Tag: Alex Cunningham

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the air quality benefits of using liquefied petroleum gas in transport to inform its taxation policies.

Damian Hinds

The Government recognises that there are environmental benefits to Liquefied Petroleum Gas and other road fuel gases compared to petrol and diesel, and as a consequence fuel duty on such fuels is much lower than the main rate – with a 39.79 pence per litre duty differential.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has for the funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

Mike Penning

The Spending Review announcement set the overall budget for the Home Office. Officials are now going through the detail and will provide advice to the Home Secretary on individual allocations and spending commitments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many greyhounds were euthanised at the end of their racing career in each of the last five years.

George Eustice

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 17 December 2015, PQ UIN 20014. The public consultation on the initial findings of the review of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 has now closed and Defra are currently considering the responses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the expected lifespan of each bearskin and other associated headgear containing real fur used by his Department is before replacement is required.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not buy bear pelts; it buys ceremonial caps direct from suppliers who source pelts from animals culled as part of a programme to manage the wild population licensed by the Canadian government. Animal welfare standards relating to the bear cull are a matter for the Canadian government.

The MOD also purchases coney skin (rabbit fur) for the Royal Engineers’ and Royal Signals’ busby and fox fur for the Royal Horse Artillery, Kings Troop Officers’ busby. The current contract requires a commitment to sustainable procurement.

Depending on usage and maintenance, bearskin busbys can last for up to 50 years. The coney skin and fox fur busbys have indefinite lifespans if properly maintained.

Calendar Year	Cost of Bearskin Busby Headgear (£)	Financial Year	Cost of Coney Skin Busby Headgear (£)	Cost of Fox Fur Busby Headgear(£)
2005	Not held	2005-06	1,532	0
2006	Not held	2006-07	0	1,472
2007	Not held	2007-08	0	0
2008	31,319	2008-09	9,173	406
2009	148,891	2009-10	0	0
2010	131,886	2010-11	0	0
2011	90,822	2011-12	0	861
2012	126,087	2012-13	1,779	861
2013	65,108	2013-14	0	0
2014	136,671	2014-15	10,257	1,899
2015	149,379	2015-16	2,558	0

All figures are rounded to the nearest pound.

Calendar Year	Number of Bearskin Busby Headgear	Financial Year	Number of Coney Skin Busby Headgear	Number of Busby Headgear made of Fox Fur
2005	Not held	2005-06	4	0
2006	Not held	2006-07	0	2
2007	Not held	2007-08	0	0
2008	35	2008-09	22	1
2009	195	2009-10	0	0
2010	158	2010-11	0	0
2011	99	2011-12	0	1
2012	126	2012-13	4	1
2013	63	2013-14	0	0
2014	127	2014-15	20	2
2015	122	2015-16	5	0

Historically the MOD has undertaken a number of trials on synthetic alternatives to bear skin but none of these matched the properties of the natural material. No trialling has taken place since 2007. Information about costs of these trials is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In 2012 the Ministry of Defence loaned a sample bearskin to the animal rights organisation, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, to aid its research and development programme on a synthetic alternative.

There has been no research and development carried out to find a synthetic alternative to coney skin or fox fur.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness and operation of the Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007.

Mr Marcus Jones

In July 2012 the Department for Communities and Local Government published a post – legislative assessment of the then Government’s Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007 which can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/236094/8411.pdf

We do not hold the figures requested. Details of empty property rate relief granted can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/417995/150326_Table_2_-_3_years.xlsx

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reunite lone refugee children in mainland Europe with family members in the UK.

James Brokenshire

Unaccompanied children in other EU countries should be able to access the support needed in those countries. The European countries in which they arrive have international obligations and a duty to provide adequate protection and support to refugees within their territory.

We are working closely with UN agencies, NGOs and the Member States involved to ensure that protection is provided. We will provide further resources to the European Asylum Support Office to help in border “hotspots” in Greece and Italy to help identify and register children at risk on first arrival in the EU.

