Tag: Caroline Lucas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to respond to the concluding observations and recommendations of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the UK’s sixth periodic report in relation to social housing supply and homelessness; and if he will make a statement.

Gavin Barwell

In paragraph 73 of the UN recommendations, the UN requested that the UK submits its next period report under the Covenant (inclusive of a response to all the recommendations from this year’s examination) by 30 June 2021; it would therefore not be appropriate for me to pre-empt this report by anticipating what we, or indeed a future UK government in 2021, might say.

This government remains committed to tackling homelessness. That is why we have increased central government funding for homelessness programmes to £139 million over the Spending Review period. We have also maintained and protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities through the local government finance settlement totalling £315 million by 2019/20. In the Budget we announced further commitments to prevent homelessness including £100 million to provide at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living; £10 million to support initiatives to prevent and reduce rough sleeping; and an increase from £5 million to £10 million to launch a Social Impact Bond to support the most entrenched rough sleepers off the streets.

This will be supported by the government’s broader commitments to increase the overall supply of housing. We remain committed to building more affordable housing, including shared ownership. More than 277,000 affordable homes have been delivered since April 2010, and the housing budget has been doubled to more than £20 billion to support the largest housing programme by any government since the 1970s, which includes £8 billion to deliver over 400,000 affordable homes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 46335, and with reference to the Secretary of State Investor Agreement and Contract for Difference for Hinkley Point C signed by the Government on 29 September 2016, why he did not seek parliamentary approval for the liabilities incurred.

Jesse Norman

The Department laid a minute on 21 October 2015 outlining the liabilities that would be incurred by entering in to the contracts for Hinkley Point C. The minute can be found at:

http://qna.files.parliament.uk/qna-attachments/425357%5Coriginal%5C20151021%20Minute%20to%20Parliament%20HPC%20contingent%20liabilities.docx

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to safeguard access to the Erasmus student exchange programme (a) until and (b) after the UK leaves the EU.

Joseph Johnson

The referendum result has no immediate effect on students abroad under the Erasmus scheme or applying for 2016/17. Payments will be made in the usual way. Access to the programme after we leave the EU is a matter for the forthcoming negotiations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department examined international comparators when developing the policy of a reception baseline assessment; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

There are several examples, internationally, of children having some form of assessment when they start school. This helps teachers to assess where extra support is needed.

The reception baseline assessment will formally recognise the progress that schools make with children throughout the primary years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications his Department has received for the (a) Innovation Excellence and Strategic Development Fund and (b) Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund; and when he plans to announce the 2015-16 grant allocations from those funds.

Alistair Burt

321 applications were received to the 2015-16 Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development Fund and 283 to the 2015-16 Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund scheme.

Decisions on allocating funds have not yet been finalised. We will let applicants know the outcome as soon as possible.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what projection she has made of a global temperature increases by (a) 2050 and (b) 2100 caused by greenhouse gas emissions trajectories (i) under current trends and (ii) if all Intended Nationally Determined Contributions are delivered; what the implications of such temperature rises are in the UK for (A) coastal towns and cities, (B) extreme weather events and (C) food security; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

The Department of Energy and Climate Change and Defra have supported the AVOID Research Programme to project long-term climate change scenarios to understand how emissions reductions translate to global average surface temperature change. Based on a snapshot of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) pledged by 1 October 2015, with an assumed continuation of comparable global emissions reduction to the end of the century, this analysis projects:

(a) (i) by 2050, with continued rise in global greenhouse gas emissions, warming of between 2.3˚C and 2.6 ˚C;

(ii) by 2050, if all INDCs are delivered and continued, warming of 2˚C;

(b) (i) by 2100, with continued rise in global greenhouse gas emissions, warming of between 4.2˚C and 5.2 ˚C;

(ii) by 2100, if all Intended Nationally Determined Contributions are delivered and continued, warming of 3˚C.

All of these estimates are temperature changes relative to pre-industrial global average surface temperature and best estimates of the climate’s sensitivity to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations.

