Tag: Anne Main

  • Anne Main – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Anne Main – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of current legislation against fly-grazing.

    George Eustice

    The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Natural Environment and Science has met a number of interested bodies to discuss what action can be taken to address fly grazing in England. There is a range of legislation that can be used depending on the individual circumstances of each case. Most of the problems associated with fly grazing are linked to difficulties in tracing owners of unidentified horses. In such cases we would encourage a joined-up approach by enforcers and interested parties at a local level to help tackle the problem. It is already an offence under the Horse Passport Regulations for horses not to be identified. These regulations are enforced by local authorities. Fly grazing in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Government.

  • Anne Main – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Anne Main – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the maximum amount available to councils who apply for extra funding for potholes is; and what funding his Department provides to tackle pot holes in St Albans.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport provides capital funding to local highway authorities from the local maintenance highways maintenance capital block grant and over the four year period from 2011 Hertfordshire County Council’s allocation is £77.6 million. St Albans falls within Hertfordshire County Council’s area of responsibility for road maintenance.

    The Department has also allocated additional funding to authorities to help repair roads damaged due to severe weather events, and for Hertfordshire County Council this includes £1.446 million in 2010/11, £3.87 million in March 2011 and more recently over £3.62 million in March 2014.

    A £200 million Pothole Fund was announced in the Budget on 19 March 2014. From this, £168 million is being made available to councils in England through a bidding exercise. Further details on the fund will be made available shortly.

  • Anne Main – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Anne Main – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much local authorities in (a) St Albans, (b) Hertfordshire, (c) the East of England and (d) the UK have returned to his Department in unused discretionary housing payment funding since 2011; and what steps he is taking to ensure that such funds are targeted towards those most in need.

    Esther McVey

    The Department has responsibility for the funding of Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) in Great Britain, but not the UK. The table below shows the amounts of unused DHPs returned to the Department since 2011 for the respective areas. The figures for 2013/14 will be available in due course once the information has been collated from local authorities.

    Local Authority Area

    Under Spend since 2011

    St Albans

    £18,717

    Hertfordshire

    £72,108

    Eastern England

    £1,494,137

    Great Britain

    £20,982,679

    The Department provides local authorities with a guidance manual and good practice guide to aide them in the administration of the DHP scheme. This has recently been updated following informal consultation with stakeholder groups and local authority practitioners. The new guidance encourages councils to make longer term awards where appropriate to those with ongoing needs.

  • Anne Main – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Anne Main – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of changes in levels of fly-grazing in England following changes to relevant legislation in Wales.

    George Eustice

    The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Natural Environment and Science has met a number of interested bodies to discuss what action can be taken to address fly grazing in England. There is a range of legislation that can be used depending on the individual circumstances of each case. Most of the problems associated with fly grazing are linked to difficulties in tracing owners of unidentified horses. In such cases we would encourage a joined-up approach by enforcers and interested parties at a local level to help tackle the problem. It is already an offence under the Horse Passport Regulations for horses not to be identified. These regulations are enforced by local authorities. Fly grazing in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Government.