Tag: David Anderson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she will announce details of the amount to be made available in the next round of Contracts for Difference auctions in the UK energy market; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government will hold three Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions in this Parliament with the next auction for less established technologies expected to take place by the end of 2016. We are currently working with HM Treasury to finalise the budget for future auctions and will set out more information in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how long on average the Office of the Independent Adjudicator took to close a case in 2015.

Joseph Johnson

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator’s Annual Report (2014), which contains the latest published figures available, states that it took an average of 207 days to close a complaint from the time the student first submitted a complaint form. Provisional figures indicate that improvements have been made since then and the 2015 Annual Report is likely to show a significant reduction in this figure.

The European Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution, which came into force on 9 July 2015, now requires dispute resolution bodies such as the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) to issue complaint outcomes within 90 days of receiving the full complaint file, unless the case is highly complex. The OIA and other alternative dispute resolution bodies are required to report to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, which is monitoring compliance with the Directive.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support her Department offers to people affected by overpowering odour escapes from landfill sites.

Rory Stewart

The permits issued to landfill operators by the Environment Agency under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 regulations include conditions covering the management of odour. Operators of landfill sites are required to take appropriate measures to prevent odour pollution or minimise it when prevention is not practicable.

In addition, as landfill sites are likely to give rise to odour problems operators are often required to submit an Odour Management Plan (OMP) for approval to the Environment Agency. The provisions in a site’s OMP, once it is approved, are treated as part of the permit and must be complied with.

The Environment Agency undertakes routine monitoring to verify compliance with permit conditions and will respond to and investigate public complaints about odour. The Environment Agency will consider enforcement action to ensure compliance with permit conditions in accordance with its published guidance on enforcement and sanctions.

Environmental permitting will usually provide sufficient protection against overpowering odour from landfill sites. If not, Local Authorities also have powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to take action against smell from industry, trade or business premises if found to be a statutory nuisance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will place in the Library all correspondence between the Government and EU Commission on the application of EU Directive 41/2003 Institutional Retirement Provision to the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Mr Marcus Jones

We have checked records back to 2007 and there has been no correspondence with the EU Commission by the Government on the application of this directive to the Local Government Pension Scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information her Department holds on the number of coal-fired powered stations which have been built in Germany since 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department commissioned an independent study[1] published in April 2013 looking at new coal-fired power stations in Germany. This study found 10 coal plants (a total of 8GW) were under construction at the time and would be ready to be commissioned by 2015.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/194335/Poyry_Report_-_Coal_fired_power_generation_in_Germany.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that individuals with muscle-wasting conditions who require a cough assist machine have access to one commissioned in the community by their clinical commissioning group.

Ben Gummer

NHS England has been working with Muscular Dystrophy UK through the Bridging the Gap project to address areas of concern raised by patients and their representatives, one of which is the provision of cough assist machines for people with neuromuscular conditions.

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning and funding cough assist machines, where appropriate. A number of CGGs have now developed commissioning policies for these devices based on one developed by Walsall CCG, which has been shared nationally as an example of good practice by Muscular Dystrophy UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any monitoring by (a) her Department or (b) other bodies is carried out in schools to ensure that children are not overly exposed to electromagnetic fields.

Edward Timpson

The Department does not specifically monitor exposure to electromagnetic fields in schools.

We provide advice to schools on health and safety matters. Schools must take reasonable steps to ensure that staff and pupils are not exposed to risks to their health and safety by conducting a risk assessment and, if necessary, putting measures in place to minimise any known risk.

Schools should be aware that where concerns are raised that they can access the appropriate advice; Public Health England provides advice via GOV.UK[1] on exposure to electromagnetic fields in the everyday environment.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/electromagnetic-fields

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the implications for his policies are of the 19 January 2016 Motion for a Resolution of the European Parliament on the situation in Ethiopia and the report by UN special rapporteurs of 21 January 2016 on Ethiopia’s use of force against Oromo protestors; and if he will make a statement.

James Duddridge

The UK Government is aware of both the European parliament’s Motion for a Resolution on the situation in Ethiopia and the UN special rapporteurs’ report on Ethiopia’s alleged use of force against protestors in Oromia. We remain deeply concerned about the handling of demonstrations in Oromia and the reported deaths of a number of protestors, and have repeatedly made representations to the Ethiopian Government over the ongoing situation in that region. Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, raised our concerns with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 21 January, as did I, with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Dr Tedros, at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa on 27 January. Our Ambassador also raised the issue with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 26 April. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and raise our concerns with the Ethiopian government, including on the use of force.

We will continue to work with our partners, including the US, in urging the Ethiopian government to use restraint in their handling of the protests in Oromia.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-06-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that the proposed EU-Canada trade agreement is not implemented until it has been fully scrutinised by national parliaments.

Anna Soubry

The EU–Canada Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) could be worth up to £1.3 billion per year to the UK economy. The Government is therefore keen to see the agreement implemented as soon as possible.

The Government considers, along with other Member States, that CETA is a “mixed agreement”. This means that CETA can only take full effect once the UK has decided to ratify it. As part of that ratification process, the complete draft text of the agreement would be laid before Parliament for 21 sitting days. In addition, the Government will ensure the proposals for a Council decision on signature, and subsequently conclusion, will be subject to scrutiny in both houses of the UK Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many referrals for treatment for post traumatic stress disorder from 13 and 39 Squadron service personnel there have been over the last two years.

Mark Lancaster

During Financial Years 2013-14 and 2014-15, there were no Regular Royal Air Force personnel from 13 Squadron or 39 Squadron who were seen for an initial assessment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder at Ministry of Defence Specialist Mental Health Services.