The Government remains concerned about the needs of vulnerable children on the move in Europe and the Balkans, and the needs of those who become stranded along the route. The UK has therefore increased its aid to refugees and migrants, including children, in Europe and the Balkans to £46 million, divided among the most affected countries and including specific support of £2.75 million to UNICEF, which will benefit 27,000 children. In addition, the Department for International Development (DFID) is creating a new fund of up to £10 million to support the needs of vulnerable refugee and migrant children in Europe, the Refugee Children Fund for Europe.

This will include targeted support to meet the specific needs of unaccompanied and separated children who face additional risks. The support will be delivered through a range of UN agencies and NGOs. Unaccompanied children that have a close family link to the UK and claim asylum in another EU country may be entitled to be transferred to the UK under the family unity provisions of the Dublin Regulation. We want to ensure we reunite children with any close family in the UK as quickly and as safely as possible, and we work closely with EU partners on this issue.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will commission an assessment of the effect on victims of domestic abuse and their families of the use of common entrances at family courts for both the perpetrators and victims of that crime.

Mike Penning

Every family court has a system to support vulnerable court users. Protective measures are put in place whenever a court is aware that an individual involved in a case may be violent. These can include separate waiting areas, additional security and the use of separate entrances where appropriate.

Information on the number of children or women injured by a perpetrator of domestic violence after a Family Court decision relating to child contact is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by manually checking case files in criminal and family courts and matching records.

The family court takes the issue of domestic violence extremely seriously. Where domestic violence or abuse is admitted or proven, any child arrangements order put in place must protect the safety and wellbeing of the child and the parent with whom the child is living, and not expose them to the risk of further harm. In particular, the court must be satisfied that any contact ordered with a parent who has perpetrated violence or abuse is safe and in the best interests of the child.

Where the court does conclude that direct contact is safe and beneficial for the child, it can impose conditions such as supervised contact to protect the child.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her comments at the Oxford Farming Conference on 6 January 2016 on additional powers to internal drainage boards, what plans she has to give local authorities a role in the maintenance of local watercourses.

Rory Stewart

Local Authorities (LAs) have powers to carry out flood risk management works, including maintenance on ordinary watercourses, while the Environment Agency (EA) has powers to carry out work on main rivers. In addition, under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, flood risk management authorities may carry out work using the powers of other risk management authorities using public sector cooperation agreements. There are some excellent examples of LAs working in partnership with the EA and internal drainage boards, for example in Lincolnshire and Somerset.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people caught smoking in cars with children present receive a fixed penalty notice and their fine collected.

Jane Ellison

In changing the law we always said the measure of success would be in changes in attitude and behaviour. As with other smokefree legislation, we expect high levels of compliance with this change. Discussions are ongoing with the relevant authorities about enforcement action.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 31014, whether her Department has (a) paid and (b) been issued with any fines for not meeting the aim of achieving good status for all water bodies by December 2015.

Rory Stewart

The Department has not been issued with any fines relating to any aspect of its implementation of the Water Framework Directive.

The exemptions referred to in my reply to PQ 31014 are:

• Article 4(4) provides for extensions of the deadline to 2021 or 2027 for reasons of disproportionate cost or technical feasibility;

• Article 4(5) provides for setting of less stringent objectives where it would be disproportionately expensive or technically infeasible to achieve good status due to natural conditions or the effects of essential human activity;

• Article 4(6) allows for temporary deterioration due to natural causes such as extreme floods or prolonged drought; and

• Article 4(7) allows for deterioration from high status to good status and failure to achieve good status to allow for new sustainable development activities.

The application of each of the exemptions is subject to conditions set out in the above provision.

River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) provide the framework for protecting and improving the water environment. Updated plans covering the period 2016 to 2021 were published by the Environment Agency (EA) on 18 February.

The Plans for England confirm over £3 billion investment in the water environment by 2021, leading to improvements in at least 680 water bodies by 2021, including an overall target to enhance at least 8,000km of fresh waters by 2021. The EA is currently working with Defra to profile the delivery of this target over the six years that the RBMP covers, and is also working with partners to explore opportunities to deliver more.

The EA coordinates action by water companies, farmers, local groups, businesses and councils to achieve the targets set out in the Plans. These actions include reducing pollution from sewage treatment works, managing water abstraction, opening up rivers to salmon and other fish species, and improving the physical habitat.