The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what effect the spending reductions agreed between his Department and HM Treasury will have on investment in (a) road, (b) rail, (c) air, (d) ports and ferry services, (e) active and sustainable travel and (f) freight facilities.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government will provide full details of the Spending Review outcome on 25 November.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse was of the negotiations on the TransPennine Express rail franchise agreement.
Andrew Jones
The costs of the project to procure the TransPennine Express rail franchise, to the end of November 2015, were £6.9M. Forecast costs to project completion, including project mobilisation, are expected to add a further £0.6M to this, making an estimated total of £7.5M by the end of the project. These figures include adviser costs (financial, technical and legal advisers), pay costs for the project team, “non-pay” costs (such as staff training, travel, bidder day seminar, consultation materials, etc) and VAT where applicable. The costs of procuring this franchise however need to be set against the context of a deal whereby the Government will receive £400million in premiums over the life of the franchise, compared to the previous situation where the franchise was subsidised. In addition, the franchise will deliver a transformation in services, with, for example, an overall capacity boost of nearly 70% across the region during the morning peak and doubling the number of Manchester to Newcastle services from December 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Benyon on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made towards the targets for protecting peat set out in the Natural Environment White Paper of 2011 since the publication of the last implementation update report in October 2014.
Rory Stewart
Defra is currently carrying out a review of progress towards the targets for peat reduction in horticulture set out in the Natural Environment White Paper. Based on sales data from 2014, there has been a 24% reduction in peat sales for horticultural use in the UK since 2011.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent progress he has made on reducing the proportion of 16 to 24 year olds not in education, employment or training.
Nick Boles
Figures for those not in education, employment or training (NEET) have fallen to a record low. The proportion of 16 to 24 year olds NEET in England between July and September has fallen compared to the same period last year. These figures show the excellent progress that is being made in providing opportunities for young people.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Sri Lankan counterpart on the application of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1978 in Sri Lanka.
Mr Hugo Swire
We regularly raise matters of concern with the Sri Lankan government, including the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the detention of prisoners without trial. I met Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, the Honourable Mangala Samaraweera MP, on 14 September in Geneva. I was encouraged by our discussion and by his speech to the UN Human Rights Council. Amongst other commitments, he told members of the UN Human Rights Council that the Sri Lankan government would review and repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act and replace it with anti-terrorism legislation in line with contemporary international best practices. We will continue to monitor closely the situation of detainees held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and to raise issues of ongoing concern with the Sri Lankan government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-12-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider distributing hand-held devices to households in flood-prone areas to allow them to transmit information, and to receive real-time news, about local water levels.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
There are currently no plans to consider such devices. However, we do already urge households to take care and be prepared by checking their flood risk, signing up to free flood warnings and keeping an eye on the latest flood updates, which are available on the Environment Agency website and Twitter. These are readily accessible from personal mobile phones with internet access. People can also call our 24-hour Floodline for updates.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were recruited to the (a) army, (b) Royal Air Force, (c) Royal Navy and (d) reserve forces in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.
Mr Philip Dunne
The following tables show the number of people recruited into each Service of the Armed Forces in Northern Ireland in each of the last five financial years (FY).
Royal Navy: Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Marine (RM) personnel recruited through Armed Forces Career Office, Northern Ireland
|
FY |
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
|
Regular (RN and RM) |
40 |
40 |
45 |
60 |
45 |
|
Reserve (RNR and RMR) |
35 |
20 |
25 |
25 |
20 |
Army
|
FY |
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
|
Regular |
250 |
290 |
270 |
200 |
200 |
|
Reserve |
190 |
380 |
280 |
90 |
90 |
Note: information is based on the post code on the applicants contact address.
RAF: Regular Other Ranks Recruitment through Armed Forces Careers Office, Belfast
|
FY |
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
|
Other Ranks |
10 |
10 |
10 |
20 |
20 |
Note: Information relating to Officer and Aircrew recruitment in Northern Ireland is not available.
RAF Reserve Recruitment
|
FY |
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
|
Reserves |
~ |
– |
– |
20* |
60* |
Note:
~ = Information not available.
*= estimated figures.
Figures have been rounded to 10. Numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid systematic bias.
The data on Reserves supersedes the estimated figures for the Royal Navy and the Army provided on 20 October 2015 by my hon. Friend the Minister for Reserves (Julian Brazier) in response to Question 11479 to the hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Truscott on 2015-12-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent flooding in the UK, the slowing of the Gulf Stream, and the COP21 climate talks in Paris, what strategy they have to address increasingly extreme weather patterns affecting the UK’s climate.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Climate Change Act 2008 requires Government to identify, every five years, the risks from a changing climate, including from extreme weather, and to put in place programmes to address them.
The first Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) was published in 2012 and identified over 100 risks to the UK, up to the 2100s. Work is well underway on the second CCRA, which will be published in January 2017. The first National Adaptation Programme, which laid out how risks identified in the CCRA are being addressed, was published in 2013, and the second will be produced around 2018.
In the biennial National Risk Assessment (NRA), the Government assesses the most significant hazards and threats that could affect the UK over the next five years. It considers natural events such as extreme weather and their resulting impacts (for example, flooding, severe storms and gales, low temperatures and heavy snow, heatwaves, drought). The NRA informs the National Resilience Planning Assumptions which support response and recovery planning at both local and national levels.
The Government also works with the owners and operators of the UK’s most critical infrastructure to produce annual Sector Resilience Plans (SRPs), which set out the resilience of the UK’s most important infrastructure to the relevant risks identified in the NRA. Plans identify potential vulnerabilities and set out a programme of measures to improve resilience where necessary.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome in each of the last five years.
Jane Ellison
The information requested is not collected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many prisoners are prevented from progressing towards release because they are unable or unwilling to take specified training courses that the Parole Board insists are the only acceptable evidence of reduced risk on release.
Lord Faulks
It is not mandatory for a prisoner to complete specific courses or programmes before he can be considered for release by the Parole Board. The Parole Board is required to assess the prisoner’s overall risk of serious harm to the public and, in doing so, will consider a range of factors, including, where available, the prisoner’s response to specific offending behaviour programmes (OBPs).
The Parole Board already takes into account other indicators of reduced risk, including where the prisoner has engaged effectively with professional staff on a one to one basis or undertaken education, work and training. In addition, the Parole Board will consider the prisoner’s behaviour in custody, together with evidence drawn from the prisoner’s attitudes – for example, how well the prisoner handles stressful situations.