The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Howell on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the percentage change in Oxfordshire County Council’s spending power is in 2015-16.
Mr Marcus Jones
Spending power figures for 2015-16 are published at the link below:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the press release of 31 August 2015, £500 million for Faslane, announced by the Chancellor, what provision has been made within that funding for investment in (a) roads, signage and communication links and (b) other surrounding infrastructure to support increased vehicular and personnel traffic on (i) the A814 and other roads leading to and from the Glen Douglas Munitions Depot and (ii) other roads in and around HM Naval Base Clyde.
Mr Philip Dunne
The project to make the necessary infrastructure adaptations to update the facilities at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde and Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport to support all Royal Navy submarines is in its Assessment Phase. Until the assessments are completed it is not possible to give the level of detail requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to adequately resource schools to meet the increased demand for school places from new residents of large housing developments in Fylde.
Edward Timpson
Local authorities are responsible for planning and securing sufficient school places in their area, and supporting them to do so is one of this Government’s top priorities.
Basic need funding is allocated to local authorities to support them in creating new school places. We use data provided by local authorities to ensure funding is targeted according to levels of need in each area. This Government has committed to investing a further £7 billion to create new school places between 2015 and 2021. Lancashire will receive £46 million of basic need funding from 2015-2018.
Where place pressure is created by future housing developments, we expect local authorities to seek contributions from developers as they are an important way of helping to meet the cost of future places. It is for the local planning authority to negotiate developer contributions through section 106 agreements or Community Infrastructure Levies, and to decide on the local infrastructure needs that this contribution should support.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have renovated, replaced or installed new kitchen equipment in order to comply with the universal infant free school meals programme.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The Government has provided significant support for schools to improve kitchen and dining room facilities for their infant pupils. We have allocated £184.5 million capital funding in total specifically for this purpose, and an additional £32.5 million UIFSM funding to support small schools in improving their infant meal provision, which can be used to purchase equipment or fund minor capital works.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the National Grid transmission charges likely to be applied to Hinkley Point C when that power station is operational.
Andrea Leadsom
It is the Generator who has estimated the transmission charges applicable to Hinkley Point C during operation. The Strike Price has been calculated on the basis of NNBG’s projected construction and operating costs, including a non-guaranteed reasonable profit, with NNBG’s costs having been substantiated and independently verified.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the safety, sustainability and absence of risk to the environment of methods available for disposing of radioactive waste.
Andrea Leadsom
Government policy on disposing of higher activity radioactive waste is based on a comprehensive review of all the available options for existing wastes originally carried out by the independent Committee on Radioactive Waste Management between 2003 and 2006. Based on their consideration of all the evidence, including international best practice and scientific advice, they recommended geological disposal in an engineered facility at least 200m below ground as the best available option.
The independent nuclear safety, security and environmental regulators will only allow a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) to be built and operated if they are satisfied it will meet their demanding regulatory requirements. The developer of any GDF will be required to present a detailed set of safety arguments for all aspects of a proposed facility. This includes everything from transporting the waste to the facility, to its design, construction and operation and safety in the long term, following closure.
Disposal routes for low level waste are already in operation in the UK. All proposals for radioactive waste disposals, including existing low level waste disposals, are subject to permitting by the Environment Agency who require operators to demonstrate that they are applying the best available techniques.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farmers are in (a) Entry Level and (b) Higher Level Stewardship agreements in the Countryside Stewardship scheme.
George Eustice
a) There are 40,589 live Environmental Stewardship scheme agreements of which 26,399 are Entry Level Stewardship agreements (including organic and uplands variants).
b) There are 12,572 combined Entry Level Stewardship/Higher Level Stewardship agreements and 1,618 Higher Level Stewardship-only agreements (which do not have an underpinning Entry Level Stewardship agreement).
Countryside Stewardship agreements do not start until 1 January 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what checks his Department carries out on non-governmental organisations and charities before allocating them funding to ensure that they do not have discriminatory policies against individual countries or states.
Mr David Lidington
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office conducts due diligence checks, for example background checks, on non-governmental organisations and charities before any offer of funding is made. However, the checks vary depending on the size, nature and operating environment of the proposed work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on UK-based companies (a) manufacturing and (b) selling arms for use in Eritrea.
Grant Shapps
No. All UK based companies must abide fully by the UN arms embargo on Eritrea, which prohibits the manufacturing or selling of arms to the Government of Eritrea.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent the execution of Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are very concerned about the case of Ali Mohammed Al Nimr. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised this case with the Saudi Arabian authorities at a senior level. We will continue to follow this case closely. The UK opposes the death penalty in all cases. Ministers, our Ambassador, and the Embassy team frequently raise the issue of the death penalty with the Saudi authorities, bilaterally and through the European Union.