Tag: Margaret Ritchie

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent progress has been made on the accelerated decommissioning programme for nuclear waste in the UK.

Jesse Norman

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA’s) strategy was last updated and published in April of 2016. Progress is monitored in the NDA’s annual report and accounts, supplemented with quarterly progress reports on its business plan, as well as regular updates for priority programmes and major projects. All these documents are available on the NDA’s website.

Some of the highlights include good progress on priority projects, such as regular retrieval of waste from legacy facilities at Sellafield, removal of all spent nuclear fuel from the Oldbury nuclear power station and the ongoing defueling of the nuclear power station at Wylfa on Anglesey following its closure in December 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who she met during her visit to China in November 2015; and what was (a) discussed and (b) agreed at those meetings.

George Eustice

During her visit the Secretary of State met a number of her counterparts, supported the two week long Food is GREAT Campaign in China and took with her the largest ever UK delegation to the Food and Hotel China trade show. She signed agreements to open the markets for UK barley and pigs trotters worth up to £190m over 5 years and discussed the forward plan for opening up the markets for poultry, beef and lamb. She discussed shared priorities with the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Water Resources and agreed programmes of closer collaboration.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has for consultation with (a) civil society groups, (b) the devolved administrations and (c) Northern Ireland to inform its report for the third cycle of the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review.

Dominic Raab

We have not yet been informed of the date of the third Universal Periodic Review of the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support the Government is providing to healthcare systems in countries affected by the Zika virus.

Mr Nick Hurd

The Department for International Development is working with the Department for Heath, who are leading the UK government’s response to Zika, and Public Health England and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This includes supporting the World Health Organisation in galvanising an effective international response.

DFID is adapting ongoing health programmes to focus on preparing for Zika. DFID has active health system strengthening programmes in many of our partner countries. DFID provides support to the health sector in a number of countries in South East Asia and the Commonwealth Caribbean.

These programmes aim to build the capacity of health systems to prevent, detect, and treat communicable disease outbreaks. These countries already respond to dengue, which is transmitted through the same vector as the Zika virus.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the remaining total cost to the public purse will be of construction at Hinkley Point C should that project receive approval.

Jesse Norman

Under the terms of the contract, which has yet to be entered into, the remaining total cost to the public purse for the construction at Hinkley Point C would be borne entirely by the developer, who would bear all the construction risk. If construction comes in under budget then any savings above a threshold would be shared with consumers, but if there are overspends then the developer would bear any additional costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government plans to take, other than by offering support to other countries in the region, to ensure that the UK meets its international obligations to refugees from the conflict in Syria.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK is at the forefront of the response to the Syrian crisis and has committed over £1.1 billion to date. This makes us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. We continue to play a leading role in encouraging the international community to contribute generously to the UN appeals. We are exploring with the UN and major donors how best to ensure that the momentum on fund-raising is maintained in the longer term, including in response to the upcoming 2016 Appeals.

The conflict raises significant protection concerns for civilians. We continue to call on all parties to the conflict to respect International Law and ensure free, unimpeded access for impartial humanitarian agencies to provide vital assistance to those in need.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the outcomes were of her visit to China in November 2015; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

During her visit the Secretary of State met a number of her counterparts, supported the two week long Food is GREAT Campaign in China and took with her the largest ever UK delegation to the Food and Hotel China trade show. She signed agreements to open the markets for UK barley and pigs trotters worth up to £190m over 5 years and discussed the forward plan for opening up the markets for poultry, beef and lamb. She discussed shared priorities with the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Water Resources and agreed programmes of closer collaboration.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the implications are of her Department breaching its Resource Annually Managed expenditure for the funding of other policies in her Department.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

There are no implications for the funding of other policies in my Department as a result of this breach of the Resource Annually Managed Expenditure limit. The Department’s operational expenditure is not included in this category of expenditure. Details of the breach were provided in the Northern Ireland Office Annual Report and Account 2014-15 which is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447028/NIO_Accounts_2014-2015.pdf

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to support the efforts to find a cure for the Zika virus.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK is supporting and commissioning research to better understand Zika virus, its epidemiology and impacts, with a particular focus on the risk to developing countries, and research into interventions to address this virus. This includes:

• DFID and Wellcome providing funding to commission Zika research on specific topics including understanding the spread of the disease and variation between Zika strains, the effectiveness of new and existing approaches to vector control.
• A general call for research proposals jointly issued by the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, and the Newton Fund for rapid turnaround projects. These studies will include disease surveillance, epidemiology, Zika transmission, research into Zika virus and clinical outcomes.
• The Department of Health’s UK Vaccine Network funding the University of Glasgow to develop explore a Zika vaccine.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the renewables industry in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the rest of the UK.

Jesse Norman

We remain committed to making Britain the best place in Europe to own and grow a business. That includes supporting those businesses that trade with the EU and the wider international markets, as well as continuing to encourage record foreign direct investment which supports business and communities up and down the country. Through our industrial strategy we will continue to put power in the hands of local communities to drive economic growth working in partnership with local business and civic leaders – to deliver an economy that works for all.