Tag: Maria Eagle

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 estimate his Department has made of the potential additional revenue that would be generated for the BBC by extending the licence fee to include viewing content on iPlayer.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government is currently working with the BBC to come to an agreed estimate of the likely revenue impact. These measures are being introduced to ensure that payment of the licence fee is fair for the public and that those who enjoy BBC content pay the licence fee accordingly.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many public libraries have received funding from his Department to provide workplace training for their staff since 2010.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Public libraries are funded and run by local authorities. My Department has through Arts Council England’s Library Development Funding, which supports the development of public libraries in England including workforce training, provided £680,000 in 2012/13; £683,000 in 2013/14; £595,000 in 2014/15; and £744,000 in 2015/16. Workforce development is also one of the priorities of the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce, established in 2015 by my Department and the Local Government Association.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on the future availability of protected sporting events on free-to-air television; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Ofcom Code on Listed Events ensures that key sporting events are made available for free-to-air channels. Our sport strategy, Sporting Future: A new strategy for an active nation, published December 2015, made clear that the Government does not propose to review this list.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department’s planned expenditure on resources is for Ofcom in each year up to 2028.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government and Department set Ofcom’s overall spending cap as part of the 2015 Spending Review. Where significant changes are made to Ofcom’s remit or activities, Government will review the spending cap to ensure Ofcom is adequately resourced.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the annual running cost of the proposed fleet of Boeing P8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft when they first enter service.

Mr Philip Dunne

We are unable to release this information publicly while commercial negotiations are continuing.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which bases he plans to close as a result of the outcome of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.

Mark Lancaster

The Footprint Strategy examines the Defence Estate across the UK, with the aim of providing a smaller more sustainable estate in support of Military capabilities. Current work to define the Defence Footprint Strategy, will contribute to the Governments commitment to release public sector land for house building in this Parliament.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of his Department’s (a) running and (b) maintenance costs for Sentinel aircraft in each of the next five years.

Mr Philip Dunne

The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review announced the extended life of the Sentinel into the next decade. Detailed cost estimates are currently being finalised.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the proposed in-service date for the Successor class of submarines has been postponed.

Mr Philip Dunne

Designing and building submarines is one of the largest programmes and one of the most complex activities that the Ministry of Defence and UK Industry has ever undertaken. It is the purpose of a design phase to improve our understanding of costs and timescales, which we have now done. The current estimates reflect what we have learned since the design phase began.

As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2015 (Cm9161), our latest estimate of the total cost to manufacture the four Successor submarines reflects greater maturity of the design and understanding of the supply chain, amounts to £31 billion; we will also set a contingency of £10 billion. This level of contingency represents about 35% of the costs to completion and is a prudent estimate based on past experience of large, complex projects.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by when he plans for his Department to achieve its target strength for the Royal Navy 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 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the reduction in civilian headcount in his Department required to meet the efficiency and reform savings announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 for the 2015-16 financial year and in each of the next five such years.

Mark Lancaster

The civilian staff reductions announced as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review will be managed in a number of different ways. In the short term, the Ministry of Defence has agreed to make further savings and adjustments in this current financial year as part of the Government’s commitment to reducing the deficit. This is still on-going and may mean restrictions on recruitment.

Over the longer term, a number of change programmes already under way across the Department are reducing our civilian workforce. These programmes will continue, and individuals are already aware if they are affected. We will also drive forward programmes to consider better ways of delivering services, and explore opportunities to deliver outputs in more efficient or innovative ways.

We are confident these programmes will deliver the required reductions to meet the efficiency and reform savings announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.