Tag: Deidre Brock

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the cost has been to date of each decommissioning exercise undertaken by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Andrea Leadsom

Net funding for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has been maintained at around £3 billion a year. This will allow it to continue to deliver its vital mission of decommissioning and clean-up of the UK’s nuclear legacy, with particular focus on tackling the highest hazards at Sellafield. The NDA provides information on the cost for decommissioning each of its sites in its Business Plan and Report and Accounts. Both are published on an annual basis and are available at www.nda.gov.uk.

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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 targets are in place to reduce antibiotic use in the husbandry of farm animals.

George Eustice

In line with the recent recommendations of the Independent Review on AMR, Defra has committed to reducing the average across all food-producing species to 50mg/kg by 2018. Future reductions will be underpinned by industry working collaboratively with Government to set long-term, sustainable, sector-specific targets by 2017.

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, how many professionals from other EU member states in each regulated profession or holding qualifications from other EU member states related to each regulated profession were registered to work in the UK in the latest year for which figures are available.

Jesse Norman

In 2014, a total of 12,178 professionals holding qualifications from EU or European Free Trade Association member states had their qualifications recognised for the purpose of permanent establishment in the UK, and 680 professionals had their qualifications recognised for provision of services on a temporary and occasional basis in the UK. Additional detail and statistics for other years are available on the European Commission’s regulated professions database: http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/regprof/.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which coastguard stations cover the Firth of Forth.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The operational concepts and procedures that underpin HM Coastguards National Network mean that the Coastguard Centres within it no longer have fixed geographic boundaries. The network enables the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) and 9 Coastguard Operations Centres (CGOC) to coordinate any incident anywhere around the UK coast. Workload 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.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2016 to Question 41433, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of the Common Travel Area with a hard border between the UK and the EU after the UK has left the EU.

James Brokenshire

The Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangement pre-dates the EU and we re-main committed to it. The Prime Minister and the Taoiseach have reiterated their intention for both countries to work together to maintain the CTA.

At present the UK remains in the EU and there will be no immediate changes. A meeting between UK and Ireland senior officials has already taken place underlining our desire to work together, when the UK begins to negotiate its exit from the EU, to maintain the benefits of the CTA.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether the Government plans to devolve the areas of law and policy on fishing formerly dealt with by the EU to Scotland’s Government and Parliament after the UK leaves the EU.

David Mundell

While the United Kingdom remains a member of the European Union, the current arrangements for fisheries remain in place.

Preparations for our negotiations to leave the EU will include looking at future approaches to fisheries management and the UK Government will fully involve the Scottish Government in this process.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is the Government’s policy that anti-terrorism cooperation under the Schengen Agreement should continue after the UK leaves the EU.

Sarah Newton

Cooperation against terrorism between the UK and European Union Member States has continued following the referendum. We continue to participate in those parts of the Schengen Agreement that relate to law enforcement cooperation, including the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II).

Officials are exploring options for future cooperation arrangements once the UK has left the European Union. We will do what is necessary to keep people safe, but it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions in advance of negotiations.

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.