Tag: Paul Flynn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Health and Safety Executive was notified of any cases of non-compliance with explosives labelling regulations at the Atomic Weapons Establishment during 2015 on which action was subsequently taken to address this situation.

Justin Tomlinson

No notifications of non-compliance with explosives labelling regulations were received from AWE during 2015, and therefore no regulatory action was required.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he visited the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2016, in his official capacity.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) did not attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse of the Defence Assistance Fund was in 2014-15.

Michael Fallon

The cost of the Defence Assistance Fund in financial year 2014-15 was £15.529 million.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Attorney General, what criteria he uses when deciding whether to make public legal advice made available to Government; and on what occasions such legal advice has been made public since May 2015.

Jeremy Wright

It is a longstanding constitutional convention, set out in the Cabinet Manual and the Ministerial Code, that the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised, and the content of their advice, must not be disclosed without their authority. The convention exists for fundamental constitutional reasons and to promote the public interest in the Rule of Law. Whether the Law Officers have advised and the content of that advice is part of the collective Cabinet decision-making process. The convention reflects the public interest in collective Cabinet responsibility. It also reflects the fact that Law Officers’ advice is confidential legal advice and, as with all professional legal advice, it is subject to legal professional privilege. In addition, it acknowledges the feature of Law Officers’ advice which sets it apart from other legal advice, namely that it is sought in relation to issues of particular complexity, sensitivity and constitutional importance. It is a matter of constitutional importance that the provision of advice in these circumstances should be protected in the public interest.

A decision to disclose would require an exceptional countervailing public interest. No such case has arisen since May 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-16.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.123 of the Budget 2016, whether the (a) proposed legislation to make it easier for local authorities to work together to create new garden towns and (b) consultation on a second wave of Compulsory Purchase Order reforms will apply to Wales.

Greg Hands

Housing and planning in Wales are the responsibility of the Welsh Government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish the (a) agenda, (b) attendees and (c) matters discussed and decided at the forum on combatting weapons of mass destruction proliferation hosted by his Department in London on 12 April 2016.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is a voluntary initiative, endorsed by 105 states, to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Of those states, 21 form the Operational Experts Group (OEG) who support the PSI by developing and disseminating best practice for all PSI endorsing states to draw on. OEG members meet annually, hosted this year by the UK. All OEG member states were represented at this year’s meeting.

The OEG discussed a wide range of issues, including current proliferation trends and challenges; transferrable skills and capacity building; intangible technology transfers; proliferation finance; aviation and shipping, including transit and trans-shipment; emerging threats; tools for capacity building and sharing best practice; legal issues; and outreach.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made in rolling out Project Griffin to security managers in the private sector and what budget has been provided to the National Counter Terrorism Security Office to promote Project Griffin.

Mr John Hayes

Project Griffin is the national counter-terrorism awareness initiative for business produced by the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) to protect our cities and communities from the threat of terrorism. Since 2004, Project Griffin has held briefing events to increase public and staff awareness of how best to reduce and respond to the most likely types of terrorist activities.

In 2015-16 these events were delivered to around 100,000 individuals. On 20 April, NaCTSO launched a new Griffin initiative to offer organisations the opportunity to self-deliver this training, and further increase awareness.

The National Counter Terrorism Security Office is funded from the Counter Terrorism Policing Grant. We do not provide breakdowns of this funding for security reasons. As well as the work of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, Project Griffin is promoted through a variety of other mechanisms including by police Counter Terrorism Security Advisers and Counter Terrorism Awareness Advisers, who are employed in every region to raise awareness with businesses of the terrorist threat, appropriate responses to take, and mitigation measures

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information she has been provided by the Office for Nuclear Regulation to demonstrate the safety of Sizewell B nuclear plant restarting after in-service inspection of the reactor pressure vessel undertaken by EDF; and what assessment she has made of the implications for that process of hydrogen flaking present in the RPV Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactors in Belgium.

Andrea Leadsom

During Sizewell B’s periodic shutdown, inspectors from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) examined the Licensee’s arrangements for maintenance activities, reviewed test and inspection records and inspected the plant and equipment. A thorough examination (or in-service inspection) of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) was completed by EDF to confirm that it remains in good condition. An ONR team of technical specialists examined the results of the in-service inspections and they are satisfied that they demonstrate the continued integrity of the RPV and that the hydrogen flaking present in the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactors in Belgium is not evident at Sizewell B.

ONR inspectors did not identify any issues that would affect the safety case for the restart of the Sizewell B reactor and its safe operation up to the next planned statutory periodic shutdown in 2017, and issued clearance for it to restart on 31 May 2016. ONR expects to publish its Project Assessment Report, detailing this decision, on its website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will estimate how many jobs will be created in Wales as a result of the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant.

Alun Cairns

The UK Government does not hold the specific figures requested. The decision to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation will provide a huge boost to the regional economy including South Wales. Construction at the Hinkley site will provide 26,000 jobs and apprenticeships, and 64% of the project’s costs will be spent in the UK.

Welsh companies are already taking advantage of the opportunities this project presents, for example, Express Reinforcements in South Wales was given preferred bidder status for a £100m contract to supply 200,000 tonnes of reinforcing steel for the project.

I would encourage businesses in Wales to register with EDF in order to take advantage of upcoming supply chain opportunities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what resources she has made available to ensure that Article 16 of the Tuberculosis (England) Order 2014 is enforced.

George Eustice

Article 16 of the Tuberculosis (England) Order 2014 concerns the requirement of herd owners to comply with cleansing and disinfection of premises following removal of TB reactors.

APHA inspectors carry out spot checks on a proportion of Bovine Tuberculosis breakdown farms every year to ensure compliance with these statutory cleansing and disinfection requirements.

APHA employs 208 vets and 137 animal health officers who may be involved in the administration and enforcement of these measures as part of their field duties