Tag: Parliamentary Question

Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-02-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what (1) proportion, and (2) volume, of excavated spoil from each of the Thames Tideway Tunnel construction sites will be transported from them by river.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Development Consent Order for the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT) requires 100% of the specified materials to be transported by river for construction sites on the Thames foreshore, unless an approved derogation is in place. Derogations could include periods when it is not possible to use river transport due to factors such as river closures, incidents, weather and supply chain failures, and for material not suitable for river transport such as contaminated material that needs specialist disposal or material that is too wet for safe transit without specialist vessels.

The commitment to transportation by river from the construction sites was secured through the River Transport Strategy, which was included in Thames Water’s application for Development Consent for the Tunnel, although it only applies to specific material listed in the Strategy (including excavated material from the main tunnel at main tunnel drive sites and material excavated from the shafts at foreshore sites).

Bazalgette Tunnel Limited (operating as Tideway), the company appointed to design, finance, build and operate the TTT, has estimated the proportion and volume of excavated spoil that will be transported by river from each of the TTT construction foreshore sites (see Table 1 below). The percentages shown for each site demonstrate the anticipated effect of derogations on the amounts of excavated spoil they will be able to transport by river.

However, Tideway and appointed mains works contractors have made commitments to maximise their use of river transport and are therefore working on opportunities to increase the extent of river transport further in liaison with the Local Authorities, Greater London Authority, Port of London Authority and Transport for London.

Table 1 – Excavated specified material percentage and volume by river transport

SITE	% of all excavated specified material transported by river	Volume to be transported by river (m3)
Putney Bridge Foreshore	90%	14,000
Carnwath Road Riverside	90%	353,400
Cremorne Wharf Depot	90%	9,000
Chelsea Embankment	90%	44,400
Kirtling Street	81%	693,600 *
Heathwall Pumping Station	82%	16,300**
Albert Embankment	90%	56,300
Victoria Embankment	90%	27,900
Blackfriars Bridge	90%	72,100
Chambers Wharf	90%	416,100
King Edward Memorial Park	90%	57,500

*excludes shaft and excavated material from ‘other’ minor structures, due to restricted river frontage

**excludes ‘excavated material from ‘other’ minor structures’, due to site constraints

01/01/2023

Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-02-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to respond to the European Parliament’s call for an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia, and if so, how.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

It is up to individual member states, not the European Parliament, to make national arms export licensing decisions.

The Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application.

We are able to review licences and suspend or revoke as necessary when circumstances require.

The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria.

01/01/2023
Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department’s agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

David Mundell

Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d’affaires.

The Government’s view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.

01/01/2023
Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to pilot his policy on tax-free childcare before it is launched.

Damian Hinds

Tax-Free Childcare is being designed to be as straightforward as possible for parents. It will be quick and easy to apply online for the vast majority who are able to do so. However, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will ensure that assistance is provided to families who cannot access the internet so that they do not miss out on the support available via Tax-Free Childcare.

Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.

The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested before the scheme is launched.

01/01/2023
Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made in the provision of helicopter evacuation capability for members of the armed forces injured in combat zones since 2004.

Mr Philip Dunne

Developed during Operation HERRICK, the Medical Emergency Response Team concept comprises a suitably-sized aircraft, a specialist trauma medical team and equipment to provide a level of care close to that in a hospital-based resuscitation room, in the event of an evacuation from the battlefield. This immediate care was a vital contribution to saving lives during that campaign.

01/01/2023
Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consideration has been given to using the information collected through the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme to assess the potential benefits of wider implementation of mechanical clot retrieval treatment and its side effect on post-stroke rehabilitation.

David Mowat

As yet, there are insufficient patients being treated with mechanical thrombectomy to assess its impact on processes, such as length of hospital stay and bed occupancy rates, outcomes of care and the effect on post stroke rehabilitation.

However, the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme is now collecting data on patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy and the results will be reported as soon as it is feasible. Sufficient cases will need to be undertaken before conducting the necessary statistical analyses and reporting the data.

NHS England is considering whether mechanical thrombectomy should be an area covered by its specialised commissioning portfolio and work is underway on this.

01/01/2023
Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what resources are provided for the supervision of people released from jail following a sentence of 12 months or less in Wales.

Mr Sam Gyimah

All prisoners sentenced to 12 months or less in custody receive through the gate services from the Wales Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC), whilst they are in prison. This includes support with securing employment, finding accommodation, debt and finance advice and resettlement to their community. On their release prisoners will then be supervised by the Wales CRC or National Probation Service, dependent upon their risk of harm.

01/01/2023
Anna Turley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when concerns were first raised with his Department over the financial viability of SSI in Redcar.

Anna Soubry

SSI UK had been in financial difficulties ever since it reopened the Redcar plant in 2012. This is a company that unfortunately made significant losses. In 2012, it lost £275million. In 2013, it lost £193.5million. In 2014, it lost £81million. And up to the end of June in 2015, it had lost £92.5m

01/01/2023
Lord Fearn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Fearn on 2015-12-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the total annual spending of visitors and tourists in the domestic tourism sector in the UK.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

According to VisitEngland’s Great Britain Tourism Survey, GB residents spent £22.7 billion on overnight trips taken across England, Scotland and Wales in 2014. Additionally, the Great Britain Day Visit Survey shows that over the same period, GB residents spent £53.8 billion on day visits across England, Scotland and Wales.

01/01/2023

Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities have not completed their NHS apprenticeship placements.

Nick Boles

The table below shows this information for apprenticeship frameworks that are related to the transport Industry.

Table 1: Apprenticeship success rates for learners with a learning difficulty or disability on frameworks related to the transport industry (2013/14)

Frameworks	Overall Success Rate
Aviation Operations on the Ground	85.7%
Driving Goods Vehicles	70.7%
Rail Transport Engineering	81.0%
Road Passenger Transport – Bus and Coach	81.0%
Transport Engineering and Maintenance	96.2%
Vehicle Body and Paint Operations	58.3%
Vehicle Fitting	68.8%
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair	67.0%
Vehicle Parts Operations	72.2%

Notes

1) Frameworks with fewer than 20 leavers are excluded.

2) Figures for learning difficulties or disabilities are based on self-declaration by the learner

The Department does not collect the information required to estimate 5 per cent club or NHS apprenticeship success rates.

01/01/2023