Tag: Craig Whittaker

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the influence of ISIS in Yemen; and what steps his Department is taking with regional allies to curb that influence.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We remain concerned by the terrorist threat in Yemen, including the presence of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Daesh-Yemen. Long term instability increases the risk that terrorist groups continue to exploit the deteriorating situation to consolidate their support base and capabilities.

Throughout 2015, we saw an expansion of Daesh-Yemen, albeit starting from a small base. We judge that they remain a threat to UK strategic interests in the region, rather than a direct threat to the UK. We continue to work with regional partners to tackle the terrorist threat from Yemen. For operational reasons we cannot comment in detail on this activity.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Brazilian government on ensuring adequate security for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Mr Hugo Swire

I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 29 May given in response to PQ 38251.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the need for humanitarian aid and assistance in Yemen.

Rory Stewart

The United Nations’ 2016 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP), published in January 2016, reports that 21.2 million people in Yemen require some kind of humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs or protect their fundamental rights, particularly for food, water and sanitation, healthcare, and support to internally displaced people. The YHRP is currently 26% funded with donations of £351 million. The UK has so far committed to spending £72 million in Yemen over 2016-17. We continue to call on other donors to provide funding for the crisis.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support infrastructure development in West Yorkshire.

Mr David Gauke

The government is taking steps to improve infrastructure across the UK, including committing to over £100 billion capital investment by the end of the Parliament.

Since 2010, more than 200 schemes have been delivered in Yorkshire and the Humber. The National Infrastructure Pipeline sets out 29 projects and programmes worth £6.6bn for the region. This includes nearly £1bn for the West Yorkshire Plus transport fund, to help increase employment opportunities and economic growth by creating 20,000 jobs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to work with local authorities to reduce the level of fly-tipping.

Rory Stewart

Tackling fly-tipping is a Government priority and manifesto commitment. Next spring we will be giving councils the power to tackle small scale fly-tipping through fixed penalty notices as an alternative to prosecutions.

This builds on other Government action to tackle fly-tipping, which has included:

• working with the Sentencing Council on its guideline for sentencing for environmental offences, which came into force on 1 July last year;
• making it easier for vehicles suspected of being involved in waste crime to be stopped, searched and seized; and
• continuing our work with the Defra-chaired National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to promote and disseminate good practice in the prevention, reporting, investigation and clearance of fly-tipped waste.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the use of performance drugs among young people in sport.

Tracey Crouch

Performance enhancing drugs remain a threat to the integrity of sport and the health and wellbeing of all our athletes. The Government supports the work of UK Anti-Doping which works tirelessly to ensure athletes and sport are clean. Through testing programmes, intelligence sharing with law-enforcement agencies on supplying and trafficking, and its excellent athlete education initiatives, UKAD is one of the world’s most highly regarded national anti-doping organisations

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to work with local authorities to reduce the level of fuel poverty.

Andrea Leadsom

We are working with Local Authorities on fuel poverty initiatives in several ways:

• In March 2015 we announced the £25m Central Heating Fund, a Local Authority competition designed specifically to implement the principles of the fuel poverty strategy. 20 Local Authorities were successful and are now delivering central heating systems to low income households in their local communities. Installing a central heating system can cut the cost of heating a home adequately by over £1,000 a year, making real progress towards our fuel poverty objectives.
• Also in March last year we distributed £1m to scale up nine existing Local Authority schemes focused on tackling cold homes to improve people’s health. The evaluation of these projects is now underway and we are working closely with the Local Authorities to assess their impacts on health and on fuel poverty, as well as the effectiveness of their different approaches to delivery.
• Green Deal Communities awarded 23 Local Authorities funding to provide subsidy to householders to install energy efficiency measures, mainly solid wall insulation. Many of these schemes are targeting and providing funding to householders in fuel poverty.
• We are also interested in the role Local Authorities could play in a future energy company obligation (such as ECO); using local knowledge and working with ECO obligated energy suppliers to identify households in the greatest need. We will be consulting on the design of a supplier obligation in due course.

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

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, when he expects the Local Government Boundary Commission for England to next review the (a) ward and (b) councillor arrangements in metropolitan districts in West Yorkshire.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England informs me that arrangements for both wards and councillors are recommended through its electoral review procedure.

The Commission further informs me that Leeds City Council is in the early stages of an electoral review to consider the number of councillors elected to the authority in the future and the ward boundaries which will accommodate those elected members. None of the other metropolitan districts in the West Yorkshire area are part of the Commission’s programme of electoral reviews for the next twelve months. The Commission’s programme of reviews for the following year will be agreed in autumn 2016.

There are three reasons why a local authority could become part of the Commission’s programme of electoral reviews. First, the Commission assesses levels of electoral inequality across all local authorities in England on an annual basis. Where the Commission determines that there are high levels of variances between wards or electoral divisions, namely where some councillors represent many more – or many fewer – voters than the average for the authority, it will initiate an electoral review to address the imbalances.

The Commission will also carry out a review at the request of a local authority. Since 2011, the Commission has carried out 48 electoral reviews of councils that have asked the Commission to intervene. The majority of requested reviews have been initiated by authorities that have asked the Commission, in particular, to consider the total number of councillors elected to the council.

Thirdly, the Commission will intervene where it believes that an electoral review will help an authority deliver effective local government. Such reviews have been conducted in Stoke-on-Trent, Doncaster and – currently – in Birmingham where an independent report recommended that an electoral review should take place.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to increase the number of looked-after children who apply to attend university.

Edward Timpson

The Government wants all children to reach their full potential. Looked-after children have priority in admission arrangements so they have the chance to go to schools that best meet their needs. In 2014 we increased the pupil premium rate for looked-after children from £900 to £1900, and the role of Virtual School Heads (VSHs) became statutory.

Local authorities have a duty under the Children Act 1989 to promote the educational achievement of children they look after wherever they are placed and VSHs are responsible for ensuring that duty is discharged. Statutory guidance makes clear that local authorities should have the same high aspirations for the children they look after as any good parent. That includes choosing schools for them that are judged by Ofsted as good or outstanding and supporting them to make maximum progress.

In addition:

• looked-after children and care leavers are eligible for the 16-19 Bursary, worth £1200 each year, to continue in full-time education;

• care leavers pursuing a recognised course of higher education receive a £2000 Higher Education Bursary; and

• we have made it easier for care leavers to return to education up to the age of 25 by requiring local authorities to support them with a personal adviser and a pathway plan while they are on their agreed course.

The Department for Education is currently working with other government departments, including the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, to explore what more can be done to support looked-after children and young people to progress in education and training and make a successful transition to adulthood.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GP appointments were missed in (a) Calderdale and (b) England in each year since 2010; and what the estimated cost of those missed appointments was to the NHS.

Alistair Burt

The number of general practitioner (GP) appointments that are available in Calderdale and England is not held.

The number of GP appointments that are missed is not collected centrally, however, figures from NHS England suggest that more than 12 million GP appointments are missed each year in the United Kingdom (there is no individual breakdown for Calderdale or England separately), which costs in excess of £162 million per year.