Tag: Alex Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the (a) cost effectiveness and (b) value for money of Rural Community Councils.

Rory Stewart

Defra funds Rural Community Councils via the annual grant it allocates to Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE), the national voice for the 38 rural community councils. ACRE allocates this grant using a well-established funding formula. It reports back to Defra on how the grant is spent through quarterly reports and meetings with officials, and in its annual report and accounts. We will review the benefits of this spend in setting levels of grant for future years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much was spent on lead ammunition by her Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1999.

Rory Stewart

Defra was created in 2001. It is therefore not possible to provide an answer in respect of the years prior to this. Natural England was established on 1 October 2006, so no data is available until the 2006-07 financial year.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has identified that it has spent £300 on lead ammunition in the past three years, but is unable to provide a breakdown by year. Prior to this, the shooting of pests was outsourced and Kew is unable to identify the cost of ammunition provided through this service.

Financial records do not always specify the type of ammunition purchased or the material from which it was made. Our records – with the caveats above – imply that Natural England has spent an average of £253 per year on lead shot since records began.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the welfare measures announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 on the incidence of food poverty in Scotland.

Mr David Gauke

The Spending Review and Autumn Statement set out a plan to move Britain to a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare society. This will ensure that work always pays while continuing to provide a safety net to protect those who need extra support.

This will benefit people across the country, including in Scotland.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many stocks for which the UK has quotas were fished (a) at and (b) below maximum sustainable yield on the last date for which figures are available.

George Eustice

The UK’s provisional assessment is that in 2016, 24 stocks will be fished at or below maximum sustainable yield (MSY). A significant majority of these will be fished (a) at MSY rather than (b) below it; information on the specific stocks will be placed in the House Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22026, what proportion of the £47 million paid to local authorities under the Communities and Business Recovery Scheme was subsequently paid by local authorities to households which were not entitled to flood compensation payments.

James Wharton

Local authorities are responsible for the administration and delivery of the Communities and Business Recovery Scheme.

They determine how to use the money to best meet local need and ensure value for money. My Department does not collect detailed information on the payments that have been made through the Scheme. However, officials are aware that of more that 15,000 payments made to households, fewer than 50 have been found to be incorrect. Those have been returned to the local authority in question.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to prevent new psychoactive substances being used among the prison population.

Andrew Selous

We take a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prison and there are already a range of robust measures in place to detect drugs, including the use of search dogs and intelligence-led searches.

We recently introduced tough new laws which will see those who smuggle packages over prison walls, including new psychoactive substances, face up to two years in prison. We are piloting mandatory drug testing for new psychoactive substances from this month, and intend to roll it out to all prisons by April 2016.

Those who involve themselves in the distribution of drugs in our prisons should know that they will face prosecution and extra time behind bars.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many applications have been made to local authorities for £5,000 flood protection grants.

James Wharton

To date, local authorities have received 1,285 applications for Property Level Resilience grant funding and have so far approved 162.

Property Level Resilience grants are dependent on works which require properties to dry out and are usually claimed retrospectively. The current rate of payments is similar to equivalent previous schemes where the profile of spend shows payments accelerate in the third and fourth quarters after damage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23729, what the Government’s policy is on the confiscation of the belongings of Syrian refugees over a certain value to help meet the cost of their stay in the UK.

James Brokenshire

The Government does not confiscate the belongings of Syrian refugees or refugees of any other nationality to help meet the cost of their stay in the UK.

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, when she expects to have put in place comprehensive management plans for each of the existing Marine Conservation Zones.

George Eustice

The Government is committed to delivering a ‘Blue Belt’ of well-managed Marine Protected Areas around our coasts. Where fisheries management measures are required, the Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities and the Marine Management Organisation will put in place measures, such as byelaws, for all inshore Tranche 1 Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) by the end of this year. To date, 19 new byelaws and 14 new voluntary measures that complement over 25 legacy byelaws are already in place. Appropriate fisheries management measures for inshore Tranche 2 MCZ sites will be identified by January 2018, following their designation earlier this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect on the competitiveness of different construction materials competing in the same downstream markets of the EU Emissions Trading System.

Anna Soubry

The analysis underpinning the UK Government’s position on the EU Emissions Trading System has considered the impact on the competitiveness of those sectors that compete in the same markets such as construction. We continue to engage proactively with industry as Phase IV discussions continue and welcome any research or evidence on the competitiveness impacts.