Tag: Cheryl Gillan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) Statements of Special Educational Needs and (b) Education, Health and Care Plans were issued for each year from 2013; and how many such (i) statements and (ii) plans were issued in each of those years.

Edward Timpson

Information on the number of statements or Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans issued by local authorities in England based on the SEN2 return is available on GOV.UK in Table 2 of the Statistical First Release Statements of SEN and EHC plans: England 2015: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2015

Data for January 2016 will be published on 26 May 2016.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been disbursed from the public purse in legal fees for solicitors, parliamentary agents, barristers and their staff who have been working on behalf of HS2 Ltd.

Andrew Jones

The Department has appointed a joint team of solicitors/parliamentary agents from Winckworth Sherwood and Eversheds LLP to provide support in relation to the HS2 Phase 1 hybrid Bill. The current spend on this contract is £9,594,124.36.

The Department has also appointed a joint team of solicitors/parliamentary agents from Winckworth Sherwood and Eversheds LLP to support the preparation of the HS2 Phase 2a hybrid Bill, which is expected to be deposited in 2017. The current spend on this contract is £146,265.10.

The Department continues to instruct a team of barristers to support the HS2 project. Each barrister is remunerated at agreed government hourly rates. The spend on these barristers for the period from 2013 to the present is £2,219,872.30.

All figures are correct up to 5 September 2016 and are exclusive of VAT.

Since approximately 2010, the Department has also instructed a number of barristers on other HS2 related work, primarily litigation. These barristers will have been remunerated at agreed government hourly rates, but unfortunately it would involve disproportionate cost for the Department to provide precise figures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many car owners whose car tax has expired have not made a SORN declaration since the tax licence disc was abolished in 2015.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport conducts a roadside survey every two years. This survey estimates the number of vehicles without a valid licence or Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) to determine the rate of vehicle excise duty evasion.

The last survey took place in June 2015, which was eight months after the DVLA stopped issuing paper tax discs. The survey estimated that 1.4% of vehicles on UK roads were unlicensed and were not subject to a SORN.

The DVLA aims to make vehicle excise duty easy to pay and hard to avoid and operates a comprehensive package of measures to tackle vehicle excise duty evasion. These measures range from reminder letters, penalties and court prosecutions through to the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras, wheel clamping and the removal of unlicensed vehicles.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many officials in her Department are working on matters related to High Speed 2; and what the grades of those officials are.

George Eustice

Technical and policy specialists contribute to the Department’s work on HS2. Within the core Department a policy team (1 Grade 7 and 1 SEO) co-ordinates input from specialists from across the Department as required. This forms one part of the team’s role.

The Environment Agency (EA) and Natural England (NE) provide input through the roles of the following officials:

3 Grade 7s (2 EA, 1 NE)

1 Grade 6 (EA)

7 SEOs (5 EA, 2 NE)

3 HEOs (1 EA, 2 NE)

In addition, one Grade 7 and two SEOs from the Forestry Commission and members of local EA and NE teams provide specialist advice as required.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether a further review of the tunnel boring machine advance rates for the High Speed 2 Chiltern tunnel has yet taken place.

Mr Robert Goodwill

HS2 Ltd have carried out an extensive reviews of tunnel boring rates for comparable forms of tunnel (looking at the size of tunnel and type of tunnel boring machine used) as part of the work for the hybrid Bill development, including tunnels both in this country and overseas. Particular attention has been made to ascertaining the ‘hard average rate’ achieved on these tunnels, which is much more appropriate in calculating the overall time to complete a particular tunnel drive for its entire length from "machine in to machine out". HS2 Ltd have provided evidence from these applicable tunnel projects in front of the Select Committee and explained on several occasions how the tunnel drive rates from these other projects support the current assumed drive rate for the HS2 Chiltern Tunnel. No further review is considered to be required as there is no further appropriate evidence available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the five times increase in the annual upfront fee charges for private hire operator licences by local authorities on small and self-employed operators.

Andrew Jones

Local licensing authorities can charge fees for private hire vehicle operator licences that recover the cost of administering the licensing system.

Renewing a licence every five years, rather than more frequently as may have been the case in the past, reduces a financial and administrative burden on many of the small and medium size enterprises that make up the private hire vehicle industry.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what evidence he has received to demonstrate that the construction of Phase One of High Speed 2 will not breach the requirements of Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Environmental Statement and Supplementary Environmental Statements for the Phase One hybrid Bill fully assessed the impact on air quality from HS2 construction. The method of assessment is specifically directed at the limit values set out in Annex II of Directive 2008/50/EC, and identifies whether the limit values are currently breached, anticipated to be breached in the future, and to what extent any breaches are affected by the construction of Phase One of HS2.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage food manufacturers and processors to avoid the use of (a) allergenic materials and (b) non-allergenic materials in ways that may cause allergenic reactions.

George Eustice

In December 2014, the law on how food allergen information is given was changed to make it easier for consumers with an allergy or intolerance to manage their condition safely when buying food or eating out. Defra continues to promote accurate and informative food labelling to inform consumers about the food they buy, including the presence of allergens in food so that consumers can make informed choices. The Food Standards Agency’s Guidance on Allergen Management and Consumer Information provides guidance on allergen management in food manufacturing and processing to assess and avoid cross contamination.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were admitted to hospital with a stroke in the latest year for which figures are available; and what proportion of those patients were treated with mechanical thrombectomy.

David Mowat

Information on mechanical thrombectomy is not centrally held, however we can provide information on thrombectomy (mechanical or otherwise), which is set out in the attached tables.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to implement the Guidelines for Selection of Biological SSSIs, revised in 2014, on extending the protection for the rarest and most vulnerable lowland grasslands to all sites that meet the criteria.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Selection and notification of sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) is a matter for Natural England. Natural England has published its current designations programme on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-england-designations-programme-for-areas-sites-and-trails) and this includes several areas that host lowland grassland habitats. Natural England will continue to implement the Guidelines for the selection of biological SSSIs, as appropriate.