Tag: Tania Mathias

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the potential sale value of the site of Kneller Hall, Whitton.

Mark Lancaster

Although the Ministry of Defence has received an initial valuation for Kneller Hall, it is commercially sensitive and to release it would prejudice commercial interests.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the security of airports of security scanning all bags before they are allowed into an airport building.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We regularly assess all threats to aviation security along with appropriate response measures. Following the recent attacks at Brussels Airport, measures were put in place to enhance the protection of public areas at UK airports. We do not currently assess that requiring all bags to be scanned at the entrance to airport building would be an effective and proportionate response, but we will continue to work with airports and the police to keep this and other possible measures under review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what he plans the timescale to be for the planned public consultation after the Government has made its decision on airport expansion.

Mr John Hayes

The Government will take a view on the timing of a public consultation once it has reached a decision on its preferred scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the estimate of surface access costs associated with an expansion of Heathrow Airport produced by (a) the Airports Commission and (b) the Mayor of London in his response to the Airports Commission consultation, published in February 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Airports Commission, in undertaking its work consulted widely, engaging with a broad range of organisations and people, and considered a wide range of views and information from stakeholders, including the Mayor of London, to inform its recommendations.

The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report, including its examination of the costs of the surface access proposals associated with airport expansion, before taking any decisions on next steps.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Government has spent on the upkeep of the site of Kneller Hall, Whitton, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Mark Lancaster

Information on investment at Kneller Hall for each of the financial years for which figures are available is shown in the following table:

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the report entitled, Self-employment review – An independent report by Julie Deane, published in February 2016, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending entitlement to statutory adoption pay to self-employed people.

Anna Soubry

The Government is considering all the recommendations made in Julie Deane’s independent review of self-employment and will respond in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the (a) potential benefits to security and (b) viability of effective implementation of requiring proof of identification prior to purchase of a SIM card.

Sarah Newton

This issue was considered in detail by an expert group comprising representatives of law enforcement, the security and intelligence agencies and communication service providers following the terrorist attacks in London in July 2005. The experts’ findings remain valid. They concluded that the registration of ownership of mobile telephones would not deliver any significant new benefits to the investigatory process.

Mobile phones are not the only devices capable of making calls or sending messages. Many laptops, computers, popular MP3 players and games consoles also support the sending of messages and phone calls. These devices are increasingly being used for communications. It would be necessary to include these other devices in any mandatory registration scheme.

Separately, the person who buys the device is not necessarily the person who will use it. Mobile phones are often sold or given to family members or friends which would mean that such information would quickly become out of date.

Furthermore, those who were keen to avoid providing details would still find ways to circumvent the scheme, such as purchasing or registering phones under false identities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HM Revenue and Customs is taking to recover money owed by people who benefited from the employee benefit trust scheme used by Glasgow Rangers Football Club.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs has a statutory duty to maintain taxpayer confidentiality and cannot comment on the affairs of individual taxpayers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which body is responsible for enforcement of aircraft noise abatement requirements.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government sets noise abatement procedures at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. These are set out in Noise Abatement Requirements Notice(s) made under section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982.

At other airports these are agreed locally often through local planning agreements. Where the Government sets the procedures these are monitored by the airports’ noise and track keeping systems which receives data from National Air Traffic Services (NATS) radars and permanent noise monitors located around the airport.

Adherence to the noise abatement procedures are reported via the airports flight performance report which will be available on the airports website. Fines are imposed at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airport for breaching noise departure limits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the potential effect of airport expansion on the UK’s climate change goals.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Department for Transport officials are engaging closely with colleagues in the Department for Energy and Climate Change and any decision regarding future airport capacity will take into account the Government’s obligations under the Climate Change Act.

On 14 December 2015 the Secretary of State for Transport announced that the Government would undertake a package of further work, including on measures to mitigate carbon impacts and address sustainability concerns, particularly during construction. This further work will conclude by the summer.