Tag: Greg Knight

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has undertaken or commissioned into the effect on humans of high levels of bisphenol A caused by consuming food and drinks sold in some plastic containers; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

We are advised by the Food Standards Agency, which has responsibility for food safety, that the United Kingdom’s view remains that exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) from food contact materials does not represent a risk to consumers.

In January 2015, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published its latest re-evaluation of BPA exposure and toxicity. EFSA’s experts concluded that BPA poses no health risk to consumers of any age group (including unborn children, infants and adolescents) at current exposure levels from food contact materials.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when a British frigate or destroyer was last assigned to protect the Falkland Islands; whether there has been any change in his Department’s policy on the provision of such protection: and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt

The Atlantic Patrol Tasking (South) duty provides a tangible presence in the South Atlantic, maintaining a commitment to provide support and reassurance to British Overseas Territories in the region, including the Falkland Islands.

The last frigate or destroyer in the vicinity of the Falkland Islands was the Type 23 frigate HMS LANCASTER; she completed this task in early December 2015.

There has been no change to our policy. We continually review our security posture in the Falkland Islands, which remain defended by a range of military assets including the patrol vessel HMS CLYDE, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ship and around 1,200 UK personnel operating Royal Air Force Typhoon jets, ground defences and supporting infrastructure. In addition, other Royal Navy ships would be retasked to the Falkland Islands if required.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on his plans to limit motorway roadworks to no more than stretches of two miles.

Andrew Jones

We are undertaking the biggest investment in roads in a generation to deliver better journeys for motorists. Highways England’s top priority is maintaining the safety of all motorists and road workers whilst keeping disruption to a minimum.

Highways England, as a general principle, aim to reduce the lengths of roadworks to a maximum of 10 miles, shorter if possible and if safety allows.

They will also be carrying out trials to raise the speed limit through roadworks to 55mph where it is safe to do so in order to help minimise queues.

These changes could come into effect on many new schemes from 2017 depending on the outcome of the trials.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the undulations in the road surface of the M180 east of junction 4 in respect of which warning signs have been erected, to be eradicated; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

Highways England are aware of a problem with the underlying road construction of the M180 east of junction 4, which affects the ride quality on that section of the motorway. Highways England has carried out, and will continue to carry out, surface repairs to ensure the road surface remains safe and serviceable. In the longer term, substantial reconstruction works will be required to prevent the recurrence of these problems and investigations into this are being undertaken.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which countries his Department advises people not to visit on account of the threat to health there posed by the Zika virus.

James Duddridge

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not advise against travel to any country on account of the presence of Zika virus. The FCO travel advice advises British nationals who are planning travel to areas with confirmed cases of locally transmitted Zika virus to follow the advice of the National Travel Health Network and Centre and to discuss their travel plans with their healthcare provider, particularly if they are pregnant or planning to become pregnant.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commission research into improving pedestrian safety on pavements and to determine whether accidents occur more often on tarmacadam or on concrete slab surfaces; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport has no current plans to commission research into the issue of pedestrian’s safety on footways or to ascertain whether accidents occur more often on tarmacadam or on concrete slab surfaces.

Guidance is already available to highway authorities in respect to providing good and safe surfaces for pedestrians. The Department for Transport Manual for Streets – https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/341513/pdfmanforstreets.pdf – also provides advice on footways and advises that surfaces used by pedestrians need to be smooth and free from trip hazards.

It is ultimately for each highway authority to decide on what materials they use for ensuring the best footway surface for the area for which they are responsible.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what further resources from the Local Growth Fund he intends to make available to allow additional road improvements; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department for Transport is contributing over £6 billion to the Local Growth Fund in this parliament. This is already helping to fund over 300 road improvement schemes in Local Enterprise Partnerships’ programmes. Local Enterprise Partnerships will soon have the opportunity to make further bids to the Local Growth Fund for new projects, including a £475m element for very large major transport schemes. The Government will be providing details shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s most recent advice is for British citizens seeking to holiday abroad on the risk of illness from the Zika virus; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice advises British nationals who are planning to travel to areas with confirmed cases of locally transmitted Zika virus to follow the advice of the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC). They should also discuss their travel plans with their healthcare provider, particularly if they are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. The current advice issued by NaTHNaC is that pregnant women should postpone non-essential travel to areas with current active Zika virus transmission until after pregnancy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason his Department deploys speed cameras that photograph vehicles from the front in addition to speed cameras that photograph vehicles from the rear; and for what reasons his Department does not have a single policy on the deployment of such cameras.

Andrew Jones

It is for local authorities and police to decide how they wish to operate speed cameras. The Department issued guidance in 2007 entitled “Use of speed and red-light cameras for traffic enforcement: guidance on deployment, visibility and signing”. I wrote to all local authorities in England and Wales on 20 October 2015 to remind them of the guidance which is available on gov.uk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will commission a study into the effect on bird and marine life of off-shore windfarms; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

The Planning Inspectorate is responsible for examining development consent applications for nationally significant infrastructure projects, including offshore renewable energy installations over 100MW in English and Welsh waters and their adjacent offshore waters, and then making a recommendation to the Secretary of State at Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) for the final decision.

As part of the planning process, the environmental impacts of offshore renewable energy installations are considered through the requirement to undertake project level Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Habitats Regulations Assessments (HRAs). In order to improve the evidence on the extent of the environmental impacts of offshore renewable energy installations, the Offshore Renewables Joint Industry Programme (ORJIP) was initiated by DECC, Marine Scotland and The Crown Estate. ORJIP includes a longer-term project to improve empirical evidence on the impacts of offshore renewables on marine species, such as birds and marine mammals. Further information is available at http://www.carbontrust.com/client-services/technology/innovation/offshore-renewables-joint-industry-programme-orjip/.

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