Tag: Gareth Thomas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Mott MacDonald Report 2012 on safety standards at RAF Northolt recommended that an Engineered Material Arresting System be installed at RAF Northolt; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) is being scoped as a military infrastructure requirement commensurate with safety cases for military aircraft operating at RAF Northolt and the associated military aerodrome design standards utilised at the Station. I am withholding estimated costs for the EMAS project as it is at the pre-tender stage and disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice commercial interests.

The Mott McDonald report has no opinion or relevance against the military aerodrome design criteria and safety cases in place at the Station or the current operation of RAF Northolt. Any infrastructure investment for military operational requirements will continue to be undertaken as necessary to support military and Government outputs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the report produced by Ernst and Young for his Department in February 2012 on development options and safety standards at RAF Northolt recommended that an Engineered Material Arresting System be installed at RAF Northolt; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 28 January 2016 to Question 24027. The Mott MacDonald report referenced in that previous answer was an Appendix to the Ernst and Young study of February 2012.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions a UK port was not manned by Border Force officials in 2015; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

There was 1 instance where a port with scheduled arrivals was unmanned by Border Force in 2015. In July 2015, Border Force Officers failed to meet a regular charter plane in Cambridge due to a road traffic accident preventing access to the airport. Checks on passengers were completed on the arrival of Border Force Officers.

In exercising their functions, Border Force officers are mandated to carry out full checks on all individuals entering the UK. Border Force has an established intelligence led approach and risk assessments regarding non-scheduled arrivals. This allows Border Force to provide effective border controls throughout the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the finding of the Syria Relief Network’s survey of refugees that only a third of Syrian child refugees currently attend school; what assistance her Department is providing to ensure that more Syrian child refugees receive an education; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK, alongside UNICEF, has led the No Lost Generation Initiative (NLGI), which supports education for children in Syria and the region. We have allocated £122 million to NLGI since the start of the crisis, providing formal and non-formal education for hundreds of thousands of children in the region. We have improved early grade education, provided non-formal education and counselling in Jordan, and boosted formal, non-formal and catch-up education for underserved children in Lebanon. Our programmes provided catch-up classes in essential subjects for more than 160,000 inside Syria, and textbooks for more than 350,000 in Lebanon.

In February we hosted the Supporting Syria and the Region conference in London, where participants agreed that all 1.7 million refugee and vulnerable children in countries neighbouring Syria will be in quality education by the end of 2016/2017 school year. DFID committed to increase funding on education in Jordan and Lebanon to £240 million up to 2020/2021 and is currently designing new programmes, aligned behind national education plans, to help deliver these ambitious goals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether changes have been made to the way evidence of illegal entry is recorded in response to the recommendations made in the report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, An Inspection of General Aviation and General Maritime, published in January 2016, and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

Border Force fully accepted the recommendations of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration regarding General Aviation and General Maritime and is implementing changes as quickly as practicable. Border Force is working with other government departments and partners to deliver improvement during 2016-2017 and is closely monitoring progress.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions of people involved in providing transport for illegal immigrants there have been in the each of the last seven years.

James Brokenshire

Individuals prosecuted for smuggling illegal immigrants/stowaways in their vehicles – in the period 2014 to 2016 as set out below:

2014/2015 – 52

2015/2016 – 88

Prior to March 2014, this information was not recorded centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the result of the EU referendum on the timetable for a decision on Heathrow expansion.

Mr John Hayes

As we move into the new world beyond our membership of the European Union, it is important that we are an outward-facing nation with strong business ties around the world. It is important that we get the decision on runway capacity right. We will take that decision and move ahead with our plans, ensuring that we have the right links for the future.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish a review of the effectiveness of Local Economic Partnerships; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Percy

The effectiveness of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) is assessed by this Department and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on an on-going basis. My Department does not publish information on internal conversations or assessment of LEPs. We are currently assessing LEPs’ proposals for a further round of Growth Deals, which includes an assessment of their growth strategy, the strength of their governance and partnerships and their record of delivery. We intend to announce Growth Deals later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many representations he has received from business groups on the reform of business rates in the last six months; if he will publish such representations; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Government’s recent consultation on Business Rates Retention received 21 representations from businesses or associated representative bodies. The Government will publish its response to the outcome of this consultation in due course. To ensure business views are fully taken into account government has also established a business interest group, to contribute to the policy and technical debate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which agreed EU directives have not yet been transposed directly into UK law; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation.

There are currently 23 EU Directives relating to my Department’s responsibilities awaiting transposition into UK law.