Tag: Alex Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Government’s decision to withdraw £1 billion in funding from carbon capture and storage projects on the future of energy-intensive industries in the UK.

Andrea Leadsom

The provision of ring-fenced capital support for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) was judged against other Government funding priorities as part of the Spending Review. Government has not taken the Spending Review decision lightly. The Government continues to view CCS as having a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors. Neither CCS Competition project proposed to capture CO2 from energy intensive industries.

The detailed design and implementation of CCS policy changes have yet to be determined. The Industrial 2050 Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency Roadmaps reports published in March 2015 identified a potential role for industrial CCS technologies in decarbonising the steel, oil refining, chemicals and cement sectors. DECC and BIS continue to engage with the energy intensive industries and academics to develop decarbonisation Action Plans by the end of 2016 as the second phase of this process.

The Government remains committed to working with energy intensive industries including those in the Northern Powerhouse area. DECC provided £1million funding to Tees Valley Unlimited as part of the 2013 City Deal agreement to undertake an Industrial CCS feasibility study based on the chemicals and steel industry in the Teesside cluster and we continue to support that work. The devolution deal for Tees Valley, published in October this year, also included a commitment to explore how it can continue to develop its industrial CCS proposals.

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 his policy is on housebuilding on floodplains.

Brandon Lewis

National planning policy is designed to protect people and property from flooding. Local planning authorities are expected to avoid inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding by directing development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains. The policy is underpinned by planning guidance which makes clear that new house building should not be permitted in functional floodplains where water has to flow or be stored in times of flood.

Mitigation measures to make development acceptable in flood risk areas can be made a requirement of any planning consent.

All local planning authorities are expected to follow the strict tests set out in national planning policy and guidance. Where these tests are not met, national policy is very clear that new development should not be allowed.

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, if she will make it her policy to establish a commission to examine the issue of hunting foxes with dogs before bringing forward proposals for a vote in the House on that issue.

Rory Stewart

The Government has no plans to establish a commission to examine the issue of hunting foxes with dogs. However, the Government continues to stand by its manifesto commitment to give Parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act on a free vote, with a government bill in government time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what criteria were applied when determining the boundaries of blocks offered in the 14th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round by the Oil and Gas Authority.

Andrea Leadsom

The boundaries of those blocks offered in the 14th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round mirrored those covered by the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) assessment carried out prior to the launch of the 14th Round. The area of the SEA was determined by the areas with most potential for hydrocarbons in Great Britain.

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 information his Department holds on the cost of maintaining and securing the former SSI steel works site on Teesside in its present condition.

Anna Soubry

Costs are being incurred by the Official Receiver who is currently delivering a safe and secure liquidation of SSI. The Government is providing the Official Receiver with an indemnity to ensure he is able to deliver that safe liquidation of SSI and the net costs will be clearer at the end of that process.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to improve the standard of hazardous waste management in response to the recommendations contained in the assessment of member states’ performance published by the European Commission in January 2016; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

We welcome the assessment of hazardous waste management across European Union Member States, in particular the recognition of the high levels of support and guidance that UK authorities offer those producing and managing hazardous waste. We are committed to ensuring hazardous waste is managed in a responsible and environmentally sound manner and continue to work in partnership with the waste management industry to achieve this.

We have started a light-touch review of the 2010 Strategy for Hazardous Waste Management in England and will consider the report’s findings as part of that review. We will publish the results of the review later this year.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse was of the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information.

Matthew Hancock

The total expenditure of the Commission will be published in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Justice on establishing effective processes to allow fixed penalty notices to be issued to people smoking in cars with children present and the associated fines to be collected.

Jane Ellison

Officials discussed the development of the regulations relating to smoking in private vehicles carrying children with the relevant government departments and continue to discuss enforcement of the offences on an ongoing basis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken for the completion of pre-employment checks by the Disclosure and Barring 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 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2016 to Question 34978, what resources his Department plans to allocate to local authorities in Northamptonshire to develop their capacity to deal with flash floods in the next three years.

James Wharton

The Government provides funding to lead local flood authorities to carry out their duties in relation to managing and co-ordinating local flood risk under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. Local flood risk includes surface water run off. Previously this was paid through a special grant by the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs. In 2016-17 this funding transferred into the Local Government Finance Settlement, which distributes Revenue Support Grant to local authorities.

Revenue Support Grant is an unringfenced grant. We have however protected the visibility of a number of named elements of funding within the Local Government Finance Settlement, including funding for lead local flood authorities, in order to signal the priority we attach to these issues and encourage local prioritisation.

This funding will be supplemented by a new section 31 grant to ensure that these elements of funding for lead local flood authorities are protected in real terms in each year of the Parliament. Ultimately it is up to each local authority to set its budget taking into account local priorities.