Tag: Ian Lavery

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what arrangements have been made to ensure that fire cover remains available whilst fire crews are responding to major floods.

Mike Penning

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 requires that fire and rescue services have plans in place, working with local partners, to deal with emergencies such as flooding, and to ensure that the appropriate level of resource is available. Fire and rescue authorities are also required by the statutory Fire and Rescue National Framework for England to produce Integrated Risk Management Plans which identify the full range of risks to which an authority’s service is expected to respond, and to consult the local community on those plans.

In addition, fire and rescue authorities’ mutual aid arrangements are well established under Section 13 and Section 16 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. These arrangements ensure continuity of service provision across authority boundaries, through mutual assistance from supporting authorities and other agencies other than the host fire and rescue authorities. The National Coordination and Advisory Framework, a collaborative arrangement between the Government, the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser and Chief Fire Officers Association, is in place to both support and supplement these arrangements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to include a fully-resourced in-house option in value for money tests on potential outsourcing of Defence Business Services.

Mark Lancaster

In the event that the Ministry of Defence decided to outsource elements of Defence Business Services it would, in line with normal practice, ensure that a rigorous in-house benchmark was developed against which the value for money of any commercial bids could be judged.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received on introducing a statutory duty on the fire and rescue service to respond to major flooding; and if he will make a statement.

Mike Penning

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.

Both the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 detail the roles and powers of fire and rescue authorities, in respect of both emergency response and rescue in a wide range of situations, including from flooding. Fire and rescue authorities are expected to undertake integrated risk management planning, dovetailed with the community risk register overseen by the Local Resilience Forum (a multi-agency grouping of which fire and rescue authorities are key members). Integrated Risk Management Plans identify the full range of risks that an authority’s service is expected to respond to and are subject to consultation. The National Fire Framework published in July 2012 and given statutory effect in August 2012 makes this clear and I believe that fire and rescue authorities are fully competent to deliver on this.

The Government has had no recent representations on this arrangement and in light of how well fire services have responded to recent flooding suggests there is no need for review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civilian enforcement officers were employed by HM Courts and Tribunal Service in each year since 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Sir Oliver Heald

The number of civilian enforcement officers that were employed by HM Courts and Tribunals Service since 2013 are:-

	Headcount	FTE (Full time Equivalent)
December 2013	296	287.49
December 2014	242	231.18
December 2015	212	202.59
September 2016	185	173.72

Data prior to 2013 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

HMCTS takes recovery and enforcement of financial impositions very seriously and is working to ensure that clamping down on defaulters is a continued priority nationwide and remains committed to finding new ways to ensure impositions are paid and to trace those who do not pay. This is why there has been a year on year increase in the total amount of financial penalties collected over the last five years. The amount of money collected has risen from £310m at the end of 2014/115 to a record of £381 million at the end of 2015/16.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on civil contingencies of the policies announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Mr Oliver Letwin

My officials and I worked closely with departments and the Treasury in preparing for the spending review to ensure that crucial civil contingencies capabilities were maintained. The settlement outlined in the Autumn Statement strikes the right balance between protecting the public and communities and reducing the budget deficit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what dates the National Flood Resilience Review met; what the dates are for future meetings of that review; and if he will publish the (a) agendas for and (b) minutes of meetings of that review.

Mr Oliver Letwin

The National Flood Resilience Review Group meets regularly to review progress of the review. We do not comment on specific date, nor do we publish agendas or minutes

The National Floods Resilience Review Group is chaired by Oliver Letwin and consists of Ministers and senior officials from relevant departments, including Defra, DECC, DfT, DCLG, HMT, DCMS, the Environment Agency and the Met Office.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he and his ministerial colleagues have had with the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the creation of a statutory duty on firefighters in England and Wales to respond to flooding.

Mike Penning

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.

Both the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 detail the roles and powers of fire and rescue authorities, in respect of both emergency response and rescue in a wide range of situations, including from flooding. Fire and rescue authorities are expected to undertake integrated risk management planning, dovetailed with the community risk register overseen by the Local Resilience Forum (a multi-agency grouping of which fire and rescue authorities are key members). Integrated Risk Management Plans identify the full range of risks that an authority’s service is expected to respond to and are subject to consultation. The National Fire Framework published in July 2012 and given statutory effect in August 2012 makes this clear and I believe that fire and rescue authorities are fully competent to deliver on this.

The Government has had no recent representations on this arrangement and in light of how well fire services have responded to recent flooding suggests there is no need for review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total cost was of London International Shipping Week (LISW) 2013; how much of that cost was borne by his Department; and what those costs were for LISW 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

London International Shipping Week is an industry-led and organised week, comprising over 80 events arranged by many organisations. The total cost of the week is not, therefore, information which is held by the Government.

The Department hosted or jointly hosted a small number of key events in both years, costing just over £4,000 in 2013 and £5,500 in 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many officials from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (a) spoke at and (b) attended scheduled events during London International Shipping Week 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Sir Alan Massey, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, spoke at a scheduled event to promote the UK Ship Register, and 39 officials attended scheduled events during London International Shipping Week 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many officials in his Department worked at events scheduled as part of London International Shipping Week 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Department for Transport (DfT) and Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) officials (excluding Ministerial Private Secretaries) worked at the following events scheduled as part of London International Shipping Week 2015:

• At the joint Government/Maritime UK Welcome Reception at Lancaster House, 28 officials worked in a voluntary capacity (as the event took place outside of normal working hours) to support the event.

• At the “Celebration of International Partnership” reception, jointly hosted with the Ministry of Defence, 13 officials worked in a voluntary capacity (as the event took place outside of normal working hours) to support the Royal Navy in delivering the event.

• Maritime security officials within DfT organised two security-related seminars which involved 5 and 3 officials respectively.

• The MCA organised a reception to promote the UK Ship Register, at which 4 officials worked.

In addition, 4 DfT and MCA officials delivered speeches/presentations at HMG events during the week and DfT Ministers attending government and industry organised events were accompanied by a Private Secretary.