Tag: Jim Cunningham

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from his Russian counterpart on Russian military operations in Syria and Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has received a number of representations from the Russian Government regarding military operations in Syria and Iraq. Most recently, the Russian Ambassador to the UK met FCO officials on 8 October 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance and support her Department is providing to refugees based in Turkey; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Turkey hosts almost 2.1 million refugees from Syria, the highest number of refugees of any country in the region surrounding Syria. We commend the generosity that Turkey has shown towards those fleeing the conflict in Syria. The UK has allocated £34 million to support Syrian refugees in Turkey, including food, shelter and primary healthcare. The UK is also working in partnership with Turkish institutions on targeted projects to build their capacity to tackle irregular migration. The EU is currently working in partnership with the Turkish government to explore options for increased support to Turkey. The UK is engaged in this process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of public health measures designed to limit sugar consumption; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

We requested that Public Health England (PHE), an executive agency of the Department responsible for improving the nation’s health and wellbeing, prepare evidence for the Government on reducing sugar consumption. This was published on 22 October and can be found on the GOV.UK website. Ministers are considering the evidence and working closely with PHE to develop policy in this area.

Sugar Reduction: The evidence for action is available at:

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/470179/Sugar_reduction_The_evidence_for_action.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support his Department is providing to local authorities to meet localised demand for parking spaces; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones

Local authorities have the power and responsibility to provide adequate parking provision in their area. They are best placed to understand and ensure the parking needs of their local communities are met. It would be inappropriate for Central Government to intervene in this matter. Communities now have the opportunity to challenge local authorities’ parking policies if they think provision is inadequate. This is set out at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-challenge-parking-policies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what review his Department has conducted of average waiting times for NHS services across England and Wales in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

Although the Department does not conduct reviews of average waiting times in the National Health Service in England, NHS England publish on a monthly basis a full and comprehensive set of data on NHS performance against operational waiting time standards. Health is a devolved matter in Wales.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has carried out of the adequacy of parking capacity across local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones

Local authorities have the power and responsibility to provide adequate parking provision in their area. They are best placed to understand and ensure the parking needs of their local communities are met. It would be inappropriate for Central Government to intervene in this matter. Communities now have the opportunity to challenge local authorities’ parking policies if they think provision is inadequate. This is set out at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-challenge-parking-policies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2015 to Question 11946, if his Department will provide additional funding for local authorities to assist them in building new homes; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis

The Government provides an annual settlement to local authorities in England to fund delivery of key local services. Since 2013/14 authorities have retained any council tax raised on new homes built. In addition, the Coalition Government introduced the New Homes Bonus, which has to date allocated some £3.4 billion of funding to local authorities to recognise delivery of over 700,000 homes and over 100,000 long term empty properties returned to use.

The 2012 Housing Revenue Account self-financing settlement gave local authorities the freedom to plan their housing businesses in the long term. In the 3 years between 2012/13 and 2014/15 councils built 3,630 local authority dwellings. 2014 saw the highest number of council housing starts for 23 years (2,630 dwellings). In 2015/16 and 2016/17 we are also providing 36 local authorities with almost £222 million of additional borrowing headroom to develop over 3,000 additional homes.

Future spending priorities will be determined through the Spending Review process currently underway.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment her Department has made of the ability of the UK solar industry to meet service demand; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

As set out in the November 2013 Renewable Energy Roadmap Update, analysis indicated a potential deployment range of 7-20 GW (equivalent to 6-18 TWh) of solar PV at all scales, with 20GW being our estimate of the technical maximum level of solar PV deployment by 2020 on the basis of grid and other constraints. Solar PV in the UK was 8.007GW as of August 2015¹.

In the absence of cost effective storage, solar PV can make a contribution to meeting electricity demand but this will be limited by the nature of its diurnal cycle.

REF:

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solar-pv-deployment-august-2015

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of crowded airspace on British military assets operating in Syria; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt

The Coalition has implemented safe separation measures for aircraft operating in Syria and keeps the issue under constant review. In addition, we welcome the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the prevention of flight safety incidents between the US, acting on behalf of the global coalition, and Russia. UK aircraft operating over Syria as part of the coalition campaign against ISIL are following these safe separation measures and the procedures in the Memorandum of Understanding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many sites are approved for fracking in England and Wales; what the location is of each such site; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

Licensing and consent of onshore oil and gas activities in England is now a matter for the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA). Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences are not specific to shale gas. They grant exclusive rights to extract hydrocarbons, including shale gas but also other hydrocarbons, within a particular onshore area. A separate consent from the OGA is required before any drilling or hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can take place, as well as planning permission, environmental permits and review of the well design by the Health and Safety Executive.

The OGA does not have any undetermined consent applications.