Tag: Barry Gardiner

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what comparative assessment he has made of the potential risk of a cyber attack at the Hinkley C nuclear facility and other such nuclear facilities.

Jesse Norman

The security of existing and proposed nuclear facilities is a priority for the Government. The UK Civil Nuclear Sector is subject to a thorough safety and security regulatory regime, including cyber security, overseen by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR). The entire new build nuclear programme, including Hinkley Point C, is subject to an ONR-led Generic Design Assessment process for new reactor designs. This will be supported by the National Cyber Security Centre’s design reviews with the relevant organisations, with the purpose of ensuring all new plants are cyber-secure by design and implementation.

In the interest of security, we do not disclose details of security risks to specific facilities

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which organisations have received public grant funding from her Department in each of the last three years; and what the purposes of each grant were.

Andrea Leadsom

The organisations that have received grant funding from DECC in FY2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 are summarised in the attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many replies her Department sent to hon. Members which explain that, due to an administrative error or due to an unfortunate error they have not yet implemented a HM Courts and Tribunals Services decision in the last two years.

James Brokenshire

It is not possible to provide the Hon. Member with the information requested as it is not readily available or held centrally and can only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the results collected to date by the study conducted for her Department by ADAS on neonicotinoid treated and non-neonicotinoid treated oilseed rape prior to any further emergency authorisation applications related to the use of neonicotinoids

George Eustice

The Government issued emergency authorisations in 2015 for the limited and controlled use of neonicotinoid seed treatments on oilseed rape. One of the conditions attached to these authorisations was that the authorisation holder should use the authorised area to generate data on both treated and untreated crops. This should include impact on adult and larval numbers, crop establishment/damage and effects on crop yields, resistance occurrence and management.

This work has been taken forward by ADAS on behalf of the National Farmers’ Union. Their interim evidence (excluding the crop yield data which will not be available until after this year’s harvest) formed part of the evidence considered by the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides in respect of the 2016 applications and will be reflected in their detailed record of the discussion at their 4 May meeting. The report will not be finalised until yield data is available after harvest.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many times the National Emissions Target Board has met since April 2013.

Andrea Leadsom

Some of the governance arrangements related to carbon budgets were amended last year. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster now chairs an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) on Clean Growth, which considers issues relating to air quality and decarbonisation, where these have a cross-departmental aspect. The group meets as and when required. Its members include ministers and officials from the relevant departments, including Defra, DECC, DfT, DCLG and BIS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-07-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications for her consent for disposal of school playing fields by maintained schools or academies her Department has (a) received and (b) approved in each of the last five years; and in how many such cases she has written to the school concerned to remind them of their obligations to submit an application in the correct way.

Edward Timpson

The data is not held in the format requested but there are layers of protection of playing field land. These include legislative safeguards in the School Standards and Framework Act 1997 and the Education Act 1998 and, in the case of academies, further safeguards in academy funding agreements. The Secretary of State must give consent prior to the disposal of public land which is currently used for any school or which has been used for a school in the last eight years. We publish a list of departmental decisions on applications for consent to dispose of school playing field land since May 2010 on GOV.UK at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-land-decisions-about-disposals.

The Secretary of State does not routinely write to schools to remind them of their obligations; it is the land owner’s obligation to ensure that it meets its legal responsibilities.

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the company annual turnover threshold is for government intervention to block any sale or transfer of the ownership of critical infrastructure; on what occasions that threshold has been crossed; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is able to intervene on public interest grounds in transactions which are subject to merger control either within the UK or at the EU level. The turnover thresholds for such public interest interventions depend upon which of the two relevant competition bodies has jurisdiction.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has jurisdiction to review mergers and takeovers when:

– the annual UK turnover of the target business exceeds £70 million, or

– the merger creates a 25%, or greater, share in a market in the UK.

The European Commission has jurisdiction to review mergers and takeovers when:

– the combined aggregate worldwide turnover (in the preceding financial year) of all the undertakings concerned exceeds EUR5,000 million; and

– the aggregate EU-wide turnover of each of at least two of the undertakings concerned exceeds EUR 250 million; or

– the aggregate worldwide turnover of all the undertakings concerned is more than EUR 2,500 million; and

– the aggregate turnover of all the undertakings in each of at least three member states is more than EUR 100 million;

– in each of the same three member states, the aggregate turnover of each of at least two of the undertakings involved is more than EUR 25 million; and

– the aggregate EU-wide turnover of each of at least two of the undertakings involved is more than EUR 100 million.

Unless each of the undertakings concerned achieves more than two-thirds of its aggregate EU-wide turnover within a single Member State (then the Commission does not have jurisdiction).

If none of these jurisdictional thresholds is met, the Secretary of State can still intervene in defence industry mergers, if at least one of the enterprises concerned is a relevant government contractor; or where the merger involves a supplier or suppliers of at least 25% of any description of newspapers or broadcasting in the UK.

In all cases, public interest interventions can only be made on the grounds of national security, financial stability (or prudential rules in an EU case) or media plurality.

The number of times the CMA’s jurisdiction thresholds are met is not recorded. The European Commission does not record merger notifications by country of transaction.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what domestic programmes the Government has developed to help deliver the Global Goals for Sustainable Development which were adopted in September 2015.

Justine Greening

The UK Government as a whole is committed to implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Government’s manifesto sets out the plan of action for which it will be held accountable by the British people. This includes commitments relevant to each of the Goals, and it will guide our efforts to achieve them.

The Global Goals are the starting point for, and will be embedded across, DFID’s work. Other Government Departments will lead on their respective policy areas.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimates his Department has made of the range for the value of liabilities arising from the sale of the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry

Government policy is to move the Green Investment Bank (GIB) in to the private sector. Following a sale, GIB’s contractual liabilities will be funded by its new shareholders. To the extent that HM Government retains a minority stake, the Government will contribute funds towards those contractual commitments on a pro rata basis for UK based investments.

Separately, as part of the sale process, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has entered into an agreement with Poyry (provider of electricity market reports and price forecasting) (electricity market report and associated price forecast provider) (electricity market report and associated price forecast provider)(electricity market report and associated price forecast provider)to share information with potential bidders to help them to undertake due diligence. This agreement requires BIS to provide an indemnity to Poyry in relation to any resulting liability Poyry might incur. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills set out details of the indemnity in his written ministerial statement of 21 March (HCWS633) including his view that the likelihood of it being called upon is low. A Departmental minute explaining the procedure followed and describing the liabilities undertaken has also been placed in the Libraries of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s news story of 27 April 2016, Update on a new clause to be inserted into grant agreements, whether his Department plans to hold a formal consultation on the proposed anti-lobbying clause.

Matthew Hancock

As I made clear in the House on 27 April, we are committed to protecting taxpayers’ money from being wasted on government lobbying government. We are pausing the implementation of this clause into grant agreements, pending a review of the representations made.