Tag: Alex Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the progress of the programme to re-paint the red doors of properties used to house asylum seekers on Teesside.

James Brokenshire

The provision of accommodation for asylum seekers is provided under the COMPASS contracts. It is the responsibility of all of the suppliers to ensure that all accommodation used meets the required contractual standard and complies with the Decent Homes Standards. The accommodation should be safe, habitable and fit for purpose. The COMPASS providers are required to inspect properties each month and UKVI’s contract compliance teams reinforce this by visiting properties regularly.

The Home Office expects the highest standards and where a contractor is found to be falling short of these standards we work with them to ensure that issues are quickly addressed.

Earlier this year, we instructed our supplier (G4S) to repaint the doors of G4S and Jomast managed properties to ensure that no one colour is predominant. I have received confirmation from the Provider that this had been completed, UKVI staff have also confirmed that no one colour is predominant as they have visited properties as part of their inspection regime.

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, how much coal the UK carbon fibre industry used in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Jesse Norman

The table below gives the amount of coal used for non-power generating purposes:

	UK coal demand for non-electricity generating purposes(1) (thousand tonnes)
2006	10,156
2007	10,158
2008	10,577
2009	9,037
2010	9,827
2011	9,658
2012	9,141
2013	10,139
2014	10,021
2015	8,174

Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) table 2.4 available at

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solid-fuels-and-derived-gases-chapter-2-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes

BEIS does not hold data at that level. BEIS cannot disaggregate coal used by the carbon fibre industry from coal used by all industries.

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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 assessment her Department has made of the animal welfare benefits of the proper use of non-toxic alternatives to lead ammunition for sports shooting; and what comparative assessment she has made of the policies adopted in other countries and their effect on animal welfare.

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 role the National Wildlife Crime Unit will play as part of the UK’s commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade from March 2016.

Rory Stewart

In the UK’s Commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT), published in February 2014, the Government committed to “take a national strategic approach to domestic action on IWT through . . . . funding the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) until 2016”. Defra and the Home Office together have provided £544,000 for the NWCU over 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Decisions on future funding of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit beyond March 2016 will be made as part of the current Spending Review process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will carry out an assessment after the November Spending Review of local authorities’ capacity to meet their new duties under the Care Act 2014 following changes to local authority funding.

Alistair Burt

Funding decisions for 2016/17 onwards, including on adult social care, are subject to the forthcoming Spending Review.

Officials in the Department and across government are working hard to understand pressures on the care system and will consider adult social care expenditure and the future demand as part of this process. This includes ongoing Care Act pressures.

We will continue to review and monitor implementation of the Care Act which includes a series of stocktakes of local authority readiness and the latest, from June 2015, demonstrates an overall positive picture on implementation. It details:

– Councils’ confidence in their ability to deliver the Care Act Reforms in 2015/16 remains high, with 99% very or fairly confident.

– 89% of councils say that they are ‘on track’ with their implementation. The remaining 11% report themselves as only slightly behind.

There are two further local authority stocktakes planned for the remainder of the financial year which will monitor the progress on implementing change. It is our intention to repeat the surveys next year to continue monitoring progress, subject to agreement with local government.

The Department will also commission a piece of research to evaluate and inform implementation of the Care Act 2014. The research will focus on knowing more about how the Act is being implemented locally and to see how effectively the Act is achieving its underlying aims.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-20.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how his Department is monitoring the implementation of the family test across Government.

Mr Oliver Letwin

The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014, through the publication of guidance for officials – which can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf. Consideration of the Family Test takes place as part of the usual policy making process within departments.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will develop a carbon capture and storage strategy for energy intensive industries.

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, how many new homes have been built in National Flood Zone 3 in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis

The Department’s latest land use change statistics provide estimates on the proportion of new residential addresses created in national flood zone 3. The latest figures show that in 2013-14, 7% of new residential addresses were created in the national flood zone 3. This equates to an estimated 9,100 homes being built in national flood zone 3 in 2013-14.

Prior to the publication of 2013-14 figures land use change statistics were calculated using a different methodology so they are not directly comparable to the 2013-14 figures. Figures produced using the previous methodology were last published for the calendar year 2011 and are provided in the attached table.

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.

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, whether her Department plans to make an assessment of the humaneness of hunting with dogs.

Rory Stewart

The Government has no plans to make an assessment of the humaneness of hunting with dogs. However, in 1999 a Government Committee (the Burns Inquiry) was set up to examine the facts in the debate about hunting with dogs, including whether hunting with dogs is cruel. The findings of the inquiry were published on 9 June 2000 (www.huntinginquiry.gov.uk/mainsections/huntingframe.htm).

On 12 March 2001 Lord Burns stated: “… There was not sufficient verifiable evidence or data safely to reach views about cruelty. It is a complex area …". [Hansard 12 March 2001; col. 533

http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/2001/mar/12/hunting-bill].

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on measures to ensure that banks and other financial institutions are not able to profit from the merging of any further education institutions as a result of his Department’s area reviews.

Nick Boles

I refer the hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 02129.

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