Tag: Craig Whittaker

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage tourism in Calder Valley since the recent flooding and severe weather in that area.

David Evennett

The Calder Valley is a beautiful part of the UK and tourism is an essential part of the local economy. We want to ensure that our tourism businesses have as much support as possible as they recover from the recent floods. That is why a new £1m PR campaign was announced by the Prime Minister in Cumbria, on the 28th January, to support businesses ready to receive visitors, and this is part of a wider package of immediate measures to help the area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-03-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the falling price of oil on consumer spending in all sectors of the economy.

Damian Hinds

Cheaper oil and low inflation will support living standards across the country for hardworking families and reduce business costs. The OBR noted in their November 2015 Economic and Fiscal Outlook document, that they expected the fall in oil prices in the second half of 2014 to have supported real income and consumption during 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits to the Calder Valley of a high speed rail link between Leeds and Manchester.

Andrew Jones

Since the publication of the March 2015 Northern Transport Strategy, the Government and Transport for the North have been taking forward a programme of work on an ambitious Northern Powerhouse Rail vision. Parallel work is also taking place to understand the capability of the North’s road network.

Detailed analysis has not yet been carried out on the potential benefits of high speed rail links between particular locations across the Pennines. However the recent Budget allocated £60million to help develop the options for a High Speed 3 route between Leeds and Manchester.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of local authorities in processing and deciding planning applications within recommended timescales.

Brandon Lewis

Between January and March 2016, local planning authorities decided 82 per cent of major applications on time; the highest figure on record.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the outcome of the EU referendum on house prices in West Yorkshire.

Gavin Barwell

It is too early to tell. We are keeping markets under review and are actively engaged with house builders. The Secretary of State met with leading industry representatives this week to hear their views.

The strong demand for housing which underpins the housing market continues – as does our commitment to getting them built at a rate that can achieve our ambition for a million more homes and a million more home owners by 2020.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available to prison officers experiencing mental illness.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is committed to ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of its staff.

An employee’s GP retains primary responsibility for the care and treatment of mental health problems. NOMS recognises its duty of care to staff and provides wide ranging occupational health services, fast tracking to psychological interventions (where clinically indicated for ill-health due to work related trauma), and offers comprehensive employee assistance (EAP) services which are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in support. Staff are also able to self-refer for counselling by calling a 24 hour helpline in complete confidentiality. A well-established system of Care Teams also exists which provide the social and practical support for staff in the early days following a serious incident.

Innovations and support locally are continually under review and enhanced wherever possible. Assessment of the adequacy of support is ongoing at all levels – locally, regionally, and nationally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the progress of local authorities in reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department of Energy and Climate Change annually requests that local authorities in England measure, and report on their websites, greenhouse gas emissions data for their own estate and operations. The exercise enables local authorities to make assessments of their own progress against previous years and also against other local authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many train services on the Calder Valley rail line have been cancelled as a result of train reliability issues in the last 12 months.

Claire Perry

The Department for Transport does not usually hold information at this level of detail. However, the operator has on this occasion informed us that from mid-October to the beginning of December, 17 trains during the morning and evening peaks were cancelled as a result of train reliability issues on the Calder Valley rail line.

As one of the signatories to the Northern Franchise Agreement, West Yorkshire Combined Authority – who are responsible for specifying and sponsoring local rail services in West Yorkshire – may be able to supply the information requested to the level of detail you require. They can be contacted at West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Wellington House, 40-50 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 2DE; by phone: 0113 251 7272 or email at enquiries@westyorks-ca.gov.uk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to work with farmers and land owners in areas susceptable to flooding to encourage them to allow parts of their land to flood to avoid flooding elsewhere.

Rory Stewart

Temporarily storing flood water on agricultural land can be a cost effective way of reducing risks elsewhere in a catchment, and where such schemes are planned, farmers/landowners are paid to store flood water on their land in a managed way, with payments being made to offset the damages caused by additional deliberate flooding that forms a part of the flood management scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the cost to the tourist industry in Calder Valley of recent flooding and severe weather in that area.

David Evennett

No assessment has been made by DCMS of the direct cost to Calder Valley’s tourism industry following the recent flooding. However, some tourism businesses in flood affected areas have reported a drop in bookings of up to 60%. We want to ensure that our tourism businesses have as much support as possible as they recover from the recent floods and that is why a new £1m PR campaign was announced by the Prime Minister in Cumbria, on the 28th January, to support businesses ready to receive visitors, and this is part of a wider package of immediate measures to help the area.