The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with HM Treasury on the removal of the fuel duty escalator for liquefied petroleum gas as part of government proposals to reduce emissions from road transport.
Andrew Jones
Ministers and officials meet regularly with HM Treasury on a wide range of issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Spending Review 2015, what plans she has for the funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit.
Rory Stewart
The Government has committed to providing funding to help secure the National Wildlife Crime Unit until at least the end of March next year. Decisions on funding beyond March will be made as part of consideration of the Department’s Spending Review settlement.
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, what representations she has received on enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act in the last 12 months.
George Eustice
We have received several representations enquiring about various aspects of the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 over the last 12 months. They include representations on local authority powers under the 2006 Act and the ability of the RSPCA to bring forward prosecutions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities follow the guidance given by the Environment Agency on the building of houses on floodplains.
Brandon Lewis
National planning policy on flooding must be taken into account by local planning authorities in preparing their local plans and we are clear they should take advice from the Environment Agency and other relevant flood risk management bodies in doing so.
Additionally, a local planning authority must, as set out in the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015, consult the Environment Agency on planning applications for development proposed on a floodplain and, in determining the application, they must take into account their advice. As an added safeguard, if a local planning authority wants to approve an application that the Environment Agency has objected to because of concerns about flood risk, they must first refer it to the Secretary of State to consider whether it should be ‘called-in’. Between April 2011 and March 2015 over 99% of proposed new homes had planning outcomes in line with Environment Agency advice where they had been made aware of the decision.
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 savings his Department has made as a result of the Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007 in each of the last five financial years.
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:
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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 assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of reports by the Chief of Staff of Europol that 10,000 unaccompanied child refugees may have disappeared in Europe in 2015.
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 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning an Environment Agency assessment of the SSI steel works site on Teesside to determine what work would be required to prepare that site for redevelopment; and what the costs of the redevelopment would be.
Rory Stewart
Officials in the Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive are already working with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Communities and Local Government to provide the Official Receiver with the necessary support to deliver a ‘safe state’ position for the SSI site.
We are also working with the Official Receiver, Lord Heseltine, Redland and Cleveland Borough Council and local partners on the longer-term future of the site to realise its economic potential. Once we have a better collective understanding of the potential future use of the site, it will be possible to assess what the costs of the redevelopment will be.
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, what powers she intends to extend to farmers in relation to the dredging of watercourses on their land.
Rory Stewart
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 were laid before Parliament on 2 February. Subject to parliamentary approval, from April the Regulations will remove a number of low risk activities from the need for a flood defence consent permit from the Environment Agency, enabling it to focus on the highest risk activities. This includes allowing farmers to maintain ditches up to 1.5km long subject to a number of conditions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make maps of UK land ownership available as open data as part of her Department’s OpenDefra initiative.
George Eustice
The OpenDefra initiative extends to the whole of Defra including the Rural Payments Agency. The initiative does not extend to the Land Registry.
The Rural Land Register, the Land Management System that has replaced it, or other systems maintained by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), do not look to establish land ownership. The RPA is required to maintain information on land use, in England because land use, and the entitlement to use it, is one of the determining factors in relation to eligibility to claim funds that RPA validates.
We are currently reviewing, the Data Protection Act, confidentiality of information held and intellectual property rights to determine whether information on land use can be released under the open data initiative.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 13258, whether an hon. Member will be informed about a post-16 area-based review on the basis that their constituency is in the area covered by the review or on the basis that a college in their constituency is included in a review.
Nick Boles
The Joint Area Review Delivery Unit supporting the area reviews will arrange for Hon. Members to receive a letter informing them when a review is being launched that covers any part of their constituency and inviting them to give their views.