Tag: Paul Flynn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he received on the decision to give permission to the Russian company Rosoboronexport to exhibit its military technology at the Farnborough International Air show in July 2014.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

It is a commercial matter for Farnborough International Ltd (FIL) to whom they sell exhibition space, however the Prime Minister has not received any representations following their decision to allow Rosoboronexport to exhibit. In light of the continuing suspension of military cooperation with Russia, no representatives from the Russian government were issued with Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) invitations to the event. Russia was also removed from the list of countries eligible to use post-exhibition Open General Export Licenses (OGELs). The organisers also took the decision to ensure that no Russian military hardware was displayed and that there was no Russian military participation in the flying display.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to regularly provide details on private sector bodies who collaborate with public sector bodies on projects which are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Simon Hughes

The Government already provides details of private sector bodies who work under contract with the Government. Since January 2011, as part of the Government’s transparency programme, details of contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder:

https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a list of each of the parliamentary constituencies through which nuclear warheads are transported to and from RNAD Coulport, omitting all details of travel routes, times and frequencies.

Mr Philip Dunne

It is Ministry of Defence policy not to comment on the routes used to transport nuclear weapons as to do so would prejudice national security.

Annex A of the Local Authority and Emergency Services Information document, however, lists all local authorities that Defence nuclear material, including both nuclear weapons and special nuclear material, may travel through or fly over. The document is published on the Gov.uk website at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-emergency-services-information. The corresponding list of Parliamentary constituencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department first learnt of the installation by Volkswagen of software to distort emissions tests on diesel vehicles; and what steps he took in response to that information.

Andrew Jones

The government first became aware of the installation of software fitted to Volkswagen vehicles to distort emissions tests following the announcement of the US Environmental Protection Agency investigation in the US on 18 September 2015.

In response, the Vehicle Certification Agency, the UK regulator, has started investigations to establish whether this affects other manufacturers.

As part of this work they will re-run laboratory tests where necessary and compare them against real world driving emissions.

The government have called on the EU to conduct a Europe wide investigation into whether there is evidence that cars here have been fitted with illegal defeat devices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions on potential job losses in Newport took place between his Department, the Home Office and Steria prior to the decision to privatise the Ministry of Justice Shared Services.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The Ministry of Justice are entering into detailed discussions with Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL) regarding the future delivery of their back office services, with the intention of awarding a contract in August 2014. We expect this to bring increased savings and efficiency in back-office functions, provide further benefits across wider Government and offer better value for money to the tax payer.

SSCL have stated their intention of providing 12 months job protection for all transferring staff from the point of transfer in October 2014. This means that there will be no compulsory redundancies during this period. No decisions have been made to close buildings and we expect all sites to remain open during this period.

Following the transfer of staff, services and IT, there will be a stabilisation stage during which SSCL will look at how the service is currently delivered. No decisions will be made until SSCL has had the opportunity to fully understand the operation.

We will continue to work with staff, trade unions and other stakeholders to assess any impacts on staff.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what communications he has had with the European Commission in respect of his plans to hold a departmental golden share in the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant.

Matthew Hancock

DECC officials had initial discussions with the Commission on the possibility of a special (or ‘golden’) share for the Hinkley Point C project. Any arrangement will be designed to be fully compliant with existing EU legislation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-06-24.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many assessments of (a) nuclear facilities and (b) other critical infrastructure have been undertaken against his Department’s information assurance maturity model; and if he will publish all such assessments undertaken since May 2010.

Mr Francis Maude

There is on-going work assessing and mitigating vulnerabilities in UK’s critical national infrastructure. Details of this work, including any assessments, are classified.

Progress against the National Cyber Security Strategy is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/uk-cyber-security-strategy-statement-on-progress-2-years-on

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-02-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish evidence held by his Department supporting the conclusion that passengers on Great Western services do not wish to have buffet cars on the new Intercity Express Programme trains.

Claire Perry

The catering provision in the Great Western Inter City Express fleet reflects the preferences of the operator who are closest to their passengers’ priorities. It is a matter for First Great Western whether they wish to release the information supporting the decision.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what active steps his (a) Department has taken and plans to take to facilitate the convening of a conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons.

Hugh Robertson

The UK is fully committed to convening a Conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction as soon as possible, in line with the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference Action Plan. The Foreign Secretary, Ministers and officials have discussed the Conference with their counterparts from the region, and will continue to do so. Officials have attended, and supported, recent informal consultations between the Facilitator and states of the region at Glion in Switzerland, and will engage in future informal consultations to build agreement. The UK continues to provide financial support for the work of the Facilitator, Finnish Under Secretary of State Jaakko Laajava.