Tag: Richard Arkless

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how his Department monitors the obligations it places on its subcontractors to pay bills within 30 days.

Harriett Baldwin

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to implementing a prompt payment policy throughout the supply chain. We place a contractual obligation on our prime contractors to pay their subcontractors within 30 days.

As with all contractual issues, in relation to direct contracts between the MOD and its suppliers, we would investigate any breaches to contract conditions on a case-by-case basis. While there is currently no established method of monitoring prompt payment outside of our direct contracts, we are working to update MOD contractual conditions to strengthen the prompt payment obligation throughout the supply chain.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many community projects have benefited from monies allocated by Scotland’s Big Lottery Fund in Dumfries and Galloway constituency in the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson

Information on the community projects in the Dumfries and Galloway constituency that have benefited from monies allocated by the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland in the last five years is available on the Big Lottery Fund websitehttps://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/about-big/big-lottery-fund-in-your-constituency.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the EU Commissioner on Competition on plans for recovering unpaid taxes and preventing multinationals avoiding tax.

Mr David Gauke

The UK is supportive of Commission action against illegal state aid, including recovery where illegal state aid has been found. This is an important part of ensuring that the single market works effectively and on the basis of fair competition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage music venues to improve ticket and seating arrangements for disabled people.

Mr Edward Vaizey

We believe that everyone should have access to arts and culture – having a disability should not be a barrier to enjoying Britain’s awe-inspiring cultural treasures. That is why we are working with venues and organisations representing disabled people to identify barriers to access, while at the same time seeing how we can share examples of best practice and what more cultural venues need to do to be accessible to people with disabilities. Our recently published Culture White Paper makes a specific commitment to work with the cultural sector to improve physical access to venues.

We support the work of Attitude is Everything, which works with audiences, artists, and the music industry to improve deaf and disabled people’s access to live events. My ministerial colleague Ed Vaizey also held a roundtable meeting with Justin Tomlinson, Minister for Disabled People to look at access to cultural venues and events for disabled people. Additionally, provisions in the Equality Act 2010 require providers of services to the public (for example music venues), to make a ‘reasonable adjustment’ so that disabled people are not placed at a “substantial disadvantage” to non-disabled people.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government is taking steps to promote satellite broadband access in areas where fixed line broadband is limited or available at slower speeds than average.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government’s Universal Service Commitment will allow universal access to speeds of at least 2 Megabits per secondto any household in the UK,through the option of satellite broadband connections by the end of 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what effect the policies outlined in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 will have on the amount his Department plans to spend on policies and services which in Scotland are devolved to the Scottish Government.

Brandon Lewis

My Department does not have responsibility for policies or services in Scotland. These are devolved to the Scottish Parliament. However, the increased funding for Housing announced in the Autumn Statement will deliver benefits to Scotland, thanks to the application of the Barnett formula. This Spending Review delivers a 14% real terms increase in capital budgets for the Scottish Government, which is equal to £1.9 billion over the spending review period. This is in addition to existing borrowing powers of over £2 billion. This will enable the Scottish Government, should they chose to do so, to support hard-working people who aspire to own their own home, and deliver the homes that communities want.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to increase the funding available for disability sports which are not currently paralympic sports.

David Evennett

Government recognises the importance of sport and physical activity to disabled people who take part at both grassroots and the elite level. Our new sport strategy, ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’, published in December 2015, emphasises the importance of getting people active, particularly those groups currently under-represented, including disabled people.

Sport England is investing over £170 million in England to get more disabled people playing both Paralympic and non-Paralympic sports; and it will shortly publish its own strategy for England, following a wide public consultation, setting out how it intends to deliver against the government’s sport strategy, including how it will promote grassroots sport and physical activity for all.

Elite disability sport is funded by UK Sport whose role it is to ensure that the resources available to support Paralympic athletes are targeted to maximise medal success.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to provide to internet service providers detailed information relating to the broadband Universal Services Obligation announced by the Prime Minister on 7 November 2015.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government’s Universal Service Commitment will allow universal access to speeds of at least 2 Megabits per second through the option of satellite broadband connections by the end of 2015.

In addition, an £8 million Market Test Pilot fund is piloting a number of technologies and funding models, including satellite solutions. The results of these pilots will help inform future policy to extend superfast broadband coverage beyond 95%. Avanti, a broadband provider using satellite technology, is currently operational in Dumfries and Galloway and providing superfast coverage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will seek a ban on the sale of puppies from retail outlets; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

Under the Pet Animals Act 1951 local authorities can already apply conditions to individual pet shop licences. This includes, for example, restricting the species that can be sold. The power to apply conditions to an individual licence is in section 1(3) of the 1951 Act and is intended to help secure the welfare requirements set out in that section.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with local authorities in Northern Ireland and Scotland about the illegal trafficking of puppies from the Republic of Ireland; and what assessment she has made of the effect on such trafficking of the transfer in Scotland of search powers from Trading Standards to local port authorities.

George Eustice

The Government takes the illegal movement of dogs and puppies seriously and it is committed to working with the Devolved Administrations, delivery bodies, enforcement agencies and non-government organisations to tackle this issue.

Whilst there have been no recent Ministerial meetings on the illegal movement of dogs, Defra’s Chief Veterinary Officer has recently discussed the issue with his Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland counterparts. Additionally, there have been discussions on this issue between other Defra officials and officials within the Devolved Administrations.

Defra has not carried out an assessment of the impact of transferring Trading Standards search powers to local port authorities in Scotland as this is a devolved matter. However, we will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government and other interested parties to ensure that there is a full exchange of ideas and information on combating the illegal importation of puppies.