Tag: Rachael Maskell

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-03-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the staff who manage the gardens in Dorneywood country residence are employed as civil servants; whether such staff are enrolled under the civil service pension scheme; and under what terms and conditions such staff are employed with what pension entitlement.

Harriett Baldwin

Dorneywood is a charitable trust and its staff are employed by the charity. Therefore, Government keep no details of its staff’s pensions affairs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made on publishing the Food and Farming Plan.

George Eustice

Following the result of the EU Referendum, we now have an opportunity to consider our long term vision for food and farming outside of the EU.

It remains essential that the UK has a thriving food and farming industry with high animal welfare and environmental standards, access to international markets and a long term commitment to boosting productivity through innovation and skills. We are now focused on taking forward the actions that support these objectives, in order to develop our long term vision. To do this, we will continue to work with a wide range of interests to develop that vision, and to work together to deliver it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the gardeners employed by the Royal Parks are enrolled in the civil service pension scheme; and how many such gardeners are enrolled in each version of that scheme.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Since 1992 landscape maintenance and allied work in The Royal Parks (TRP) has been contracted out, and there are no gardeners employed by the contractors that are eligible for the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) .

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to prevent increases in bovine TB herd-to-herd infection rates.

George Eustice

The most recent new measures to protect England from bovine TB were introduced on 6 April as part of the Government’s comprehensive strategy, which is on track to deliver TB-free status for over half of the country by 2019. These measures included:

• New legislation to require farmers in the Low Risk Area of England to arrange for post-movement testing of cattle coming from the rest of England and from Wales.

• Tighter movement restrictions, with all herds in the High Risk Area of England affected by a new TB breakdown needing to pass two strict tests before movement restrictions are lifted. This will increase the chances of finding all infected animals in those herds, helping to reduce recurrent breakdowns and to protect other herds.

• Government-funded pre-sale testing, enabling sellers to provide additional assurance for buyers and mitigate the low risk of undetected TB spreading to new herds.

• The opportunity for herd owners to arrange private Interferon Gamma blood tests to diagnose TB, subject to certain conditions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the staff who manage the gardens in Chevening country residence are employed as civil servants; whether such staff are enrolled under the civil service pension scheme; and under what terms and conditions such staff are employed with what pension entitlement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

No members of the Civil Service are employed at Chevening.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the outcome of the EU referendum on access by farmers to new Countryside Stewardship scheme agreements.

George Eustice

Until negotiations conclude and the UK leaves the EU, all existing arrangements remain in place, including rural development programmes. We are having ongoing discussions with the Treasury because it is important that there is continuity, particularly for agri-environment schemes, without prejudice to future decisions. An update on future funding under current EU schemes will follow shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of police funding after service reorganisation.

Mike Penning

The Government has protected overall police spending for the coming Spending Review period, once police precept is taken into account. The public can be confident that over the next four years the police will have the resources they need to carry on cutting crime, fighting terrorism and keeping the people of this country safe.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support households which are in water poverty.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Water companies already offer a wide range of support to around 760,000 customers that struggle to pay their water bills. By 2020, they have committed to help an additional one million customers. The support they offer includes the nationally mandated WaterSure Scheme, voluntary social tariffs, charitable trusts, debt advice, payment plans and water efficiency advice.

The Government is committed to supporting a water industry built around transparency, resilience and affordability. We will continue to work with the Consumer Council for Water, Ofwat and the industry to ensure they continue to provide a fair deal for all customers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of police funding after service reorganisation.

Mike Penning

The Government has protected overall police spending for the coming Spending Review period, once police precept is taken into account. The public can be confident that over the next four years the police will have the resources they need to carry on cutting crime, fighting terrorism and keeping the people of this country safe.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will extend the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to include primary producers’ relationships with their suppliers.

Margot James

We will shortly be commencing a review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator and as part of that we will take account of the recent calls for its remit to be extended.