Tag: Alex Cunningham

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.

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 involving (a) Cleveland Police and (b) the Metropolitan Police 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 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will confirm that any funding received as a result of the application for EU Solidarity Fund Assistance will be distributed to those communities affected by recent flooding.

James Wharton

We are determined to do all we can to support flood-affected areas, which is why we have already paid out over £250 million to ensure that communities and businesses can get back on their feet as soon as possible. Once our application to the EU Solidarity Fund has been finalised, and approved by the Commission, we will consider how any additional funding should be used.

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 (a) Airbus EC225 and (b) AS332 helicopters have been withdrawn from commercial service in the UK North Sea oil and gas sector since the fatal incident off the coast of Bergen, Norway on 29 April 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been working very closely with the Norwegian CAA following the Airbus EC225LP incident on the 29^th April.

Shortly after the accident, the CAA introduced restrictions to Airbus Helicopters EC225LP to prevent operations for commercial flights by UK operators. On 11^th of May, these restrictions were extended to include the AS332L2 Super Puma helicopter.

Following a report by Norwegian Air Accident Investigators on 1st June, the CAA further extended these restrictions to prohibit all flights by these helicopters until further information is available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what provisions her Department has made for (a) child and adolescent friendly spaces and (b) other psycho-social support for children affected by the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK is the third largest donor to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is providing basic education and protection for over 230,000 children in Gaza.

As part of the UK’s humanitarian response to the 2014 conflict, DFID activated its £3 million Rapid Response Facility which included support to Handicap International, Plan International and International Medical Corps to provide psycho-social support, child protection and mental health support to children in Gaza.

DFID also provided support to the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) who have cleared all UNRWA and 21 Palestinian Authority schools of unexploded ordnance allowing 250,000 students to return to school.

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 her policy is on the use of lead ammunition on land owned by the Government.

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 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the property and mortgage industries and (b) local authorities on the effect of Japanese knotweed on property values.

Rory Stewart

As it is not for the Government to intervene in the lending decisions of mortgage lenders or the type or degree of risks they are prepared to take, there have been no recent discussions between the Department and the property and mortgage industries.

There have been no discussions with local authorities on the effect of Japanese knotweed on property values. However, Cornwall Council has produced information on Japanese knotweed to help mortgage lenders make loan decisions when a property may have a Japanese knotweed problem.

Nevertheless, the Department takes the problems caused by Japanese Knotweed seriously and for a number of years has provided funding for local action groups to reduce or eradicate Japanese knotweed, and for research into a suitable biocontrol agent.

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.