Tag: Matthew Offord

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to support the inclusion of the Fountain Cavern in Anguilla in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Fountain Cavern is not currently on the UK World Heritage Tentative List, which is the first step in the process towards World Heritage Site status. If the site wishes to progress towards World Heritage Site status in the future, it will be important for the nominators to have prepared a thorough body of research to support the application. Organisations such as the UK National Commission for UNESCO and World Heritage UK are happy to provide advice on this process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to support the Maldivian government in counter-terrorism efforts.

Mr Hugo Swire

Counter-terrorism is an area on which we are keen to work closely with the Maldivian Government. I discussed this with representatives of the Government, including President Yameen, during my visit to the Maldives in January 2016. Most recently, in April 2016, a group of Maldivian police officers visited the UK to discuss further cooperation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-07-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will review the technical guidance on householder permitted development rights to minimise the visual impact of loft extensions.

Brandon Lewis

Permitted development rights for householders are set out in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. The rights allow for loft extensions to the rear or side of dwellinghouses. To minimise the impact on the amenity of an area there are conditions limiting their size and appearance. These are explained in the Technical Guidance which was reviewed and updated in April 2016. Where the development exceeds the thresholds, or is to the front of a dwellinghouse, an application for planning permission is required.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many penalty charge notices have been issued since the introduction of the free-flowing element at the Dartford Crossing.

Andrew Jones

Since the introduction of the Dart Charge remote payment system at the Dartford Crossing on 30 November 2014, there have been 1,594,225 penalty charge notices issued to UK drivers and 380,663 passed to a European Debt Recovery Agency for issue to overseas drivers (to 31 October 2015). There have been 42,499,904 chargeable crossings during the same period, so this equates to 4.6% of all chargeable crossings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Strategic Defence and Security Review on the global reach of the Royal Navy.

Penny Mordaunt

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 27 January 2016 to Question 23411.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=23411

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to assist the Maldivian government with its governance reform plan.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Government, along with others in the international community, has a number of concerns about governance and human rights in the Maldives. This includes the decreasing independence of institutions, the diminishing freedoms of expression and association, and the arbitrary detention of political figures. I discussed these issues with President Yameen and his Government when I visited the Maldives in January 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions his Department has had with members of the National Assembly for Wales on the proposed Blue Route M4 relief road.

Guto Bebb

The M4 is one of Wales’ vital arteries and an important strategic route across Britain. It has been clear for some time that congestion on the M4 corridor around Newport is damaging the Welsh economy, and that an upgrade is urgently required. The Secretary of State for Wales met with the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure following his appointment to discuss options for upgrading the M4.

The Welsh Government has announced that an independent public inquiry to examine its preferred route for the M4 relief road will commence in the Autumn. I look forward to seeing the inquiry’s findings and to a positive outcome to the benefit of both businesses and commuters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support people affected by the rocket attack on Camp Liberty, Baghdad, on 29 October 2015.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We strongly condemn the shameful attack against the civilian residents of Camp Liberty in Iraq on 29 October. Officials from our Embassy in Baghdad raised the attack with the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office on 30 October and made clear the importance of an urgent and comprehensive investigation into the incident and ensuring that all those responsible are brought to justice.

In all of our engagement with the Government of Iraq on this issue, including at Ministerial level and in our statements, we have emphasised the importance of the Iraqi Government doing everything possible to ensure the safety of the residents of Camp Liberty. We support the United Nations’ calls for more to be done to protect the residents.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has issued to the aviation industry on ensuring the safety of pilots by their avoiding the illegal use of lasers from the ground.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published a Safety Notice which provides guidance on laser attacks, including the action that aircraft crew and controllers should take during and immediately after a laser attack. It also includes a self-assessment tool to help those exposed to lasers to make an immediate assessment of their vision and determine whether or not they need to consult an eye specialist.

The CAA is also co-ordinating an industry-wide initiative to decide what further measures might be needed to reduce the risk of an accident arising from the misuse of lasers. As part of this process, the CAA is working with a wide range of key stakeholders including relevant Government Departments, emergency services, air traffic control, airports, and airlines.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his Department’s policy is on increasing the autonomy of prison governors to make decisions about the day-to-day running of their prisons.

Andrew Selous

We intend to put the tools to drive improvements in how prisons are run in the hands of those at the frontline who know best what works. As the Prime Minister announced on 8 February, we will create 6 new reform prisons to spearhead this, with further change to follow.

Reform prisons will give Prison Governors the freedom to find better ways of rehabilitating offenders. Reform prisons will have one resource budget and discretion over how they spend it, rather than the current system which means Governors cannot transfer money between different budgets. They will be able to opt out of national contracts and services and choose their own suppliers such as education providers – who they can then hold to account for the quality of the service provided. They will also have much more freedom to tailor their own regimes – for example, deciding on additional visits to support family ties, or the amount of time spend ‘out of cell’ doing purposeful activity.