Tag: Chi Onwurah

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has (a) guidelines and (b) a template contract for the leasing of government property to mobile telephone operators for the purposes of erecting masts.

Matthew Hancock

The Government Property Unit have developed guidelines and a standardised commercial agreement for Departments to make it easier for mobile telephone operatorsto erect masts on Government buildings. Government Property Unit also provided a London Rate Card for use by Departments and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) that sets out indicative rents for a range of locations. The Government Property Unit have also issued further technical guidance for Departments’ Estates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he or Ofcom have made an assessment or hold information on the proportion of BT’s ducts that were able to have fibre blown through them without further civil works in the superfast broadband rollout.

Mr Edward Vaizey

BT and other suppliers with funding from BDUK are obliged to provide wholesale access to all new ducts and poles built using public subsidy, in line with the requirements of the BDUK European State aid approval.

Ofcom has not conducted an assessment of the proportion of ducts that were able to have fibre blown through them without further civil works in the subsequent superfast broadband rollout. Ofcom does not hold any other information on the proportion of BT’s ducts that were able to have fibre blown through them without further civil works.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Angolan counterparts on the current outbreak of yellow fever in Angola.

James Duddridge

The British Embassy in Luanda has been in close contact with the Government of Angola and the World Health Organisation regarding the current outbreak of yellow fever. The UK is the largest donor to Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance) and is providing £1.44 billion for 2016-2020. Gavi is supporting Angola’s response through the International Coordination Group’s Revolving Fund. We understand that Angola has received 7 million doses from the International Coordination Group to respond to the outbreak. The UK is also supporting vaccinations for yellow fever in Luanda through the World Health Organisation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated for the establishment of a Northern branch of the New Schools Network; what the timetable for the establishment of that branch of Network is; and what plans he has for where that branch of the Network will be located.

Edward Timpson

The New Schools Network (NSN) is an independent charity that aims to improve the quality of education in the state sector, particularly for the most deprived children. It works with free school groups from all regions of England.

In the Budget, NSN was allocated £200,000 grant funding for a new Northern centre to encourage more innovative free schools in the region. NSN has already allocated a member of staff, who is based in Manchester, to work specifically with groups in the North and further recruitment will begin shortly.

NSN has plans to operate a similar model in the Midlands.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-05-05.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the remit of the Council of Data Science Ethics will extend beyond big data and personal data and include (a) wearable technologies, (b) health monitoring and (c) robotics.

Matthew Hancock

The Science and Technology Committee report on the Big Data Dilemma recommended that a Council for Data Ethics be established. The Government response was published on 26th April 2016 and can be found at the following link: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmselect/cmsctech/992/99204.htm

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department or Ofcom has made of the effect on consumers of data leakage (a) between applications on a consumer device and (b) between a consumer’s device and application servers.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The privacy aspects of this issue are regulated under the Data Protection Act (DPA). Compliance with the DPA is regulated and enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) which maintains guidance relating to the Act. ICO guidance for app developers on privacy in mobile apps is available here: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/online-and-apps/ (PDF document here:https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1596/privacy-in-mobile-apps-dp-guidance.pdf)

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of tracking of digital devices through Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on consumer rights and privacy.

Matt Hancock

The Government takes both the protection of personal data and the right to privacy extremely seriously. Under the Data Protection Act owners should be informed how their data will be handled.

The independent regulator for information rights, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has produced guidance on privacy on mobile apps, which is available at;

https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1596/privacy-in-mobile-apps-dp-guidance.pdf

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on levels of unemployment in the North East of (a) the outcome of the EU referendum, (b) the UK leaving the EU in the (i) short-term and (ii) long-term.

Margot James

The Department is currently working closely with the Department for Exiting the EU to understand the impacts that withdrawal from the EU will have on businesses, consumers and other economic actors. Due to the decisions this Government has taken, the British economy is fundamentally strong and we are well-positioned to negotiate our departure from the EU. Employment in the UK is at a record high. There are 68,000 more people in employment in the North East compared with 2010 and 23,000 fewer people unemployed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the energy-saving capacity of 5v USB outlets; and what assessment he has made of their potential effect on national domestic energy consumption.

Joseph Johnson

The Department has not made a specific assessment of whether 5v USB outlets offer any energy-saving capacity nor of their effect on national energy consumption.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the funding was for the Digital Inclusion team in his Department in each year for which figures are available.

Mr Edward Vaizey

As announced by the Prime Minister in Written StatementHCWS278 on 29 October 2015, policy responsibility for digital inclusion transferred from the Cabinet Office to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 1 November 2015.

Government is already investing in world class infrastructure (e.g. in the form of superfast broadband coverage) but access alone isn’t enough – people need the skills to benefit from online. The most recent funding figures available are £0.12m in 2013/14 and £0.30m in 2014/15. Our Digital Inclusion Strategy, published in April 2014, sets out how we plan to increase the level of digital engagement across the UK. Significantprogress in this area is already being made by public, private and voluntary sector organisations – dozens of which have signed up to the Digital Inclusion Charter.You can find more information on the Charter here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-digital-inclusion-strategy/uk-digital-inclusion-charter

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