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, 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.

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 number of UK-based jobs in each region likely to be sustained by his Department’s decision to procure the Boeing P8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft fleet.

Mr Philip Dunne

The UK is in negotiations with Boeing on the route to contract for P-8, which will determine how the programme will affect UK-based jobs. It is expected the P-8 will have a significant impact on the UK economy: P-8 is based on the Boeing 737, the supply chain for which already includes UK industry, and the UK also manufactures subsystems of the P-8. Purchase of the aircraft will also create opportunities for UK industry to bid for training and support contracts, and basing of this fleet at RAF Lossiemouth will bring significant economic benefits to Scotland. Boeing estimates that in total, its entire P-8 programme could generate over US$1 billion to the UK supply chain and economy.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 31 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, when he plans for the new class of general purpose frigates to be in service.

Mr Philip Dunne

The cost and schedule of the general purpose frigate programme outlined in the White Paper National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence And Security Review 2015 (Cmd 9161) has yet to be determined. The programme will be scoped during a concept study as part of the programme announced by the Prime Minister on 23 November 2015 (Official Report: column 1049).

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 36 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what the costs are of the Successor programme.

Mr Philip Dunne

As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 15 (Cm9161), our latest estimate of the total cost to manufacture the four Successor submarines is £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.

We expect that, once the Successor submarines come into service, the in-service costs of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, which include the costs of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, will be similar to those of today – around 6% of the Defence budget.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what cyber capabilities he plans to be based at the National Cyber Centre.

Matthew Hancock

As announced in the Chancellor’s speech of 17 November, a National Cyber Centre will be launched in 2016. The new National Cyber Security programme will determine which cyber capabilities will be incorporated in the National Cyber Centre.

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 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 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on his Department leasing Lockheed Orion P-3 aircraft from the US administration.

Michael Fallon

I met Secretary Carter at the Pentagon on 11 December 2015 where we discussed our approach to delivering Maritime Patrol capability against the demanding timelines set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.