Tag: Stephen Timms

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many pirate radio broadcasting installations have been taken off air by enforcement action in each of the last five years.

Mr Edward Vaizey

As part of Ofcom’sresponsibilityfor protecting and managing radio spectrum, enforcement operations arecarried out every year to remove pirate radio broadcasts. After the success of these operations, and the combined effort of local authorities, the number of pirate stations still broadcasting has significantly reduced, explaining the decline in number of pirate stations taken off air in 2014. This success has led Ofcom to launch a new initiative involving local authorities and other owners of high rise residential buildings to remove the presence of illegal broadcasters. The results have already been positive, with the complete removal of pirate radio broadcasters in the London Boroughs of Haringey and Islington.

Year	Number of Pirate Radio Stations Taken off the air
2010	104
2011	96
2012	99
2013	102
2014	69

Background

This year Ofcom began a new initiative involving local authorities and other owners of high rise residential properties to remove the presence of illegal broadcasters from their buildings. Ofcom has implemented this strategy with a number of London boroughs already. The results have been positive, with the complete removal of pirate broadcasts in the London Boroughs of Haringey and Islington. Ofcom intends to pursue this further.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to ensure that Syrian refugees who are resettled in the UK as part of the vulnerable persons programme do not lose contact with family who are not also resettled in the UK.

Richard Harrington

The Syrian refugees being resettled in the UK are, wherever possible, resettled with their immediate family members. It is up to the individuals concerned to decide how best to maintain contact with their family members who are not in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the Syrian Vulnerable Person Relocation scheme in each year until 2020.

Richard Harrington

The first 12 months of each refugee’s resettlement costs under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) Scheme will be funded using Official Development Assistance, meaning over £460 million of the overseas aid budget will be used by 2019-20. At the Spending Review the Government committed £129 million to assist with local authority costs over years 2-5 of the scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to enable smaller London airports to provide extra aviation capacity for the South East of England over the next 10 years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government set out in its 2013 Aviation Policy Framework that it would like to see airports making best use of their existing capacity. However, we recognise that the development of airports can have negative as well as positive local impacts, including on noise levels. We therefore consider that proposals for expansion at these airports should be judged on their individual merits, taking careful account of all relevant considerations, particularly economic and environmental impacts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the economic effect on (a) London and (b) the UK economy of international services stopping at Stratford International station.

Claire Perry

The Department for Transport has made no specific assessment of the economic effects of international services stopping at Stratford International station. The Department for Transport has no powers to specify that an international operator – whether current or future – must stop at Stratford International station. The Department for Transport has recently published an interim evaluation of the impact of the HS1 network setting out the current and anticipated benefits of the HS1 link^[1].

^[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs1-first-interim-evaluation

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of passengers who will (a) access Crossrail services via Stratford station and (b) pass through Stratford station on Crossrail services in each of the first three years after Crossrail services commence.

Claire Perry

Transport for London’s forecasts indicate that the following passenger numbers will (a) access Crossrail services via Stratford station and (b) pass through Stratford station on Crossrail services in each of the first three years after Crossrail services commence.

	2019	2020	2021
Passenger numbers accessing Crossrail services via Stratford Station	7.07m	7.18m	7.29m
Crossrail passenger numbers using Stratford station as an interchange	34.89m	35.43m	35.96m

I have interpreted part ‘b’ of your request as referring to Crossrail passengers who will use Stratford station as an interchange.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with (a) cystic fibrosis, (b) rheumatoid arthritis, (c) motor neurone disease, (d) multiple sclerosis and (e) Parkinson’s disease have had at least one repeat work capability assessment by year of initial assessment since the introduction of employment support allowance in 2008.

Priti Patel

The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many units of housing he expects to be built in the London borough of Newham in each year to 2020.

Brandon Lewis

The Department does not publish forecasts of house building. It is for local planning authorities to ensure that they plan for the full, objectively assessed housing needs in their area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether telephones with a direct connection to the universal credit helpline are available to use free of charge in every job centre.

Priti Patel

We no longer have customer access phones in Jobcentres. However, should a claimant need to use a telephone in connection with their claim or job search, they will be given access to a phone by their work coach.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons the Advisory Group on Freedom of Religion and Belief was not re-established after the 2015 General Election; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington

Since the General Election, we have adopted a new strategic approach to human rights, refocusing our work around three themes: democratic values and the rule of law; strengthening the rules-based international system; and human rights for a stable world. Our work on freedom of religion or belief is an integral part of each of these themes.

The Advisory Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief, as with our other former thematic human rights advisory groups, provided important contributions to our policy and activities. Under our new approach, our thematic advisory groups remain part of the expert constituency to which we turn when designing and delivering human rights initiatives. For example, we involved members of the former Advisory Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief in a workshop on Christians in the Middle East that we held in November 2015. We put forward another expert to form part of the Independent Review Panel of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund. We continue to convene regular meetings of the Foreign Secretary’s Advisory Group on Human Rights to discuss a range of topics of interest to its members.