Tag: Deidre Brock

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2015-11-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is proposed for welfare payments made by the Scottish Government, provided for under any Act arising from the Scotland Bill, to count as income for the purposes of calculating tax credits.

Damian Hinds

The Smith Commission agreement, agreed by all the main parties in Scotland, set out those benefits where power should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Tax credits were not amongst those benefits.

However, under the current Scotland Bill clauses, the Scottish Government will have the power to top-up tax credits, as long as it does so through using its own resources. The Smith Commission agreement said that any new benefits or discretionary payments introduced by the Scottish Parliament must provide additional income for a recipient and not result in an automatic offsetting reduction in their entitlement to other benefits. Once the Scottish Government have been clear about how they want to use their new powers, we will work with them to understand the interactions between the reserved and devolved benefit systems.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the coastguard search and rescue capability for the Firth of Forth is.

Mr Robert Goodwill

HM Coastguard search and rescue capability consists of the tasking and coordination of rescue resources, the volunteer Coastguard Rescue Service (CRS) and the provision of Search and Rescue Helicopters.

Tasking and Coordination of Rescue Assets

HM Coastguards ‘National Network’ enables the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) and 9 Coastguard Operations Centres (CGOC) to coordinate any incident anywhere around the UK coast. Workload is therefore managed on a national basis enabling national capability and resource to be available to any incident, for example in the Firth of Forth, on the basis of the nature of the incident.

Volunteer Coastguard Rescue Service

There are 4 volunteer Coastguard Rescue Teams (CRT) covering the Firth of Forth with the following operational capabilities.

CRT	Water Safety and Rescue	Land Search	Mud Rescue	Rope Rescue	First Aid
Leven	✓	✓		✓	✓
Kinghorn	✓	✓		✓	✓
South Queensferry	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Fisherrow	✓	✓		✓	✓
North Berwick	✓	✓		✓	✓

Additionally there are 5 full time Maritime Coastguard Agency employees who are responsible for the management, training and oversight of these teams.

Search and Rescue Helicopters

The Search and Rescue Helicopters based at Inverness and Prestwick provide capability for the Firth of Forth. However, it should be noted that the speed and range of the aircraft located at the four HM Coastguard bases in Scotland means that HM Coastguard has the ability to surge up to five SAR helicopters to a single incident in Scotland, should it be necessary to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representation he is making to the Turkish government about the suspension of judges, civil servants and education workers and a travel ban on academies following the attempted coup.

Sir Alan Duncan

The UK Government has strongly condemned the attempted coup on 15 July. As the Prime Minister said in the House of Commons on 18 July, Britain stands firmly in support of Turkey’s democratically elected government and institutions.

I visited Turkey on 20-21 July to reiterate our support for democracy in Turkey. In meetings with Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, amongst others, I stressed the need for Turkey to respect human rights and the rule of law. The Turkish Government have assured us that they recognise the importance of this. We will continue to engage with the Turkish Government at all levels on these issues, and to monitor the situation closely.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he plans to take during negotiations on leaving the EU to seek continued UK participation in the European Research Council after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr David Jones

The Department is leading the UK’s negotiations to leave the European Union and establish the future relationship between the EU and the UK. We need a UK approach and clear objectives for negotiations. The process for leaving the EU and determining our future relationship will clearly not be brief or straightforward, so we need to take time to think through our objectives and approach.

The Government will ensure that the UK remains a world leader in international research collaboration, and will expect close collaboration between the UK and the EU in science to continue. UK businesses and universities should continue to bid for competitive EU funds while we remain a member of the EU. The Government will work with the European Commission to ensure payment when funds are awarded, and will underwrite the payment of such awards even when specific projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what support the Government offers to UK-based companies involved in investor-state disputes with other nations.

Mark Garnier

The Government does not provide legal advice to UK investors involved in investor-state disputes. Ministers or officials may raise them with the relevant authorities, but the decision on whether or not do so is made on a case by case basis.

Her Majesty’s Government posts overseas offer investment and political information to UK businesses; provide assistance where necessary to resolve problems such as customs or port clearance or those arising from any local practices that are potentially discriminatory against British business; and information to ensure compliance with local laws and regulations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2015-11-05.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether under any Act arising from the Scotland Bill the Scottish Government will be enabled to pay tax credits.

Damian Hinds

The Smith Commission agreement, agreed by all the main parties in Scotland, set out those benefits where power should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Tax credits were not amongst those benefits.

However, under the current Scotland Bill clauses, the Scottish Government will have the power to top-up tax credits, as long as it does so through using its own resources. The Smith Commission agreement said that any new benefits or discretionary payments introduced by the Scottish Parliament must provide additional income for a recipient and not result in an automatic offsetting reduction in their entitlement to other benefits. Once the Scottish Government have been clear about how they want to use their new powers, we will work with them to understand the interactions between the reserved and devolved benefit systems.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what coastguard personnel responded to the incident off Portobello beach in Edinburgh in the early hours of 15 May 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Coastguard Rescue Teams (CRT) from Fisherrow and Queensferry were tasked to respond to the incident off Portobello beach in Edinburgh in the early hours of 15 May 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the Government’s policy is on continuing to adhere to the terms of the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters after the UK has left the EU.

Mr David Jones

I refer the honorable Member to the answer given on 26 July to Question 43162.

Until we leave the EU, EU law continues to apply so the UK continues to comply with EU law that implements obligations in the Aarhus Convention. The UK remains a Party to the Aarhus Convention.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to seek to prohibit (a) non-UK-registered and (b) non-UK-owned fishing vessels from fishing within (i) UK territorial waters and (ii) the UK fisheries limits after the UK’s exit from the EU.

George Eustice

Exit from the EU presents us with an opportunity under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to improve the way in which waters within the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone are managed. Defra officials will be working with the new Department for Exiting the European Union, Devolved Administrations and stakeholders to develop proposals that will allow the UK to best take advantage of this opportunity.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, which treaties the UK is a signatory to as a member of the EU which will require renegotiation as a result of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker

We are examining all treaties which relate to our membership of the EU with a view to delivering the best outcomes for the UK.