The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-02-01.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of mineral rights on mortgage lending.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government has made no assessment of the effect of mineral rights on mortgage lending.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his oral evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on Secondary Legislation Scrutiny on 19 January 2016, Question 7, under what circumstances government departments are permitted not to publish equality analyses which are referred to in government consultation documents.
Mr Oliver Letwin
The Public Sector Equality Duty requires Departments to pay due regard to equality aspects of decisions. It is up to each Department to decide whether to publish their analysis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much funding the Government has allocated to the continued assessment of options for plutonium management in the financial years (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.
Andrea Leadsom
In Spending Review 2015, the Government committed £11bn net funding to NDA over five years (in addition to its forecast commercial income). Government is satisfied with the provision made in the NDA’s budget to continue to make meaningful progress on the plutonium disposition programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Rural Payments Agency learns the lessons of the introduction of the Basic Payment Scheme.
George Eustice
The Rural Payments Agency has learnt a number of lessons following the introduction of the Basic Payment Scheme in 2015, in particular, allowing farmers and their agents the opportunity to apply online and on paper for 2016. In addition the online application process has been simplified for 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department plans to begin a procurement process for a technology to reuse plutonium stored at Sellafield before 2020.
Andrea Leadsom
Safely and securely managing plutonium remains a government priority. My Department is working across government, with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and industry to develop a solution.
NDA submitted advice to support DECC in its considerations on the policy options for separated plutonium held in the UK, in December 2015. The report gives a view on the balance of attractiveness and risk of each reuse option (reuse as MOX and assessment of the credible alternatives PRISM and Candu); as well as immobilisation and continued storage. This, together with other sources of information and evidence, is informing DECC’s consideration of the options for the way forward.
Only when Government is confident that an option could be implemented safely and securely, in way that is affordable, deliverable, and offers value for money, will it be in a position to proceed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Rural Payments Agency will maintain the current level of resources until the 2016 applications are logged and the issues with the 2015 applications are resolved; and if she will make a statement.
George Eustice
We understand the importance of Basic Payment Scheme payments to farmers and Defra has ensured that the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has all the resources it needs to complete claims processing for 2015 and to help farmers and agents to submit their 2016 applications as promptly as possible.
For 2016, applications are coming in with nearly 40,000 received either online or by paper. RPA has 14 support centres and a helpline to provide assistance to help farmers to claim.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dairy farmers have gone out of business in each of the last five years.
George Eustice
The table below shows the net change in the number of dairy farms. Data is only available on the total number of dairy farms in June and December of each year, so the table only shows the net change, rather than the number entering and the number leaving dairy farming. The latest data available on the number of dairy farms in England is for June 2015. This is shown below with data for the previous 5 years. The change in the number of farms includes new holdings which have been registered with dairy cattle, holdings that have ceased to have cattle and holdings that have merged.
The number of dairy cows on these dairy farms is also shown below. This shows that despite a 16% decrease in the overall number of dairy farms between June 2010 and June 2015, the number of dairy cows has remained almost unchanged, suggesting consolidation within the industry.
|
Date |
Number of dairy farms(a) |
Number of cows in the dairy herd(b) |
|
Jun-2010 |
9 461 |
1 142 497 |
|
Dec-2010 |
9 287 |
1 147 450 |
|
Jun-2011 |
9 041 |
1 112 459 |
|
Dec-2011 |
8 823 |
1 105 290 |
|
Jun-2012 |
8 663 |
1 104 676 |
|
Dec-2012 |
8 503 |
1 107 045 |
|
Jun-2013 |
8 342 |
1 098 610 |
|
Dec-2013 |
8 197 |
1 124 368 |
|
Jun-2014 |
8 092 |
1 128 548 |
|
Dec-2014 |
8 051 |
1 150 007 |
|
Jun-2015 |
7 982 |
1 148 089 |
|
% change Jun15/Jun10 |
-16% |
0.5% |
(a) Sourced from Cattle Tracing System. Dairy farms are defined as the number of holdings with more than 10 cows in the dairy herd.
(b) Cows in the dairy herd are defined as female dairy cows over 2 years old in the milking herd (i.e. with offspring).
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve the Rural Payments Agency call centre service.
George Eustice
The Rural Payments Agency always receives a high volume of calls on a wide range of subjects and continues to review its resources in response to demand. A number of new measures have recently been introduced, including more automated options, to help route customers to the best solution for their enquiry. The agency’s helpline, based in Workington, played an important role in the Basic Payment Scheme 2015 application campaign.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-02-29.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether death duties apply to mineral estates; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Gauke
Mineral rights (or ‘mineral estates’) will generally be owned by the person who owns the surface land, but they can be held separately. Rights in respect of some minerals, such as mineral oil and gas, are held by the Crown, or the Coal Authority in the case of coal deposits.
Where an individual owns mineral rights, the value of them forms part of their estate for inheritance tax purposes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-05-05.
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral contribution of 20 April 2016, Official Report, column 915, in response to the Question from the hon. Member for Workington, and with reference to the letter to him of 21 April 2016 from that hon. Member and the oral contribution from that hon. Member of 25 April 2016, Official Report, column 1187, what scheme is in place to assist rural pharmacies; and what other support is provided by the Government to support independent pharmacies.
Mr David Cameron
This year the Government is spending over £150 million more a year on pharmacies than in 2009/10. We are currently consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme which will provide more NHS funds to many independent and rural pharmacies on the basis of factors such as location and the health needs of the local population. Details of the consultation on the ‘Community Pharmacy 2016/17 and beyond’ can be found on the GOV.UK website.