The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Forestry Commission England has spent on replanting in each year since 2000.
Rory Stewart
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway, Richard Arkless, on 5 January 2016, PQ20410.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what account his Department is taking of future levels of healthy life expectancy in making decisions on future levels of pension age.
Justin Tomlinson
The Pensions Act 2014 provides a statutory framework, which commits future governments to regular and structured review of the State Pension age at least once every six years. The first review, due to report by May 2017 will take into account up to date life expectancy data and the findings of the independently led review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department conducted an economic impact assessment of the proposed byelaw changes for the waters between the mainland of Scotland and the Island of Raasay.
Mark Lancaster
The views submitted by members of the public and other local stakeholders as part of the public consultation on the proposed changes will be used to inform if the Ministry of Defence is justified in producing an economic impact as this is not required as part of the review process.
Full and proper consultation on the proposed new byelaws with local fishing communities and stakeholders is part of the current byelaws review process. The review was preceded by initial discussions between QinetiQ and local fishing communities over the summer. While the byelaw review has been extended to the end of November 2015, there is no plan to suspend the on-going public consultation phase of the byelaw review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to increase tree-planting as a method of flood prevention.
Rory Stewart
In some places trees can slow the flow of water down stream and reduce the local impacts of floods. That is why flood risk management is one of the targeting criteria for woodland creation funded through the new Countryside Stewardship scheme. The Forestry Commission also continues to undertake research into understanding what role woodlands can play in managing flood risk.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will (a) review and (b) slow down the rate of increase in pensionable age for women.
Justin Tomlinson
The State Pension age changes, which were made to put pensions on a more financially sustainable footing given increases in life expectancy, were fully debated and voted on when the legislation was before Parliament.
During the Pensions Act 2011 a concession, worth £1.1 billion, was introduced to limit the impact of the rising State Pension age on those women most affected. These transitional arrangements capped the maximum delay at 18 months rather than two years, relative to the previous timetable.
Unwinding any of these changes means asking young people to assume more of the cost, and after they’ve already borne their fair share of the tough decisions made last Parliament to bring Government spending under control.
Therefore, the Secretary of State is clear that there are no plans to bring forward further concessions or changes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-11-20.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people making use of new pension freedoms have sought professional, regulated financial advice since April 2015.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government does not hold the information requested.
However, the Government is committed to ensuring that all consumers can access high quality, affordable advice so they can make informed decisions about their hard-earned money.
That is why the Treasury has launched, jointly with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Financial Advice Market Review which will examine how consumers can best be provided with the help and advice the need.
The Treasury and the FCA published a Call for Input on 12 October seeking views from all interested parties on how financial advice could work better for consumers. The Call for Input will run until 22 December and the review will report back with proposals ahead of Budget 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department plans to hold with colleagues in the Scottish Government on the environmental proposal for ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Cromarty firth.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Port of Cromarty Firth Oil Transfer Licence (OTL) application, which ran from 10 December 2015 to 8 February 2016 was sent to Scottish Government officials directly through Marine Scotland, and to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), and the Highland Council, in order to seek their views.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is the Competent Authority that assesses all applications for OTLs, and the MCA has regular contact with the Scottish Government and their appropriate officials on a number of issues, including ship-to-ship licencing. The MCA has worked closely with them on previous OTL applications and the development of the policy itself.
With the public consultation having just ended, the assessment phase will begin and the MCA looks forward to continuing this cooperation in relation to the Cromarty Firth proposal, prior to any decision being made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the main reasons for recent changes in the death rate.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State for Defence Procurement of 23 June 2015, columns 861-62, for what reasons full and proper consultation with local fishing communities in advance of consultation on byelaw revision has not taken place; and if he will suspend the byelaw consultation relating to waters between the Scottish mainland and Raasay.
Mark Lancaster
The views submitted by members of the public and other local stakeholders as part of the public consultation on the proposed changes will be used to inform if the Ministry of Defence is justified in producing an economic impact as this is not required as part of the review process.
Full and proper consultationon on the proposed new byelaws with local fishing communities and stakeholders is part of the current byelaws review process. The review was preceded by initial discussions between QinetiQ and local fishing communities over the summer. While the byelaw review has been extended to the end of November 2015, there is no plan to suspend the on-going public consultation phase of the byelaw review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department plans to take to extend the levels of support being given to the aluminium industry to the same level as that given to the steel industry.
Anna Soubry
The actions taken by the Government to support the steel sector, for example in respect of support for Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs) with their energy costs, will also benefit the UK aluminium industry. We have paid nearly £2.8 million compensation to date to companies producing aluminium since the EU Emissions Trading System and Carbon Price Support schemes began.
We look forward to the Aluminium Federation’s constructive involvement in establishing the Metals Council, which will work with Government to address opportunities and challenges facing the UK metals sectors. The Metals Council is an outcome from the Metals Strategy, to which both the Aluminium and Steel sectors provided key contributions.