The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Government is taking to tackle low pay in Northern Ireland.
Mr Ben Wallace
This Government is committed to delivering a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare society.
That is why we have introduced the new National Living Wage of £7.20 which will benefit 100,000 people in Northern Ireland and increase annual wages by up to £900.
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, whether he has had any meetings or correspondence with his Australian counterpart on recent power cuts in Southern Australia in order to learn any appropriate lessons for the UK energy market.
Jesse Norman
My rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no meetings on the recent power cuts in Southern Australia but we are aware of the problems experienced in Southern Australia following the damage to the grid in severe gales.
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 evidence her Department has received on the welfare effect of lead ammunition in sports shooting and hunting.
Rory Stewart
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 has produced advice on the consumption of lead shot game which can be accessed at https://www.food.gov.uk/science/advice-to-frequent-eaters-of-game-shot-with-lead.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in which towns and cities the Government intends to create pocket parks; and what the estimated cost will be to (a) his Department and (b) the Government of this programme.
Mr Marcus Jones
On Saturday 7 November the Government launched its Pocket Park programme which will provide a total of £1.5 million support to communities in urban areas to establish up to 100 pocket parks, in our busy towns and cities. The programme will support communities and their local authority partners across England and outside London (which has already benefited from funding from the Mayor). Full details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pocket-parks-support-for-communities-to-manage-small-green-spaces.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to monitor the number of local authorities charging carers for the support they receive to help them in their caring role.
Alistair Burt
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 October 2015 to Question 13008.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she has received from rural community councils on their role in sustaining rural villages and communities.
Rory Stewart
In January 2015 the Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) Network, covering the 38 Rural Community Councils in England, called on Defra not to withdraw funding. Defra provided ACRE with £2,312,000 for 2015-16 to distribute amongst Rural Community Councils, allowing them to continue their role in sustaining rural villages and communities. We continue to work closely with ACRE to make sure Defra’s funding delivers the maximum benefit.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the role of carbon and storage in delivering the industrial 2050 decarbonation and energy efficiency roadmaps.
Andrea Leadsom
The provision of ring-fenced capital support for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) was judged against other Government funding priorities as part of the Spending Review. Government has not taken the Spending Review decision lightly. The Government continues to view CCS as having a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors. Neither CCS Competition project proposed to capture CO2 from energy intensive industries.
The detailed design and implementation of CCS policy changes have yet to be determined. The Industrial 2050 Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency Roadmaps reports published in March 2015 identified a potential role for industrial CCS technologies in decarbonising the steel, oil refining, chemicals and cement sectors. DECC and BIS continue to engage with the energy intensive industries and academics to develop decarbonisation Action Plans by the end of 2016 as the second phase of this process.
The Government remains committed to working with energy intensive industries including those in the Northern Powerhouse area. DECC provided £1million funding to Tees Valley Unlimited as part of the 2013 City Deal agreement to undertake an Industrial CCS feasibility study based on the chemicals and steel industry in the Teesside cluster and we continue to support that work. The devolution deal for Tees Valley, published in October this year, also included a commitment to explore how it can continue to develop its industrial CCS proposals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that new homes built on flood plains are able to access affordable home insurance through the Flood Re programme.
Rory Stewart
The Flood Re Scheme is only available to properties built before 2009.
This cut-off date recognises that new housing development should be located to avoid flood risk, or where development in a flood risk area is necessary, it should be designed to be safe, appropriately resilient to flooding and not increase flood risk elsewhere, in line with the national planning policies in place. This means properties built from 2009 should already be insurable at affordable prices.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on the Hunting Act 2004.
Rory Stewart
The Secretary of State regularly discusses all relevant polices with her ministerial colleagues as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what specific funding has been allocated to provide support for rough sleepers in each year since 2010.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. Over the last Parliament, we invested over £500 million to enable local authorities and the voluntary sector to support the most vulnerable in society, including rough sleepers, by preventing and tackling homelessness in their local areas.
Some specific initiatives that targeted rough sleeping includes:
But one person without a home is one too many, which is why we will increase central investment over the next four years to £139 million for innovative programmes to prevent and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping. We also want to help local authorities provide advice and assistance to those at risk of homelessness which is why we have protected the homelessness prevention funding for local authorities through the provisional local government finance settlement, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.
The Government will continue to work closely with the voluntary sector and local authorities on how we improve the impact of homelessness services and break the cycle of homelessness.