Tag: Maria Eagle

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the target strength is for the Army Reserve.

Mr Julian Brazier

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by my right hon. Friend the previous Secretary of State for Defence (Philip Hammond) on 19 December 2013, (Official Report, column 124WS) on Future Reserves 2020, and the accompanying document that was placed in the Library of the House which sets out the planned growth of the trained strength of the Reserve Forces, together with the enlistment targets for the next five years.

I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2015 to the hon. Member for Strangford (Mr Shannon) to Question 11812 which explained the improvements we have made to ensure we reach our target strength of 35,000 trained volunteer Reservists by 31 March 2019.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Type (a) 45 Destroyers and (b) 23 Frigates will be used to host training programmes for Royal Navy personnel in 2015-16.

Penny Mordaunt

Training programmes for Royal Navy personnel are delivered on all Royal Navy ships and submarines as part of the unit’s generation and operation cycles, throughout individuals’ careers. We currently have six Type 45 Destroyers and 13 Type 23 Frigates in service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s expenditure was on the Single Persons Accommodation Centre for the Ex-Services in each year since 2010.

Mark Lancaster

The Single Persons Accommodation Centre for the Ex-Services (SPACES) is a charitable project working in partnership with Ministry of Defence (MOD) Joint Service Housing Advice Office. There have not been any MOD employees at SPACES since 2010.

SPACES assists the most vulnerable single Service Leavers to secure appropriate accommodation as they leave the Armed Forces in order to reduce the likelihood of them becoming homeless or rough sleepers. In order to ensure the provision of this service, the MOD has paid SPACES the following:

FY2010-11 = £170,750

FY2011-12 = £175,019

FY2012-13 = £179,394

FY2013-14 = £179,394

FY2014-15 = £179,394

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what risk assessment his Department made of making the Defence Infrastructure Organisation government-owned contractor-operated.

Mark Lancaster

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has been led by a Strategic Business Partner (SBP) since September 2014. The SBP contract allowed for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to instruct the incorporation of DIO as a Government-owned company (GovCo), subject to a value for money review.

I announced the conclusions of the review in my written statement of 10 December 2015 (Official Report, columns 55-56WS). The GovCo model would have been led by the SBP but 100% owned by the Secretary of State for Defence. A GovCo is distinct from a Government-owned contractor-operated organisation (GOCO) which has a different legal construct. The MOD has never proposed for the DIO to become a GOCO.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his Department’s spending on the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit was in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Intellectual Property Office has funded the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit as follows;

(a) 2013-14 £0.975m

(b) 2014-15 £1.423m

(c) 2015-16 £0.677m billed to September 2015 (funding period still ongoing)

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, by when he expects all households and businesses to have access to fibre optic broadband.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government will launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadband Universal Service Obligation by 2020, with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps, no matter where in the country they live. Almost 90% of households and businesses in the UK currently have access to superfast broadband – and we are on target for this to reach 95% by the end of 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department plans to publish the results of the consultation into a universal service obligation for superfast broadband.

Mr Edward Vaizey

In November 2015, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to introduce a broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Megabits per second (Mbps), no matter where they live. We intend to publish a consultation on our approach to introducing a broadband USO shortly, and will respond to that consultation in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on consumers of a merger between BT and EE; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey

It is for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to assess the potential impacts of company mergers in the UK. Its role is to protect competition for the benefit of consumers, not the commercial interests of competitors.

In the case of the takeover of EE by BT, the CMA considered the merger and all representations made to it and published its final decision in January, which can be found here [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-clears-btee-merger]

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to pages 13 and 39 of the White Paper, A BBC for the future: a broadcaster of distinction, published in May 2016, what his Department plans to spend the £85 million of new funding for the World Service on.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The additional Government funding for the BBC World Service was agreed as part of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 and will be provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It will be used to provide additional language services subject to agreement by the Foreign Secretary and the BBC Trust.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on ensuring financial support will be made available for local businesses in Knowsley and Liverpool once tolls are introduced on the Mersey Gateway bridge.

Andrew Jones

Following the previous Chancellor’s further statement in July 2015 that the Government is looking at extending Mersey Gateway bridge toll discounts to residents of Chester West & Chester and Warrington, officials are currently working through what the proposed further extension means for the scheme both by way of the cost to the Department but also and importantly what this would do to the commercial structure of the contracts already signed for the scheme. Once this is clear we will be able to provide more information.