Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Damian Collins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Damian Collins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Damian Collins on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects his Department to respond to the recommendations of the 2014 report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gurkha Welfare.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government is very grateful to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gurkha Welfare for their comprehensive report into historic Gurkha grievances. This report raised a number of issues, which the Government has been examining closely. Our response will be published shortly.

  • Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will consult representatives from the compostable plastic bags industry as part of her Department’s review of industry standards for the biodegradability of plastic material; and on how many occasions (a) Ministers and (b) officials have met representatives of (i) oxo-biodegradable and (ii) compostable plastic bag companies in the last 12 months.

    Dan Rogerson

    Neither I nor any of my Defra Ministerial colleagues have met representatives of either the oxo-biodegradable or compostable bag industries in the last 12 months.

    At the official level, I set up a Stakeholder Advisory Group in September last year, which will be consulted as part of the review of industry standards for the biodegradability of plastic material. The Stakeholder Advisory Group met twice last year and includes Government officials as well as representatives of the Renewable Energy Association (who represent the compostable bag companies), the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association, academics and a number of other industry stakeholders such as the British Plastics Federation and the Plastics and Films Association. We expect that this group will meet on three further occasions this year.

    In addition, officials have met representatives of oxo-biodegradable firms on two occasions in the last 12 months to provide feedback on unsuccessful applications for funding under the Small Business Research Initiative. Officials have also met representatives of companies manufacturing compostable bags on three occasions in the last 12 months.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what examples his Department holds of best practice in respect of work carried out to reduce traffic noise for residents living alongside main roads.

    Mr John Hayes

    Best practice measures that can be used to reduce road noise for residents living alongside the strategic road network are set out in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges HD213/11. Low noise surfacing can be installed on new roads or when replacing existing worn out surfaces. Noise mitigation can be incorporated into the design of new roads by routeing away from properties where practicable and using cuttings and other land forms to act as noise barriers. Noise barriers, made from a wide variety of materials are also used to reduce road noise.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Emma Reynolds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many sites have been disposed of as a result of disposal notices issued by his Department under the Community Right to Reclaim Land.

    Brandon Lewis

    I have attached a table which outlines the actions we have taken in response to each substantive request under the Right to Reclaim since its introduction in 2011. Each case is considered on its individual merits. Even where a direction to dispose is not issued, the whole process of challenging the local authority can help fast-track their own disposal plans. We do not hold information on the status of the applicant.

    The act of Whitehall forcing councils to dispose of land is controversial, there is a high threshold for deciding whether a disposal can be ordered..

    There is a strong commitment from the Government to making the best use of its land and disposing of land that is no longer needed. As such in addition to the Right to Reclaim Land powers which relate primarily to local government or other public bodies, a new Right to Contest was created in January 2014. This gives individuals, communities and businesses the ability to challenge Government on land and property owned by Whitehall departments and their agencies which is being used, but where, if sold, a better economic use could be made of it. Whilst theoretically people can still use the Community Right to Reclaim Land for Government land, in practice, most will now be dealt with under Right to Contest.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of sites where planning permission for housing development has been granted but construction has not yet started.

    Brandon Lewis

    I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 30 October 2014, to Question, UIN 207630.

    We do not hold the requested figures on planning permission and the length of time.

  • Angela Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Angela Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recorded number of sea bass were discarded in the (a) Irish and (b) Celtic Sea by Irish vessels in each of the last five years.

    George Eustice

    Under long standing Irish national measures to protect bass stocks their commercial fishing vessels are not permitted to land bass for sale, which means a degree of discarding of bass by-catch from mixed fishing activity will occur. We have no data available to us, however, on the level of such discards by Irish vessels.

    For UK vessels we have discard estimates for the last five years combined for the Irish and Celtic Seas. These relate to otter trawlers, netters and beam trawlers, based on the numbers of sampled trips (see table (b)). We do not sample hook and line boats although these report a sizeable fraction of bass landings in these areas, as survival rates for discarded bass from commercial rod-and line or hand-line boats (under 10 metre inshore vessels) are considered potentially relatively high.

