Tag: Deidre Brock

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of when all exchange-only lines will have access to fibre broadband.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The vast majority of phone lines across the UK connect to the nearest telephone exchange via a street cabinet, which can be upgraded to deliver fibre broadband. Estimates are not available of the number of premises served by exchange only lines and therefore when they will all have access to fibre broadband. Exchange only lines present a greater engineering challenge to deliver fibre broadband than those connected via street cabinets but technical solutions are available; one solution is to rearrange the existing network, lay new cables to reroute lines to new cabinets – a technique developed as part of the BDUK Superfast Broadband Programme.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average response time is for coastguard personnel on emergency callouts; and what the longest response times were in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Each incident involving a Coastguard Rescue Team (CRT) is different in its context given geography, terrain, weather conditions, prevailing traffic conditions and the availability of individual volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers and other responders. Against that background the Maritime and Coastguard Agency does not collate or maintain data in respect of cumulative response times either locally or nationally. However it can provide specific response times for specific incidents.

In a typical year there are between 12,000 and 14,000 incidents to which a CRT will be required to respond.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to devolve the setting of VAT rates to the Scottish Parliament after the withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

Mr David Gauke

In line with the all-party Smith Commission, the UK and Scottish Governments have agreed that receipts from the first 10p of the standard rate of VAT and the first 2.5p of the reduced rate of VAT in Scotland will be assigned to the Scottish Government from 2019-20. The UK Government is getting on with implementing that agreement.

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 it is her policy to retain targets to recycle 50 per cent of waste by 2020 after the UK withdrawals from the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

While we remain in the EU, all rights and obligations associated with our membership will remain in place, including the target to re-use or recycle 50% of our household waste by 2020. Beyond that, the Government remains committed to actions to reduce waste and increase our rates of recycling. In our 2015 Manifesto, we set the goal of being the first generation to leave England’s natural environment in a better state than that in which we found it. This is a big ambition and one to which the Government remains committed.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he plans to seek to maintain freedom of movement throughout the EEA for UK citizens during the negotiations on the UK’s exit from the EU.

Mr David Jones

The Prime Minister has been clear that free movement cannot continue as it has in the past. The precise way in which the government will control the movement of EU nationals to Britain after Brexit is yet to be determined.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the proportion of street level cabinets served by a fibre enabled exchange that are not planned to be upgraded for fibre broadband in commercially viable areas.

Mr Edward Vaizey

BT’s commercial deployment programme is still ongoing. We will not have access to information on the proportion of cabinets that remain to be upgraded in commercial areas until this is completed.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many coastguard rescue (a) employees and (b) volunteers cover Scotland.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The number of Coastguard rescue (a) employees and (b) volunteers that cover Scotland are as follows:

(A) Employees

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. There are 314 full time equivalent Coastguard posts within the national network of which 69 are based at CGOCs located in Scotland (Aberdeen, Shetland and Stornoway).

There are 37 full time equivalent Coastguard posts that are responsible for the management, training and oversight of the volunteer Coastguard Rescue Teams that cover Scotland.

(B) Volunteers

There is an establishment of 1,226 volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers that cover Scotland.

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, whether it is her policy that the UK will continue 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 withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

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 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to make it his policy that energy from renewable sources will be produced at (a) similar or (b) higher levels to those established by the EU Renewable Energy Directive following UK withdrawal from the EU.

Mr Nick Hurd

We are currently progressing in line with the trajectory set out in the Renewable Energy Directive, having met the Directive’s interim targets.

There will be no immediate changes to our relationship with the EU. Until we have left the EU, the UK will remain a member of the EU with all of the rights and obligations that membership entails.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he plans to offer freedom of movement for EEA citizens into the UK during the negotiations on the UK’s exit from the EU.

Mr David Jones

The Prime Minister has been clear that free movement cannot continue as it has in the past. The precise way in which the government will control the movement of EU nationals to Britain after Brexit is yet to be determined.