Tag: Laurence Robertson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with local authorities on their duties to ensure landowners clear ditches adjacent to their own land as a means of reducing flood risk.

Rory Stewart

Landowners are responsible for maintaining the bed and banks of watercourses on their land, and for clearing obstructions to the flow of water.

Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) have powers under the Land Drainage Act 1991 to require the relevant landowners to maintain the flow of a watercourse.

The Environment Agency, exercising its strategic oversight responsibilities, works closely with IDBs and LLFAs to ensure they are managing local flood risk effectively.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farmers who were on the Higher Level Scheme and Entry Level Scheme have joined the Countryside Stewardship Scheme; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

Natural England is currently processing 2,848 applications for the new Countryside Stewardship Scheme. 1,526 agreements have been offered so far and 859 have been accepted. All agreements will have a start date of 1 January 2016.

‪ The number of farmers applying who were formerly in Entry Level Stewardship is not yet known. Natural England is, however, currently working on applications from at least 159 farmers whose Higher Level Stewardship agreements are due to end in 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to assist people living in low-income households to improve energy-inefficient properties.

Andrea Leadsom

A reformed domestic supplier obligation (ECO) from April 2017, which will run for 5 years, will upgrade the energy efficiency of over 200,000 homes per year tackling the root cause of fuel poverty. Our extension of the Warm Home Discount to 2020/21 at current levels of £320m per annum will also help vulnerable households with their energy bills.

We intend to focus our efforts through ECO and the Warm Home Discount more effectively on the fuel poor, and will be consulting on our future approach in the spring.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the range of therapy available on the NHS to people with autism.

David Mowat

Local authorities and their partners including the National Health Service are currently completing a self-assessment exercise on the progress they are making in implementing the Adult Autism Strategy. The assessment includes answering questions on the type of support being provided to people with autism. Public Health England expects to publish the results of that exercise in March 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many registered financial advisers are sole traders.

Harriett Baldwin

This is an operational matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply to you directly by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Environment Agency on the condition of the national drainage system.

Rory Stewart

The Environment Agency and Defra work closely with the water industry to support the development of resilient drainage systems.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase the amount of British meat sold in supermarkets.

George Eustice

2016 is the Year of Great British food; there will be a series of events throughout the year to generate interest in British food. The campaign will act as a catalyst for growth and innovation of British food in domestic and export markets inspiring emerging, high potential British food businesses and new talent to the sector.

Since April 2015, fresh and frozen pork, poultry, sheep and goat must now have its country of origin labelled by law and many retailers and caterers are taking steps to source and signpost British produce.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will increase Government funding for emergency food aid to Ethiopia.

Mr Nick Hurd

We are very concerned about the impact of the current drought on the food security situation for 18 million people across Ethiopia. Britain is working closely with the Government of Ethiopia and the international community to ensure adequate funding for drought response activities.

We acted quickly and decisively at the onset of the drought by providing emergency food aid for 2.1 million people in 2015. This year, we have committed £40 million to provide food aid to a further 3.8 million people in April.

In collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, DFID is also ensuring that 120,000 severely malnourished children receive treatment in order to recover quickly.

Our overall funding for the drought to date is £113 million. We are continuing to work with the Government of Ethiopia and other donors to make sure needs are being met. We are monitoring the situation closely.

UK Aid resilience work with the Government of Ethiopia has helped prepare 10 million people to cope with this drought.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available for victims of sexual abuse under the age of 13.

Sarah Newton

The Government is committed to providing support for both victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. In 2016-17 we have made £7 million available to organisations working with victims and survivors of sexual abuse. £4.74 million has been provided to Police and Crime Commissioners to distribute to organisations working with victims and survivors locally. £600,000 was allocated directly from the Home Office to six organisations working with victims and survivors across the country.

The Government is committed to transforming mental health services for children and young people, and £1.25 billion has been provided to support this. It is expected that by 2020 an extra 70,000 children and young people will be helped every year.

On 13 September, I announced that £7.2 million had been provided by the Home Office to pilot two ‘Child Houses’ in London. The Houses will provide child-oriented multi-agency support for child victims under one roof. We are currently considering how, if the pilot is successful, we can make this model more widely available.

The Government is continuing to work with local areas to ensure that children of any age who are victims, or at risk of, abuse, can receive the support they need in a timely fashion.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many regulated Retail Financial Advisory firms there are; and how many have five or more financial advisers working for them.

Harriett Baldwin

This is an operational matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply to you directly by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.