    (a) Numbers (thousands) and weight (tonnes) landed and discarded for sampled fleets (otter, nets, beam) in Irish and Celtic Seas, raised to fleet landings for each gear, based on at-sea observer sampling by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas).

    Number ‘000s

    2009

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    Mean

    Landed

    48

    36

    29

    39

    30

    36

    Discarded

    8

    9

    10

    10

    4

    8

    % discarded

    14

    20

    25

    21

    11

    18

    Tonnes

    2009

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    Mean

    Landed

    107

    58

    71

    94

    80

    82

    Discarded

    3

    3

    4

    6

    2

    3

    % discarded

    3

    5

    5

    6

    2

    4

    (b) Number of trips sampled, Irish and Celtic Seas

    No. trips sampled

    2009

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    Total

    Beam trawls

    1

    1

    2

    Netters

    4

    4

    16

    12

    10

    46

    Otter trawls

    23

    20

    21

    21

    12

    97

    Grand Total

    28

    24

    38

    33

    22

    145

  • Tim Farron – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Farron – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he next plans to meet the Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I hope to engage with the Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs, and other representatives of the newly appointed Sri Lankan government, at the earliest opportunity. The UK looks forward to working with the new government and reinvigorating the long standing partnership between the UK and Sri Lanka.

  • David Ruffley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Ruffley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ruffley on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many firearms were confiscated in each police force area in (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and (f) Norfolk during the most recent firearms amnesty in November 2014.

    Lynne Featherstone

    The data from November’s firearms surrender is being collated and analysed by the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS). In the listed police force areas, the following numbers of firearms were surrendered: (a) Suffolk:
    381, (b) Bedfordshire: 61, (c) Cambridgeshire: 123, (d) Essex: 126, (e) Hertfordshire: 223, (f) Norfolk: 577.

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders were sentenced to a custodial sentence for each offence by each magistrates’ court in the latest year for which figures are available.

    Mike Penning

    The information you have requested cannot be extracted from our raw data due to the extensive nature of what you have requested. I will therefore write to my honourable Friend as soon as it is available.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-01-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will respond to Let’s make the difference: A manifesto to end homelessness by Homeless Link in advance of the general election.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department of Communities and Local Government has the lead on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping. Formed in 2010, the Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness brings Departments together to ensure that Departments across Government play their part in tackling both the causes and consequences of homelessness. Throughout this Parliament, the group has worked together to coordinate action on the issues facing homeless people.

    The Government have increased spending to prevent and tackle rough sleeping and homelessness making over £500 million available, giving councils the funding and tools needed to take action against rough sleeping locally.

    There are a range of initiatives and projects in place to help rough sleepers, prevent single homelessness and to help those who have been homeless find and sustain accommodation.

    Thousands of vulnerable people, including military veterans, who have slept rough or faced with the prospect of doing so have been given the help they need through No Second Night Out and Streetlink. By using Streetlink the public can help connect rough sleepers to the local services available so they can get the help they need to get them off the streets. Since 2012 Streetlink has made nearly 21,000 rough sleeping referrals to councils with over 9,000 having positive outcomes (such as accessing services) of which nearly 1,800 have had a specific housing outcome.

    We have supported the roll-out of No Second Night Out nationally through the £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund for the voluntary sector ensuring rough sleepers are found quickly and that they do not spend more than one night on the street. In 20 key rough sleeping areas outside London 67% of rough sleepers were helped off the streets after a single night according to homelessness charities.

    We have launched an £8 million Help for Single Homeless Fund for local authorities which will improve council services for single people facing the prospect of homelessness. 34 projects, working across 168 local authorities, will provide support for up 22,000 single homeless people.

    Finally, the Government is helping single homeless people find and sustain accommodation in the private rented sector through our £13 million funding to Crisis. By 2016 we expect the Crisis scheme to have helped 10,000 single homeless people since it started in 2010.

    We work closely with Homeless Link, who represent homelessness charities across England, and attended the launch of their homelessness manifesto at a recent parliamentary reception.

    It is not for the Government itself to respond to the manifestos produced by Non-Governmental Organisations and pressure groups ahead of the general election, but we welcome the broader contribution to the debate.