Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to relocate Civil Service staff from London to the West Midlands to support the West Midlands Combined Authority Deal; and if he will make a statement.

James Wharton

My Department has a number of staff who are already based in the West Midlands, who have worked closely – and who will continue to work closely – with the authorities of the West Midlands on the development and implementation of their devolution agreement and who support delivery of key growth programmes such as Enterprise Zones and European funding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what humanitarian support and assistance her Department plans to provide to aid agencies in Yemen in each of the next 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Sir Desmond Swayne

The UK more than doubled its humanitarian commitment to Yemen in 2015-16 to £85 million, making us the fourth largest donor last year. We have so far helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis who have been affected by the conflict. Over the next twelve months, we will continue to work with a range of partners to address the widespread humanitarian needs across Yemen, as well as helping to de-escalate the conflict, improve commercial and humanitarian access, lay the groundwork for recovery and push for a sustainable political solution. Budgets for 2016/17 will be announced in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many Civil Service employees of his Department were based in Coventry in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has 6 civil servants currently based in Coventry. Prior to that, some BIS employees were working on a multi-site basis. To establish which employees had worked in the Coventry office and the proportion of time they had spent in the Coventry office, over each of the past 5 years, would incur disproportionate costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from his European counterparts since the outcome of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

Mr David Lidington

The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and I have been holding, and will continue to hold, discussions with our EU counterparts since the referendum and the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) attended the European Council meeting on 29 June to explain the decision the British people have taken.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2016 to Question 42035, how many projects her Department jointly funded to look into the ecological value of ash dieback; and if she will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Defra funded a number of research projects in response to ash dieback, including two research projects to assess the ecological impacts of the disease on woodlands and other species. These have now been published and are available on the Defra science website:

http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=18994&FromSearch=Y&Publisher=1&SearchText=ash%20dieback&SortString=ProjectCode&SortOrder=Asc&Paging=10#Description

http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&Completed=0&ProjectID=19187

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will review the powers of local authority pensions schemes to indirectly invest in companies linked with the manufacture of cluster munitions.

Mr Marcus Jones

Investment decisions in the local government pension scheme are the responsibility of the 90 designated administering authorities in England and Wales and must be taken on the basis of expert advice and in compliance with the Scheme’s regulatory framework. Since 2000, pension fund authorities have been required to publish a statement of investment principles, including their policy on the extent to which social, environmental or ethical considerations are to be taken into account in the selection, retention and realisation of investments. The regulations also require that each statement is published locally.

We have no immediate plans to change these existing obligations, but will keep them under review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the total spend on High Speed 2 to date; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

Since 2009 the Government has spent £1.4bn on the HS2 programme. This covers the period up to and including 2015/16 and includes the costs incurred by HS2 Ltd and Land & Property (L&P) expenditure. Data for 2016/17 is provisional and is currently not included.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 43456; when he expects the objectives and approach of the UK to negotiations with the EU to be agreed.

Mr David Jones

The Prime Minister has been clear that we will trigger Article 50 b​efore the end of​ March 2017. The process for leaving the EU and determining our future relationship will clearly not be brief or straightforward, so we need to take time to think through our objectives and approach. We want to get the best deal for Britain, not the quickest one. We recognise the need to create certainty as soon as possible but also to get negotiations off to the right start.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many civil servants who work for his Department work in each EU member state other than the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak on 13 October, UIN 47419 and 47396.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK leaving the EU does not have a deleterious effect on the financial situation of small and medium-sized businesses; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James

The Government remains committed to making Britain the best place in Europe to start and grow a business. That includes supporting those businesses that trade with the EU and wider international markets, as well as continuing to encourage record foreign direct investment that supports business and communities up and down the country.

Over the coming weeks and months the Government will be engaging with businesses and key stakeholders up and down the country. We will listen to their concerns, aim to limit uncertainty in the transition and ensure our new relationship with the EU works for business.