Under the Climate Change Act 2008, the Government has a statutory role to produce, on a five-yearly cycle, an assessment of the risks and opportunities for the UK arising from climate change. The first Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) was published in 2012. It included consideration of impacts on our coastlines, on the frequency and severity of extreme weather, and on our food production. The CCRA used the 2009 UK Climate Change Projections to assess risks under different emissions scenarios up to the 2100s.

The National Adaptation Programme report which Defra published in July 2013 sets out how we are preparing for the impacts of climate change. This sets out more than 370 actions across key sectors involving government, business, councils, civil society and academia.

Work is underway on the second CCRA, which will include an up-to-date review of evidence on the effects of climate change. The CCRA Government Report and the associated evidence report will be published in January 2017. These will inform the next National Adaptation Programme due around 2018.

The Global Food Security programme recently launched a joint research council five-year £15 million research call on resilience of the food supply chain, in partnership with Defra and the Food Standards Agency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the in-service dates are for the Technology Development Centre at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston and the Epure facility at the CEA site at Valduc; and when UK experiments are scheduled to commence at Epure.

Michael Fallon

The Technology Development Centre and the Epure facility have been in service since 2014, in line with Teutates Treaty requirements. UK personnel are carrying out preparatory activities for UK trials at the Epure facility, including devising an experimental schedule.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of onshore oil and gas (a) licence blocks and (b) wells with permission to be drilled are in areas with high or medium flood risk; what the Government’s policy is on permitting fracking in areas of flood risk; what assessment she has made of the effect of flooding on the risks of water contamination associated with shale gas extraction; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

Prior to the launch of the 14^th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round, a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) was undertaken for all areas offered for licensing applications, which addressed flood risk. The award of a Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence (PEDL) does not itself give any permission for operations to begin. Before a licensee can commence any operations they must apply for and be granted a number of further permissions and consents for each specific site within a PEDL area. These include planning permission and environmental permits from the Environment Agency.

Flood risk will be considered on a case by case basis where relevant as part of the consideration through the planning system of proposals for onshore oil and gas development, including development involving hydraulic fracturing. National planning policy is clearthat inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding shouldbe avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk. Where development is necessary, it should be made safe without increasing flood risk elsewhere. The policy is also clear that development should not contribute to, or be adversely affected by, unacceptable levels of water pollution.

Flood risk is also taken into account by the Environment Agency before any environmental permits are issued to drill for oil and gas. If a company wishes to carry out works in, over, under or near a main river, flood defence or a sea defence, they must apply to the Environment Agency for consent. To carry out work on watercourses which are not regulated by the Agency, a company will need to apply to the relevant regulatory body responsible for that particular watercourse.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timetable is for the submission of his Department’s proposed planning application for Atomic Weapons Establishment (a) Aldermaston and (b) Burghfield.

Michael Fallon

Following is the timetable for the submission of proposed planning applications for the Atomic Weapons Establishment at the Aldermaston and Burghfield sites.

The table excludes minor planning applications for amendments to current facilities and minor works.

Project description	Site	Timing of proposed planning application
NNS Engineering Facility	Aldermaston	2016 – 2018
Training Academy	Aldermaston	2017 – 2019
Science, Engineering and Technology Facility	Aldermaston	2017 – 2019
Small scale formulations	Aldermaston	Beyond 2018
Storage Facility	Aldermaston	Beyond 2018
Chemical processing	Burghfield	Beyond 2018
Emergency response capability facility training extension	Burghfield	Beyond 2018
Combined non metallurgy and material science	Burghfield	Beyond 2018

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Overseas Security and Justice Assessment assessments carried out by the Government in relation to UK aid and security assistance programmes to Saudi Arabia have been referred to a Minister for review in the last two years; what the object of each of those reviews was; and whether each of those reviews received ministerial (a) approval and (b) refusal for that programme.

Penny Mordaunt

In the past two years the MOD has conducted three Overseas Security and Justice Assessments in relation to security assistance programmes with Saudi Arabia. Such engagement encompasses Defence Exercises, Defence Training in Saudi Arabia, Defence training in the UK (or a third party country), High Level International Engagement, UK personnel conducting long-term capacity building (Loan Service Teams/British Military Mission) and Working level International Engagement.