Tag: David Anderson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of what constitutes a safe level of exposure of electromagnetic fields from mobile telephone use for (a) the population as a whole and (b) young people.

Jane Ellison

Government policy is that exposures to electromagnetic fields from mobile phones should comply with the guidelines on limiting exposures from the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Public Health England keeps the evidence relevant to this policy under review and published a comprehensive review of the evidence prepared by its independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation in 2012. Acute and long-term effects of high frequency exposure from the use of mobile phones have been studied extensively without showing any conclusive evidence of adverse health effects. The ICNIRP website can be found at:

http://www.icnirp.org

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 27 April 2016 to Question 34542, whether his Department has made an assessment of risks from lasers; and how he plans to use the General Product Safety Regulations to ensure the safe use of lasers in driverless cars.

Anna Soubry

The Government, via Public Health England, has made an assessment of the health risks posed by different classes of lasers, and as a result my Department has advised Trading Standards to use their powers under the General Product Safety Regulations to remove laser pointers higher than Class 2 from sale.

However, we are also aware that there is a second risk from the intentional directing of a laser at aviation (and other modes of transport) so as to dazzle or distract the pilot (or driver).

This is a cross-Whitehall issue and we are working with other departments to address it, including looking at legislative options. However, the practical implementation of the General Product Safety Regulations is a matter for Local Authority Trading Standards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the cost to the public purse was of the Notifications of Inadequate System Margin issued on 9 May 2016 by the National Grid; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

There was no cost to the public purse resulting from the Notice of Inadequate System Margin issued on 9 May.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with the Prime Minister of India during his forthcoming visit the welfare of elephants being trained to work in the tourism industry in that country.

Mr Hugo Swire

We are aware of reports that elephants in use in the tourist industry in India have been captured as calves and then beaten and mistreated. This practice is illegal in India. UK officials have had discussions on this issue with Save The Asian Elephant (STAE).

The UK is committed to conserving Asian elephants and recognises the growing threats to their populations, including from the cross-border, illegal trade in live animals to feed the demand by the tourist and entertainment industries. The UK has been working internationally through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in discussion with elephant range states, including India, to increase protection for Asian elephants. We secured agreement in 2014 for elephant range states to put in place measures to prevent illegal trade in live elephants.

We are very much looking forward to Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit, which gives us an opportunity to discuss a range of issues. We will continue to work together with the Indian authorities, as well as STAE and other non-governmental organisation, on protecting elephants.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will amend the Local Government Pension Scheme to permit boycott, divestment and sanctions policies; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones

We will issue guidance to local government pension scheme administering authorities in the spring on how their policies on environmental, social and corporate governance matters should reflect foreign policy and related issues. This will make clear that their predominant concern should be the pursuit of their financial return on investments and that they should not pursue boycott, divestment and sanctions policies unless they are consistent with UK foreign policy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessments he has made of the reasons for the increase in excess winter mortality rates in England in the winter of 2014-15.

Jane Ellison

The increased excess deaths in 2014-15 coincided with the circulation of a strain of flu, A(H3N2), that particularly affects older people. Cold snaps and other respiratory infections may also have contributed to an increase in excess mortality. There was evidence also that the flu vaccine provided reduced protection due to some drift of the circulating A(H3N2) virus.

These observations were not unique to the United Kingdom, with 14 other European countries also reporting an increase in excess mortality. Throughout the last decade, there has generally been a good match between the strains of flu in the vaccine and those that subsequently circulate, highlighting the importance of flu vaccination for at risk groups, including older people and also the childhood flu vaccine programme, which when rolled out, aims to provide protection for both children, but also the general population.

Public Health England has no such data available for North East England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will disclose a summary of his Department’s legal advice to the (a) Joint Committee on Human Rights and (b) Intelligence and Security Committee relevant to the drone strike that killed Reyaad Khan on 21 August 2015.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

I refer the hon. Member to the answer on this subject given to him by the Prime Minister on 25 January 2016, UIN 23433.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of coal burnt in UK coal-fired power stations came from Colombia in 2015.

Andrea Leadsom

Full year figures for 2015 are not currently available. In the first 9 months of 2015 (January to September) 1, 32% of imported steam coal, which is predominately used by power stations, came from Columbia.

[1] Coal Imports ET2.4: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487870/ET_Dec_15.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the coal burnt in UK coal-fired power stations originated in the USA in the first nine months of 2015.

Andrea Leadsom

DECC does not hold figures on the proportion of coal burnt in UK coal-fired power stations, by country of origin. However, from January to September 2015, 16,784 thousand tonnes of steam coal (mainly used by coal-fired power stations) were imported into the UK, while coal used for electricity generation was 22,512 thousand tonnes during the same period.

The USA provided 3,231 thousand tonnes of steam coal imports, 19% of all steam coal imports, while Russia provided 7,237 thousand tonnes (43%)

Source:

Energy Trends tables 2.1 and 2.4, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solid-fuels-and-derived-gases-section-2-energy-trends

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the extent to which the policies of broadcasters recruiting members of the public for quiz or game shows or similar programmes discriminate against people with disabilities.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Broadcasters are subject to the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 which legally protects disabled people from discrimination in the delivery of services and in wider society. This government is actively encouraging the industry to be proactive in increasing diversity on and off screen – including by increasing the representation of disabled people. Ed Vaizey hosted a conference in January that raised the wider issue of lack of representation of disabled people in the creative industries.