Tag: Paul Flynn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2015 to Question 15120, on Western Sahara: human rights, whether he discussed reports of intimidation, harassment and kidnapping of human rights defenders in the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara during the visit of King Mohamed VI.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

I discussed Western Sahara during my visit to Morocco on 11-12 November. We will continue to raise with the Moroccan authorities allegations of human rights abuses in the territory which are brought to our attention.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the hypothecation of revenues raised from VAT on specific products for a specific purpose.

Mr David Gauke

The Government’s spending priorities are not, in general, determined by the way in which the money is raised. All revenue received, in combination with the amount borrowed or repaid by the Government, contributes to the amount that the Government can spend in total. However, we will continue to look at each case on its merits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what participation the UK has had in the sustainable innovation forum hosted by the UN Environment Programme as part of the COP21 climate change conference in Paris.

Andrea Leadsom

The Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative on Climate Change attended the event and spoke on a panel event entitled “what is most needed to embed innovation across public and private sector operations.”

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what evaluation his Department made of the number and location of civilian workers who work at the al-Omar oil field in Syria before ordering Royal Air Force planes to bomb that facility; and how many civilians have been killed as a result of UK military action on targets in Syria to date.

Michael Fallon

UK air strikes are conducted in accordance with Rules of Engagement and International Humanitarian Law.The risks of collateral damage or civilian casualties are assessed and mitigated based on intelligence and the use of precision guided weapons. There have been no reports so far of civilian casualties as a result of UK air strikes in Syria.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date the decision was made not to proceed with developing a future theatre nuclear weapon (FTNW); and how much had been spent on (a) the vehicle element and (b) the warhead element of the FTNW programme up to that point.

Mr Philip Dunne

On 18 October 1993, the then Secretary of State for Defence informed Parliament (Official Report, column 32): "we have concluded that our previous requirement for a new stand-off nuclear weapon capability is not a sufficiently high priority to justify the procurement of a new nuclear system in the current circumstances. Instead, we will plan, after the WE177 eventually leaves service in the long term, on exploiting the flexibility and capability of the Trident system to provide the vehicle for the delivery of our sub-strategic deterrent."

Also on 19 July 1993 (HC Deb vol 229 cc83-4W), the then Minister for Defence Procurement provided the following information about expenditure to evaluate options for the Future Theatre Nuclear Weapon:

Expenditure to the end of March 1993 on studies of possible vehicles:

Year	£
1989-90	928,518
1990-91	1,372,329
1991-92	1,870,285
1992-93	2,658,471

Information on costs incurred on the Future Theatre Nuclear Weapon warhead programme was withheld for reasons of national security. Those reasons no longer apply but this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the costs were of operating the Truck Convoy Heavy Duty in each of the last three years.

Mr Philip Dunne

The operating costs for the Truck Convoy Heavy Duty (TCHD) for the last three financial years are provided in the table below.

	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Calculated TCHD Running Costs (£ VAT ex)	107,446	90,000	82,195

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to continue funding the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

Rory Stewart

The Government remains committed to tackling wildlife crime.

We are currently allocating our Spending Review settlement. Future funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit will be decided as part of that process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for projects supported by State Aid agreements of the UK leaving the EU.

Anna Soubry

The Government’s view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed European Union.

As required by the EU Referendum Act 2015, the Government is committed to producing clear information, ahead of the Referendum, on: the outcome of the renegotiation, rights and obligations in European Union law, an assessment of alternatives to membership, and the process for leaving.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 3 March 2016, HCWS576, on Successor Submarine Assessment Phase, whether the sum of £642 million expenditure announced represents new expenditure over and above that originally budgeted for the Assessment Phase; whether that sum includes any money which has been the subject of earlier press announcements by his Department; and which projects of what value that sum has been allocated to fund.

Mr Philip Dunne

As announced in my Written Statement of 3 March 2016, HCWS576, the funding will supplement the Successor submarine programme Assessment Phase, taking that investment to £3.9 billion. The additional investment covers activity for Nuclear Propulsion systems, Facilities and Infrastructure, the Common Missile Compartment and submarine Design, including Design Assurance. All of the projects have previously been announced. I am withholding cost estimates as to release them would prejudice commercial interests.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that private contractors invest in prisons throughout the length of the management contract.

Andrew Selous

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is responsible for the management of the 14 private prisons in England and Wales.

The terms of each contract include an agreed level of service. There are financial remedies which apply where a provider fails to achieve this expected level of performance, making sure that they have an incentive to properly support the rehabilitation of offenders on an ongoing basis.

There are clear processes in place to monitor performance and identify emerging issues. Each private prison has an on-site Controller, accountable for providing assurance that the contracts for each prison are delivered in accordance with agreed contractual delivery indicators, and that the prison provides safe, decent and secure services in line with performance standards.