Tag: Alex Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse was of the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information.

Matthew Hancock

The total expenditure of the Commission will be published in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Justice on establishing effective processes to allow fixed penalty notices to be issued to people smoking in cars with children present and the associated fines to be collected.

Jane Ellison

Officials discussed the development of the regulations relating to smoking in private vehicles carrying children with the relevant government departments and continue to discuss enforcement of the offences on an ongoing basis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken for the completion of pre-employment checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Karen Bradley

Performance data for the Disclosure and Barring Service for March 2016 indicates that average processing time for DBS applications was 14.8 days. Certificates dispatched to applicants by the DBS in March 2016 involving (a) Cleveland Police and (b) the Metropolitan Police Service took an average of (a) 24 days and (b) 122 days.

Protecting the public is a priority for this Government and it is important that checks undertaken are thorough; a proportion of the applications received by the DBS must be referred to one or more police forces as part of the enhanced disclosure process. In the vast majority of cases these checks are completed within target. The DBS is working closely with the small number of forces, including the MPS, whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. The performance of police disclosure units is an operational issue for individual police forces and the MPS has established a Gold Group to oversee the recovery plan which they have in place to reduce the time taken. I have made clear to the MPS that its current delays must be addressed as a matter of priority and I continue to maintain close oversight of the progress being made.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2016 to Question 34978, what resources his Department plans to allocate to local authorities in Northamptonshire to develop their capacity to deal with flash floods in the next three years.

James Wharton

The Government provides funding to lead local flood authorities to carry out their duties in relation to managing and co-ordinating local flood risk under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. Local flood risk includes surface water run off. Previously this was paid through a special grant by the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs. In 2016-17 this funding transferred into the Local Government Finance Settlement, which distributes Revenue Support Grant to local authorities.

Revenue Support Grant is an unringfenced grant. We have however protected the visibility of a number of named elements of funding within the Local Government Finance Settlement, including funding for lead local flood authorities, in order to signal the priority we attach to these issues and encourage local prioritisation.

This funding will be supplemented by a new section 31 grant to ensure that these elements of funding for lead local flood authorities are protected in real terms in each year of the Parliament. Ultimately it is up to each local authority to set its budget taking into account local priorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of flights in the UK North Sea oil and gas sector were undertaken by (a) Airbus EC225 and (b) AS332 helicopters airframes in each year since 2007-08.

Mr Robert Goodwill

As the independent aviation safety regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), only records information on flights above a certain weight threshold.

The CAA data below includes the number of departures and arrivals on both AS332 SUPER PUMA and EUROCOPTER EC225 (H225) aircraft operated between UK airports and Oil Rigs in each year since 2007.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the speech of the then Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on 18 November 2015, at the Institution of Civil Engineers, on a new direction for UK energy policy, when he plans to publish the terms of reference for the consultation on coal use; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman

Most of the UK’s existing coal fired power stations are old, relatively inefficient and require investment to reduce the level of damaging pollutants they emit. I expect to consult shortly on additional measures to close unabated coal stations by 2025.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to inform consumers about the lead content of game meat shot with lead ammunition.

Jane Ellison

Government set up the independent Lead Ammunition Group in 2010 to provide advice on risks to wildlife and human health from lead shot game. The Government is considering the independent Lead Ammunition Group’s report on the effect of lead shot on human and wildlife health and will respond as soon as possible The Food Standards Agency (FSA) accepts the expert advice of the UK Committee on Toxicity and the European Food Safety Authority that it is not possible to set a safe level for exposure to lead from food. However, to better understand the potential risk to UK consumers the FSA produced a risk assessment in 2012 based on its survey data from 2007 of game meat samples; Veterinary Medicines Directorate data from the national surveillance scheme was also considered. The FSA risk assessment considered the potential levels of exposure to lead from lead shot game for adults, children and toddlers based on different levels of game meat consumption.

This risk assessment led to FSA issuing targeted advice to frequent consumers of lead shot game in 2012, warning of the potential risks. The advice was promoted as especially important for vulnerable groups such as toddlers and children, pregnant women and women trying for a baby, as exposure to lead can harm the developing brain and nervous system. The FSA risk assessment was published along with this advice. The Government has not estimated the number of people who regularly consume game meat shot with lead.

More generally, the FSA, works on behalf of the UK within the European Union to agree harmonised controls to reduce public exposure to lead in the food chain. EU maximum limits apply for lead in a range of foods and these are regularly reviewed by the EU Commission and member states. These maximum limits apply to all food produced in the EU or imported to the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the cost of maintaining flood defences in each year of this Parliament.

Rory Stewart

The Environment Agency spent directly £171 million maintaining flood defences in 2014/15. Many more flood defences are maintained by Local Authorities and Internal Drainage Boards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what decision his Department has made on the use of the £6 billion of funding allocated for the implementation of phase 2 of the Care Act 2014 now that the implementation of that phase has been postponed.

Alistair Burt

The Government recognises that social care is vital to enabling people to live healthy and independent lives.

Funding decisions for 2016/17 onwards, including on adult social care, are subject to the forthcoming Spending Review.

Officials in the Department and across government are working hard to understand pressures on the care system and will consider adult social care expenditure and future demand as part of this process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer to Question 13261, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of conducting an area-based review of post-16 education and training institutions in (a) Tees Valley, (b) Birmingham and Solihull, (c) Greater Manchester, (d) Sheffield City Region, (e) Sussex Coast, (f) Solent and (g) West Yorkshire.

Nick Boles

The area reviews are aimed at delivering a skills system that meets the economic and educational needs of areas whilst also ensuring the long term sustainability of colleges to support productivity.