Tag: Paul Flynn

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 12325, how many defence attachés at what rank were employed at each of those locations on 1 April 2016; and whether each of those attachés has civilian assistants.

Mr Julian Brazier

All Defence Attaches (except those for Bahrain and the UK Mission to the UN) have civilian employees working within the Defence Section. The Defence Attaches by rank as at 1 April 2016 are listed in the attached table.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what evidence his Department holds on the effect of the number of roadside drug testing on the number of traffic accidents; and what assessment he has made of improvements in road safety since the introduction of roadside drug testing.

Andrew Jones

The Department has contracted a researcher to evaluate the effect and impact on road safety of the new section 5A offence, which will include the use of roadside testing. We expect to publish their final report in 2017. The effectiveness of the recent THINK! 2016 drug drive spring campaign which refers to the use of roadside drug testing will also be evaluated and a report will be published in the summer 2016.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any increase in Welsh Government funding will come through the existing Barnett formula following the UK vote to leave the EU.

Mr David Gauke

The UK Government will guarantee EU funding for structural and investment fund projects in Wales, including agri-environment schemes, signed before we leave the EU. It will be for the Welsh Government to make an assessment of which projects should be pursued in areas of its competence, and this guarantee will apply to any such projects. The agricultural sector in Wales will receive the same level of funding that it would have received under Pillar 1 of CAP until the end of the Multi-Annual Financial Framework in 2020.

As a result of these steps taken by the UK Government, individuals and organisations in receipt of EU funds now have a greater degree of certainty about funding over the coming years. The UK Government will work with the Welsh Government to consider future funding arrangements for once the UK has left the EU.

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 methods are used to deliver her Department’s approved training on the humane shooting of badgers.

George Eustice

The training course on humane shooting of badgers consists of (a) a class room theory session, followed by a written theory test; and (b) Marksmanship Competency Assessment including a rifle test. Both parts of the training course are carried out by the industry organisations. However Government (Natural England) is responsible for approving the content of the training course and auditing the course tutors and course organisation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department has taken to promote Energy Efficiency Week; how her Department has worked with non-governmental organisations on such initiatives; and what the cost to the public purse was of those initiatives.

Andrea Leadsom

Big Energy Saving Week is a Great Britain wide consumer awareness raising campaign run ahead of winter in partnership with respected partner organisations Citizens Advice and the Energy Saving Trust (EST), with around £300,000 funding provided by DECC.

The campaign was delivered 26-30 October 2015 and focussed on supporting consumers to understand how they can save money by switching tariff, supplier and payment method and improving energy efficiency, through hundreds of face to face outreach events run by Citizens Advice offices and a national, regional and social media campaign delivered by EST.

The last campaign in October 2014 was a big success with over 500 events nationwide reaching an estimated 100,000 consumers face to face or through dedicated helplines with many millions more reached through a complementary media campaign.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect on the ability of the Office for Nuclear Regulation to carry out its safety and security regulatory functions in full of the guidance set out in the Legislative and Regulatory Reform (Regulatory Functions) (Amendment) Order 2014.

Anna Soubry

The Regulators’ Code which came into force in April 2014 was issued as guidance under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform (Regulatory Functions) (Amendment) Order 2014. The code provides guidance for all regulators whose functions are specified and a framework for how they should engage with those they regulate when exercising their regulatory functions independently from Government. This includes providing straightforward ways for businesses to engage, basing regulatory activities on risk and helping businesses to comply by publishing clear information, guidance and advice.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is required to have regard to the code when developing policies and operational procedures which guide their regulatory activities. However, the Regulators’ Code states that where a regulator concludes, on the basis of material evidence, that a specific area of the code is either not applicable or outweighed by another relevant consideration, then the regulator is not bound by that provision but should record the decision and their rationale. This acknowledges certain circumstances where regulators may not be able to follow all provisions of the code, for example decisions concerning safety and security, and that they will not be bound by the provision where these considerations justifiably outweigh provisions of the Regulators’ Code.

The ONR is expected to demonstrate compliance with the Code without compromising its core purpose of nuclear safety and security. The ONR has recently published the results of a review they undertook to assess compliance against the Code in September 2015: http://news.onr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/report.pdf.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the evidential basis is for the Prime Minister’s statement to the press of 21 October 2015 that Hinkley Point nuclear power station will produce reliable and affordable electricity.

Andrea Leadsom

Nuclear power is a proven technology which can provide large quantities of electricity continuously, reliably and predictably. Our analysis suggests Hinkley Point C will be cost-competitive with the other technologies that can be deployed at scale in the 2020s and that it will help provide affordable base load power to complement other low-carbon sources that we need to decarbonise the power sector by 2050.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to trace the sources of financial support for (a) ISIS and (b) other terrorist networks.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK has led efforts to create and enforce an international legal regime to cut off support, including financial support, for Daesh and other terrorist groups. This regime is underpinned by UN Security Council Resolutions 2178 (on foreign fighters), 2199 (on squeezing Daesh’s funding sources) and 1267 (which imposes sanctions on individuals and groups associated with Al-Qaida and its affiliates, including Daesh). We are actively involved with Global Coalition partners in identifying companies and individuals that breach any aspect of this regime, including the financial ones.

UK law enforcement agencies have a well established and sophisticated system for investigating and shutting off sources of finance for terrorists, including Daesh. The Government also works closely with the private sector to crack down on terrorist-related money laundering.

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

To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to pages 12 and 13 of his response to the Second Report from the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, on the Extension of Offensive Military Operations to Syria, HC 457, what specific steps have been taken through the Financial Action Task Force and Egmont Groups to block funding of ISIS.

Mr David Cameron

The Financial Actions Task Force (FATF) report on ‘Financing of the Terrorist Organisation ISIL’ (Feb 2015) sets out specific measures which countries should adopt, over and above general measures designed to block terrorist financing, to ensure Daesh cannot access the international financial system. The FATF conducted a report for the G20 Leaders in November 2015 on implementation. They found almost all 194 jurisdictions had criminalised terrorist financing and 90% of jurisdictions had a legal framework to enforce sanctions. There were 33 jurisdictions which had secured convictions for terrorist financing.

The Egmont Group comprises 151 members, including the UK, USA, France and regional partners such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and Lebanon. In June 2015 the Group expanded its membership; 42 new bilateral agreements to exchange information were announced to help combat global money laundering and terrorist threats. The Group also issued a communication to its members in June 2015 regarding Daesh which encouraged members to use its unique global network to combat Daesh money laundering and financing by increasing international cooperation, including the exchange of information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many UK Trade and Investment staff worked in each of the industrial sectors on 1 April 2015; and what the budget for each such sector is in 2015-16.

Anna Soubry

UK Trade & Investment supports eleven sectors, and other priority sectors, such as creative industries and the information economy.

We are working with a number of other Government departments to ensure companies of all sectors are represented in Government efforts overseas.

The table below shows the number of staff on 1 April 2015 and the most recent budget information for our core sector teams and investment organisations.

Staff	Budget, £m
Consumer, Retail & E-exporting	11	5.7
Creative Industries & Global Sports & Construction	25	3.1
UKTI Education	8	1.0
Energy & Transport	27	3.7
Healthcare UK	13	1.6
Information Economy	16	2.9
Advanced Manufacturing	8	1.2
UKTI Agri-Tech Organisation	3	1.2
UKTI Automotive Investment Organisation	5	1.7
UKTI Financial Services Organisation	8	1.7
Innovation Gateway	7	1.3
UKTI Life Science Organisation	9	2.2
UKTI Offshore Wind Investment Organisation	2	1.1
UKTI Regeneration Investment Organisation	1	1.4