Tag: Deidre Brock

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how his Department measures the performance of the coastguard.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Her Majesty’s Coastguard undertake an annual programme of Operational Standards Reviews to measure the quality, consistency and effectiveness of operational service delivery.

Additionally HM Coastguard routinely review at least 5% of incidents to which their National Network has responded to assess the effectiveness of outcomes and learn any appropriate lessons for future operations.

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, what steps she plans to take to reduce the concentration of microplastics in the marine environment.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

On 3 September 2016 the Government announced plans to ban the sale and manufacture of cosmetics and personal care products containing microbeads where these are capable of harming the marine environment. Our plans will be informed by a formal consultation later this year. At the same time, evidence will be gathered on the extent of the environmental impacts of microbeads found in other products before considering what more can be done in future to tackle other plastics, for example microfibres, which enter the marine environment.

Given the trans-boundary nature of marine litter, we will also continue to work with other countries in the Oslo and Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR) to address marine litter, including microplastics.

In December 2015, the UK published its Marine Strategy Part Three: UK programme of measures. This sets out a comprehensive set of measures to address marine litter. Some measures address microplastics directly; others contribute indirectly by removing, or avoiding the release of, larger plastic particles, preventing their degradation into microplastics.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to his Department was of its communications team in each year since 2007; and what the projected cost is of that team in 2016.

Caroline Nokes

The table below shows the details of actual and forecast expenditure for the staff cost of the Department’s Strategic Communications Directorate.

The staff costs include the costs of salaries, employer national insurance contribution, employer pension contribution, performance related awards, overtime, travelling time, temporary duty allowance, secondments, contractors and staff substitutions. Also, associated IT costs and communications directorate external contracts are included.

Financial Year	Staff Costs £m
2013-14	17.543
2014/15	15.277
2015/16	15.109
2016/17*	15.134

*forecast as at July 2016

Following a significant organisational design review (ODR) which resulted in fundamental structural changes within the Corporate Centre of DWP, expenditure prior to 2013/14 is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how her Department plans to continue to work with European partners in the areas of her portfolio that were covered by the Schengen Agreement after the UK leaves the EU.

Sir Oliver Heald

As the Prime Minister has said, it would not be right for the Government to give a running commentary on negotiations with the EU.

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.