years or over are employed in (i) his Department and (ii) each of his Department’s executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies.
Brandon Lewis
My Department currently has six apprentices. Two are aged 16 to 18, and four are aged 19 to 24. We are due to get a further 4 apprentices in September 2014.
Of our Arms Length Bodies, the Planning Inspectorate currently has seven apprentices. Six are aged 19 to 24, and one is aged 25 or over. Homes and Communities Agency currently has three apprentices, all of whom are aged 19 to 24.
6 apprentices were appointed to permanent roles in the Department of the 10 employed last year. The Department is committed to bringing in apprentices and promoting fresh perspectives and ideas. They are enthusiastic in their approach to work and committed to learning and developing the skills needed to make a positive contribution, both within and outside the Department.