Tag: Jessica Morden

The parliamentary question asked by Jessica Morden, the Labour MP for Newport East, in the House of Commons on 2 February 2023.

Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)

What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to promote the use of UK-made steel in public procurement.

The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Alex Burghart)

The Government are ensuring a competitive future for the UK steel industry, and the reported value of UK-produced steel procured by the Government was up last year by £160 million, from £108 million to £268 million.

Jessica Morden

In last week’s Westminster Hall debate, the steel Minister, the hon. Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani), said

“there is huge scope for more procurement to take place in the UK.”—[Official Report, 25 January 2023; Vol. 726, c. 331WH.]

Will the Cabinet Office commit to publishing up-to-date data on the Government’s record in using UK steel, because it has not been good enough so far, and to adopting ambitious targets across Departments on the use of domestic steel in public projects?

Alex Burghart

I am pleased to tell the hon. Lady right now that 67% of the steel required for High Speed 2 is UK-produced, 94% of the steel used to maintain our rail track is produced in the UK and 90% of the steel used to build schools is produced in the UK. I understand there will be an urgent question after Question Time, which will give her the opportunity to ask a Minister from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy about this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his Department’s policy is on providing direct web links to information requested in written parliamentary questions in the Answers to those questions.

Joseph Johnson

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not have a specific policy on the provision of web links. Parliamentary Questions are answered according to the preferred approach of each individual Minister.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken was to process applications and renewals by the Security Industry Authority in each month since January 2016.

Brandon Lewis

The average time taken to process 80% of applications (including renewals) within 25 working days is unavailable in the format requested.

The Security Industry Authority’s (SIA’s) new IT system (introduced in July 2016) enables more detailed performance analysis. The system shows that the average number of days for processing applications (including renewals) was 38 days in July and 30 days in August.

Once fully embedded, the SIA expect that the processing time for applications will be quicker than under the old system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding the Green Investment Bank has invested in fracking projects in the UK.

Anna Soubry

The Green Investment Bank has not invested in any fracking projects.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provisions the Security Industry Authority (SIA) has in place to compensate individuals who have lost their job as a result of delays of problems in SIA licence applications or renewals.

Brandon Lewis

Applicants for Security Industry Authority licences who have been unable to work while waiting for their licence to be renewed, and who request reimbursement for loss of earnings, can contact the Security Industry Authority to provide evidence of the loss suffered. Payment of compensation will then be considered, based on the evidence provided and a review of all the circumstances of the application.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he estimates the Severn River crossing concession will end.

Andrew Jones

The Severn River Crossing concession is currently forecast to end in 2018.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for customer service of changing the operation of the Security Industry Authority contact centre from telephone to email.

Brandon Lewis

The Security Industry Authority is moving towards a digital by default licensing system. We are aware that there have been issues during the transition to digital which have resulted in higher than expected volumes of customer contact.

We are working closely with the Security Industry Authority to ensure customer service issues are addressed; the Security Industry Authority have already increased the number of staff responding to customer queries.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the level of the Government’s accumulated deficit at the end of the concession period for the Severn Bridges.

Andrew Jones

The accumulated deficit is estimated to be £63m at the end of the concession.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he will respond to the Report of the Law Commission Consumer Prepayments on Retailer Insolvency HC543, published on 13 July 2016.

Margot James

The Government is considering the recommendations of the Law Commission and will respond in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 1.274 of Budget 2016, what plans the Government has made for the timetable of the review of the case for free-flow tolling on the Severn River Crossings.

Andrew Jones

The timings of the review of free-flow tolling have yet to be decided, and will depend on the complexity of the options to be assessed, including the details of payment collection and enforcement.