Tag: David Anderson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how her Department took into account the planned Chinese government involvement in the construction of new nuclear energy facilities in its impact assessment on removal of market support mechanisms for wind and solar energy.

Andrea Leadsom

Chinese investment in new nuclear power stations was not a factor in our assessment of the impact of changes to government support for renewables.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the inspection regime is for ensuring that hens are housed in conditions compliant with relevant EU directives.

George Eustice

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) enforces the relevant welfare legislation and carries out welfare inspections on farms to check that the UK legislation, which implements European law, is being followed. This includes spot checks and planned risk based inspections.

In addition, a programme of inspections is carried out under EU cross compliance legislation to farmers that claim cross-compliance subsidies. The APHA also enforce the requirement for owners or other responsible persons to inspect their hens at least once a day.

Our expert advisory committee, the Farm Animal Welfare Committee, has concluded that stockmanship, and the correct application of husbandry standards, whatever the system of production, is key to ensuring good welfare for farmed animals. This view is relevant to all livestock, whether in intensive or extensive production systems. The EU Commission’s Scientific Panel on Animal Health and Welfare recognised that there is a wide variety of enriched cage designs for laying hens, and that the layout of some cages can affect bird inspection. Both the EU Commission in its 2008 report on the welfare of laying hens in various systems and the Farm Animal Welfare Committee recognise the welfare benefits of enriched cages and have given their support to this system of production.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any person or body has sought disclosure of documents relevant to the decision to target Reyaad Khan by drone strike in Syria on 21 August 2015 for purposes related to the Inquiry by the Intelligence and Security Committee into that matter.

Michael Fallon

The Prime Minister discussed the scope of the Intelligence and Security Committee’s (ISC) Inquiry with its Chairman. They reached agreement on the disclosure of material to the ISC that will enable the Committee to conduct a review of the threat posed by Reyaad Khan. The ISC have received contemporaneous intelligence assessments of Khan and will take further evidence in the coming weeks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2016 to Question 23662, if she will make an assessment of the risk of coal sourced by owners of power stations in the UK coming from countries where safety and labour standards in mining are poor.

Andrea Leadsom

Decisions on where to source coal are a commercial matter for the owners of coal-fired power stations. Contracts for the purchase of coal are awarded to individual mining companies, not countries. The majority operators of power stations in the UK are members of BetterCoal, an industry-led initiative which is taking action to promote responsible coal mining and has established a set of ethical, social, and environmental principles which companies in the supply chain are expected to align with.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will apply EU Directive 41/2003 on Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision to the Local Government Pension Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones

We are satisfied that the Scheme is consistent with the way in which Directive 41/2003 on the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision Directive was transposed into national law. It is not therefore necessary to take any further legislative steps to ensure compliance.

In March 2014 the European Commission published proposals for new Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provisions Directive. The implications for the scheme will be fully considered if these proposals are taken forward.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will assess the suitability of the hinterland of the Port of Blyth as a location for an ultra-super critical coal fired power station; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

With the exception of proposals for nuclear generating stations, the choice of location for any energy generation project is a matter for the developer concerned, and the location`s suitability will be considered as part of the consent application process. Any new coal plant must demonstrate carbon capture and storage on at least 300 MW of its proposed generating capacity and comply with the Emissions Performance Standard.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will place a summary of how the UK’s energy interconnectors are funded in the Library.

Andrea Leadsom

Yes, I will be placing a copy in the Libraries of the House.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent any person convicted of animal abuse from owning an animal.

George Eustice

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 already allows courts to make a disqualification order in respect of someone who has been found guilty of causing any unnecessary suffering to an animal. It is for the courts to decide whether to make such an order and, if so, for how long based on the individual circumstances of the case. If a court decides not to impose such an order, it must give its reasons in open court. I consider, therefore, that the courts have the necessary powers to impose appropriate penalties in relation to acts of animal cruelty

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2016 to Question 6502, what the reasons are for the time taken to answer that question.

Anna Soubry

The hon. Member’s question was approved on time, but an administrative error with submitting the answer through the Question and Answer system meant that the reply was not sent. Procedures have been put in place to ensure that this issue does not reoccur.

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 measures she is putting in place to minimise the number of Notifications of Inadequate System Margin issued by the National Grid; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

A Notice of Inadequate System Margin is one of the tools National Grid use to maintain margins in the system and can happen at any time for a variety of reasons. Issuing a NISM does not mean that demand is about to outstrip supply: it is a notice to the market to bring forward further capacity. National Grid issue NISMs ahead of dispatching capacity from its supplementary balancing reserve, which will include 3.5GW of dispatchable generating capacity next winter. This will give any remaining capacity in the market first opportunity to respond but does not signal any significant risk of shortages. National Grid’s objective is to secure supplies and the NISM is an important tool to achieve that objective with minimum distortion to the market.