Tag: Deidre Brock

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to maintain air pollution targets set out in the ambient air quality directive following UK withdrawal from the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Air quality has improved significantly in recent decades; we are working at local, national and international levels and will continue to do more.

The UK has a long commitment to improving the environment even before the EU – the Clean Air Act was introduced in 1956 – and our strong commitment to environmental issues will continue after the UK leaves the EU.

We are now preparing to negotiate our exit. Defra will continue to ensure the right policies are in place for a cleaner, healthier environment for everyone.

Defra will be working with the Department for Exiting the EU on the UK’s withdrawal and future relationship with the EU, liaising closely with other key Departments on future support for farmers, the food and drink industry and the environment. The Government will work with industry and the public to develop these new arrangements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-09-12.

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what response the Electoral Commission has made to paragraphs 214 to 226 of the Report entitled, Securing the ballot, Report of Sir Eric Pickles’ review into electoral fraud, published in August 2016.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Electoral Commission welcomed the publication of Sir Eric Pickles’ review into electoral fraud and is now carefully considering the detail of its recommendations. The Commission has noted that the review supports a number of its own longstanding recommendations, including its call for voter ID, first put forward in 2014.

The Commission is an independent statutory body which reports and is accountable to the UK and Scottish Parliaments. It will publish a full response to Sir Eric’s review in due course and a copy will be placed in the House Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what legal status UK citizens currently resident elsewhere in the EU will have in the event of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr David Lidington

British citizens living in the EU currently enjoy a range of rights to live, to work and to access pensions, health care and public services that are guaranteed through EU law. There would be no requirement under EU law for these rights to be maintained if the UK left the EU. Should an agreement be reached to maintain these rights, the expectation must be that this would have to be reciprocated for EU citizens in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what changes his Department plans to make to the size of the workforce of the Ministry of Defence Police.

Mr Julian Brazier

The Department plans to recruit around 260 new police officers to the Ministry of Defence Police during the course of 2016-17 to offset anticipated attrition rates and maintain sufficient resource to the level of tasking required.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether it is his policy to continue to require environmental impact assessment for projects under the same or similar terms to those of current EU law after the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

Gavin Barwell

Until we leave, the UK will remain a full member of the EU, with all of the rights and obligations. The Department for Exiting the EU will be working on the UK’s withdrawal and future relationship, liaising closely with other key departments on future support for the environment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to monitor the effect of the change from disability living allowance to personal independence payments on the standard of living of the recipients of those payments.

Penny Mordaunt

Both Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) are designed to contribute towards the extra cost of having a disability. PIP is a modern benefit that maintains the key principles of DLA; it is a non-means-tested, non-taxable cash benefit available to people in and out of work. In addition, it takes proper account of mental health conditions and targets resources on those who need support. Most people will continue to receive support under PIP and, in fact, a greater proportion of claimants are receiving the highest rates of the benefit than in DLA – 23 per cent compared to 15 per cent on DLA.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to implement his Department’s plans on childhood obesity.

Nicola Blackwood

The Department is confident our world leading plan, Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action, will make a real difference to obesity rates in this country.

The Government is currently consulting on the soft drinks industry levy and a broad sugar reduction programme has been launched.

The Department will continue to work with the National Health Service, local authorities and other partners as we move into the delivery phase of the plan.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on whether non-UK EU citizens will have to leave the UK after the two-year Article 50 negotiation period in the event of the UK leaving the EU.

James Brokenshire

Should there be a vote to leave, we will need to follow the rules for exit, which are set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This is the only lawful route available to withdraw from the EU.

Article 50 provides for a two year negotiation, which would cover the UK’s access to the EU’s Single Market, including the free movement of people.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual cost is of safeguarding the Trident nuclear deterrent.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Department does not cost the safeguarding and security of individual capabilities. Given the multi-layered make up of security arrangements protecting the deterrent, overlapping with those of wider defence personnel and capabilities, identifying accurate costs could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

The in-service costs of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, including the costs of safeguarding, is estimated to be around six per cent of the annual defence budget.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to assess the potential effect on rural communities of a UK withdrawal from the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

The UK is still a member of the EU and we will continue to engage with EU business as normal and be engaged in EU decision-making in the usual way.

Once Article 50 is invoked, we will remain bound by EU law until the withdrawal agreement comes into force.

We now have an historic opportunity to deliver an environment for future generations to be proud of, grow our world leading food and farming industry that continues to attract significant global investment and harness the enormous economic potential of our rural communities.