Tag: Paul Monaghan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the total length is of tunnels for each specific diameter being constructed by the London Power Tunnels Project; and what length of each such type of tunnel has been constructed to date.

Andrea Leadsom

National Grid has said that:

The total length of the tunnels is 32km and tunnelling was completed in March 2015.

19.6km of the network was constructed using a 3m internal diameter tunnel boring

machine

• Willesden to St John’s Wood 3m diameter tunnel – 7.4km

• Wimbledon to Kensal Green 3m diameter tunnel – 12.2km.

  12.4km of the network was built using a 4m internal diameter tunnel boring machine

  – St John’s Wood to Hackney 4m diameter tunnel.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to improve the provision of asylum accommodation.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We have worked closely with our COMPASS Providers to improve property standards and over the lifetime of the contract quality standards have increased. Where issues with accommodation are discovered we work with our contractors to ensure issues are quickly addressed. When they are not we can and do impose sanctions and seek remedial plans to drive improvement. Through continued engagement with service users and accommodation providers and regular property inspections the Home Office will continue to ensure asylum accommodation is adequate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answers of 6 July 2015 to Question 4511 and 12 October 2015 to Question 10567, if she will request that OFGEM explain what its justification is for allowing a higher charge for supply in the north of Scotland.

Andrea Leadsom

Electricity supplied to consumers in the North of Scotland region is produced by a range of generation types traded in a competitive market across GB. The electricity price paid by consumers in any given region is not therefore determined by the predominant generation type in that region.

Ofgem does not regulate energy prices – these are set by energy suppliers in competition with each other and so matters relating to the pricing of tariffs are a matter for each individual company.

Ofgem addressed the differences in electricity charges between regions at paragraph 2.5 of their recent report on ‘Regional Differences in Network Charges’. This stated that the differences observed are not a ‘surcharge’, but reflect the different network costs in the region when shared out between customers consuming energy in that area. They also saw “no compelling case” to change these arrangements, from a regulatory perspective.

The report also noted that electricity distribution charges in the north of Scotland are already cross-subsidised to an extent through the Government’s Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme. It is currently worth around £41 per annum per household in the north of Scotland, and means that consumers face lower network charges than they otherwise would.

This report can be obtained at:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/ofgem-report-regional-differences-network-charges.

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-27.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what correspondence the Government has had with Lloyds TSB on implementation of the Access to Banking Protocol and the (a) closure of branches and (b) reduction of banking services in the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. From the first of May this year, each participating bank has committed to carry out a number of steps if it is closing a branch. This includes establishing the impact of a branch closure before it takes place; finding suitable alternative provision; and putting in place suitable alternative measures before a branch is closed.

There is a commitment to review the operation of the protocol after one year. In August, the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise and I wrote to the Chief Executive of the British Bankers’ Association and requested an update on progress towards the appointment of an independent reviewer. A copy of the letter was also sent to the Chief Executives of the banks that are signatories to the Access to Banking protocol.

Banks and building societies need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy.

Decisions on the opening and closing of individual bank branches are taken by the management of each bank on a commercial basis without intervention from Government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support the global abolition of the death penalty.

Mr David Lidington

I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 27 January (question 23192) to the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Toby Perkins).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for consent determined by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have required environmental impact assessment since 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Since 2010, when the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has determined applications for consent, three Oil Transfer Licence applications have required environmental impact assessments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on provision of affordable housing in rural areas.

Rory Stewart

The Secretary of State holds regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Rural housing is one of the issues that frequently arises.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent estimate she has made of the cost to the National Grid of the London Power Tunnels project; and how much of that cost is related to (a) civil engineering, (b) electrical engineering and (c) equipment.

Andrea Leadsom

National Grid has said that the overall cost of the project is around £1bn and while it is always difficult to breakdown costs simply into different engineering elements, they have estimated the following:

Tunnels and associated mechanical and electrical work 50%

High voltage cable procurement, installation and testing 15%

Substation works (including civil ground works at these locations) 26%

Land and required permissions 9%

Ofgem is responsible for regulating National Grid, to ensure that the work they do represents value for money for consumers.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the UK’s decision to leave the EU on the rural economy.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

The UK is still a member of the EU and we will continue to engage with EU business as normal and be engaged in EU decision-making in the usual way.

Once Article 50 is invoked, we will remain bound by EU law until the withdrawal agreement comes into force.

We now have a historic opportunity to deliver an environment for future generations to be proud of, grow our world-leading food and farming industry that continues to attract significant global investment and harness the enormous economic potential of our rural communities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugee families she expects to be relocated to Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency; where such families will be housed; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that such families have access to education for their children.

James Brokenshire

With regard to the resettlement of 20,000 Syrians that the Prime Minister announced on 7 September, this is a voluntary scheme whereby local authorities sign up to accept refugees on a voluntary basis and there is no expectation on any particular local authority.

We are working closely with those local authorities that have indicated they wish to be involved as well as with the Local Government Association and with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. We do not disclose the details of where refugees are resettled upon their arrival in the UK under the Government resettlement schemes as this may undermine the privacy and recovery of this vulnerable group of people.

The Home Office alongside other departments and the Local Government Association and the Convention of Scottish Authorities will work with individual local authorities who are volunteering to take Syrian refugees to secure appropriate accommodation.

The Government has committed to investing £7 billion on new school places over the next six years, and in the last Parliament funding for school places doubled to £5 billion to create 445,000 additional places. Local Authorities are allocated funding for school places based on their own local data on school capacity and pupil forecasts, in which they take account of factors including rising birth rates, housing development, trends in internal migration and migration to England from elsewhere in the United Kingdom and from overseas. We continue to work with Local Authorities to make sure that every child has a school place.