Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review the number of counter-terrorism officials in the West Midlands; and if she will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes

The level and distribution of counter-terrorism resources across the country is informed by advice from the police and security and intelligence agencies on assessments of what is needed to counter the threat. This is regularly kept under review. For security reasons we do not publish a breakdown of counter-terrorism resources by region.

In the Spending Round 2013, specific funding for counter-terrorism policing was protected at £564.3 million for each of the years 2014-15 and 2015-16. We are also providing an additional £14.9 million in 2015-16 to the police to strengthen capabilities in response to the increased threat from terrorism.

In the Summer Budget on 8 July, we committed to protecting overall counter-terrorism spending across the course of the next Spending Review Period. On 16 November we said we would go further. Through the Strategic Defence and Security Review, we will make new funding available for the security and intelligence agencies to provide for an additional 1,900 officers – an increase of 15% – to better respond to the threat we face from international terrorism, cyber-attacks and other global risks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Iraqi counterpart on the autonomy of the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond) last met Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ja’afari in London on 22 January. The autonomy of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was not discussed at that meeting. However, the Foreign Secretary, the British Ambassador to Baghdad, the Consul General in Erbil and I regularly discuss with both the Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government, the importance of working together to defeat ISIL and deliver the stable, secure, prosperous and unified Iraq all Iraq’s people want.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 17311, what financial support his Department is providing for the Government’s Productivity Plan; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson

All Government Departments have a role in helping to raise productivity and foster a dynamic economy. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) holds many of the key productivity levers, including skills, innovation, competition and regulation. The bulk of BIS spending therefore supports the Productivity Plan. The table displays total BIS Departmental Expenditure Limits up to 2019/20, as set out in the Spending Review. Specifically with regard to research, the Government has committed to protect the science resource and capital budget in real terms during this Parliament.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479749/52229_Blue_Book_PU1865_Web_Accessible.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department is providing to fund mental health services for military personnel on active military duty; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence is absolutely committed to looking after the mental health of our Armed Forces personnel, and through the Defence budget we fund a range of military medical staff and facilities to provide community-based healthcare in line with national best practice. This includes the ability to deploy medical staff on major operations such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the UK, we have 16 permanent military Departments of Community Mental Health, which are located to be convenient for major centres of military population, and which support the provision of healthcare that is available through GPs in Service primary care facilities. In-patient care, when necessary, is provided in dedicated psychiatric units through a central contract with an external provider.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the building of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The British Government has repeatedly condemned settlement announcements. In meetings with our Israeli counterparts we continue to call on the Israeli authorities to cease all settlement building as required under international law. On 24 November, I reiterated our opposition to Israeli settlements in my meeting with Israel’s Head of Military Intelligence. On 10 September, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (David Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised our concerns about settlement building with Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of Royal Navy search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt

The Royal Navy has supported one dedicated Search and Rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea over the past five years, which was Op WEALD in 2015. This constituted the UK’s contribution to the international efforts in response to the migrant crisis. The additional cost of the Royal Navy support to this operation was £2.58 million, which was funded through the UK Aid Budget.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects the two emergency authorisations covering the use of two neonicotinoid pesticides on a small proportion of the UK oilseed rape crop to expire; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

Both emergency authorisations expired on 20 November 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that London is accessible by rail to people who cannot afford peak-time prices and are on lower incomes, when they are travelling to London for meetings during working hours.

Claire Perry

We recognise the pressure and concerns about the cost of some rail fares and the impact that this can have on people’s budgets which is why we have capped the rail fares we regulate at inflation (Retail Price Index) for three years running, and will continue to do so for the life of this Parliament. This means those commuter fares we regulate are only rising by 1% in 2016 making it the lowest fare increase since 2010. Keeping ticket prices low will benefit over a quarter of a million annual season ticket holders, providing an average saving of £425 over the next five years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made any revisions to (a) the amount his Department forecasts will be required for the diffuse mesothelioma payments scheme and (b) the number of people his Department forecasts will apply to receive payments from the scheme in the first 10 years of its operation since it last published those figures.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department makes revisions to the DMPS financial forecast annually for the purposes of calculating the levy. A Ministerial written statement (HCWS460) was tabled in the House of Commons on 12 January 2016 and provides details of the DMPS levy for 2015/16.

Similarly, the Department forecasts the number of applicants annually. In 2014/15, there were 410 applicants to the DMPS. The next set of official DMPS statistics will be released 28 January 2015 and will contain six months’ worth of data on applications for 2015/16. Assumptions could be derived from those figures for the remainder of the year.

No revisions have been made to longer term forecasts since the DMPS Impact Assessment was published 6 March 2014. This can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/286525/mesothelioma-payment-scheme-ia-mar-2014.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on multi-academy trust governance arrangements.

Edward Timpson

As at 1 February 2016 there are 2902 academy trusts. Of these, 951 are Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) and 1951 are Single Academy Trusts.

The Academies Financial Handbook[1] sets out that academy trusts must publish on their websites up-to-date details of their governance arrangements in a readily accessible form. Trusts must also publish the names of their members and trustees, and the membership of any committees, in their annual financial statements, a copy of which is sent to the Education Funding Agency and filed with the Companies Registrar. Trusts are also required to inform EFA of the names of their chair of trustees, accounting officer and chief financial officer.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-financial-handbook-2015

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