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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment has been made of the potential cost of works to the former SSI steel works site on Teesside to prepare it for redevelopment.
Anna Soubry
The Official Receiver is currently delivering a safe and secure liquidation of SSI. Once that has been completed, the Government will work with local partners to understand the potential for the redevelopment of the site. The future use or uses of the site will be key in determining the level of remediation required.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assistance is available to people undertaking flood protection measures who cannot afford to pay for the works before claiming a flood protection grant.
James Wharton
The Property Level Resilience scheme has been designed to enable local approaches to be developed which take account of the fact that many households or businesses may not be able to pay for works up front.
Local areas are finding local solutions. For example, Northumberland County Council are making Property Level Resilience payments in advance of works being carried out, but following receipt of a survey which highlights the measures required and at least two quotes for high value items.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2016 to Question 27063, what steps she plans to take to ensure oversight mechanisms are put in place when further powers to dredge watercourses are extended to farmers.
Rory Stewart
The draft Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2016 include conditions that must be followed by those wishing to undertake dredging under an exemption. If works are not undertaken according to the relevant conditions, then the Environment Agency will be able to take enforcement action. This includes suspension notices to stop any further works being carried out, enforcement and remediation notices requiring remediation within a specified period, and the power to prosecute.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the potential costs of making necessary improvements to flood defences in Carlisle since the recent floods affecting that area.
Rory Stewart
The Government will invest up to £58 million in flood defences in Cumbria once the Environment Agency has concluded a review of its need.
The Environment Agency expects their initial assessments will be complete in the summer. Any investments are likely to form a combination of improvements to existing defences, new defences and upstream attenuation / ‘slow the flow’ measures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current average waiting time is for the completion of pre-employment checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service; and if she will make a statement.
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 Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Answer of 11 May 2016 to Question 36450, what consultation meetings she (a) has had and (b) plans to have with trades unions for UK oil and gas workers on the development of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Oil and Gas plan for the UK oil and gas workforce.
Andrea Leadsom
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is engaging with a range of stakeholders as it develops a UK oil and gas workforce plan. A range of Unions were invited to a workshop on the 21st March 2016 to discuss the emerging proposals. The Department, along with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will continue to engage with Unions as appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make an assessment of the potential role of the UK in developing usable carbon capture and storage technology.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government views Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as having a potentially important role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s economy. However, CCS is currently too expensive and costs must come down. This is why we are committed to working with industry to help develop the technology and reduce its costs, including by investing over £130 million in CCS Research and Development since 2011.
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, what his Department’s policy is on carbon capture and storage for coal and gas; and if he will make a statement.
Jesse Norman
We will continue to work with industry going forward and will set out our future approach to carbon capture and storage in due course.