Tag: Alan Brown

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the assistance that could best be offered to help prevent the loss of highly-skilled manufacturing jobs at MAHLE in Kilmarnock.

Anna Soubry

This is disappointing news for the MAHLE workforce and their families. Economic development is devolved to the Scottish Government and as such I am not in a position to comment on their response to this announcement. This Government stands ready to work with the Scottish Government if needed but I note that they are already working with the company over how they might tailor their PACE support programme (their equivalent to our Rapid Response Service) to help those facing redundancy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her oral contribution of 26 November 2015, Official Report, column 1535, what estimate has been made of the cost of reconstruction of Syria after the cessation of conflict there; what the timeframe required for reconstruction in that country will be; what countries have confirmed contributions to that reconstruction; and what the value of each such contribution will be.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK has been at the forefront of the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria. We have committed over £1.1 billion to date, making us the second largest bilateral donor to the international response.

The World Bank suggests that reconstructing Syria could cost at least $170bn. Most countries take decades to recover from war on this scale. The UK has always punched above its weight in helping deal with the effects of the Syria crisis. We will continue to do so for the reconstruction of Syria. The PM announced last week that we will commit at least £1 billion to Syria’s reconstruction in the longer term.

We have planned for the endgame since the beginning of this conflict and during the Geneva process. We have learned lessons from previous conflicts. We are now updating our planning to reflect the timeline envisaged in the Vienna process and are asking others to do the same. We anticipate the United Nations to coordinate the international response and will use our position as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to support this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress he has made on the junior doctors’ contract renegotiation process.

Ben Gummer

Progress in negotiations has led to substantial agreement on a fairer contract with safety and training at its heart. The door remains open to the BMA to negotiate on the remaining issue of pay for unsocial hours, as they agreed to do in the joint agreement at ACAS in November.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions her Department has had with EDF on board approval for the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor since 30 March 2016; whether her Department has identified people who oppose that scheme on the board of EDF; and whether EDF has informed her Department of the date on which a meeting will be held to make a final investment decision.

Andrea Leadsom

We are in close contact with EDF regarding the Hinkley Point C project. EDF and the French Government have said that EDF are working towards a Final Investment Decision ‘in the near future, with the full support of the French Government’.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the level of threat in the Maghreb region posed by extremist, terrorist and criminal factions.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

In the case of all of the countries that make up the Maghreb region, the threat of a terrorist attack is judged to be high.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase the rate of new woodland planting.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Forestry is a devolved matter and the answer refers to England only.

We encourage tree planting by championing sector-led initiatives, such as Grown in Britain and the Roots to Prosperity strategy. Their work to grow demand for wood from ground level up is helping develop the woodland economy. We also support the Woodland Carbon Code to help to attract private investment in woodland creation.

The window for Woodland Creation Grant applications for planting over the next two seasons, under the Rural Development Programme, closed on 31 March. We are continuing to process these applications and agreements are expected to be issued this month.

The Forestry Commission plans to re-open the £1m Forestry Innovation Fund for Woodland Creation Planning Grants for new applications this month. Funding for this has been confirmed by HM Treasury.

The Forestry Commission continues to support landowners to make applications through a series of workshops and online support.

As announced by the Chancellor in August, all Countryside Stewardship applications signed or agreed before the Autumn Statement will be fully funded, even when these continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to identify locations for potential electricity storage schemes that would best supplement the existing National Grid system.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department has recently commissioned a study to assess the level of system flexibility (e.g. electricity storage, interconnection, demand side response) that may be required in the future. This study will consider how much and what type of flexibility is both least regrets and optimal for our energy system. This study is expected to conclude in the spring.

In addition, with support from a DECC innovation grant, a UK pumped hydro storage developer has assessed the potential viability of new pumped hydro sites around Great Britain. They concluded that up to 15GW of potential additional pumped storage capacity was available, using various criteria such as the presence of existing or potential reservoirs, grid connection distance and whether the site was in an environmentally sensitive area. Other pumped storage developers have independently identified over 1 GW of additional potential storage capacity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Prime Minister’s oral contribution of 26 November 2015, Official Report, column 1535, what country is responsible for the co-ordination of ground troops; and which coalition countries have agreed to the methodology referred to.

Michael Fallon

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister on 1 December 2015 to Question 17826 to the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion (Caroline Lucas).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-03-01.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to respond to the consultation exercise of the Gift aid small donations scheme: A Call for evidence which closes on 2 March 2016.

Damian Hinds

The consultation has now closed and HMRC are currently analysing the responses. They will publish a responses document before the summer recess and will continue to work closely with the charity sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to modify the universal credit online application system to allow an application to be saved and returned to by applicants.

Priti Patel

The universal credit full service online application system does have this functionality but the full service is currently only available in a limited number of areas. National expansion of the Universal Credit full service will begin from May 2016, completing in June 2018.