Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on the delivery of the National Cyber Force at Samlesbury; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Heappey
The National Cyber Force (NCF) headquarters in Samlesbury is currently undergoing construction work. It will open in 2025, and the NCF is planning for several hundred staff to be based there within the first 12 months. By the 2030s this will have increased to up to two thousand people, including those from other partners, working there. We continue to prioritise the NCF workforce growth.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants at the director general level from other Departments are working in the Cabinet Office as of 16 October 2023.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
20 civil servants are working in the Department at the level of director general who are employed by the Cabinet Office as of 30 September 2023.
As of the same date the number of civil servants at the director general level from other Departments working in the Cabinet Office is less than 5 so we are unable to answer this as it would disclose personal data of the civil servants involved.
321 civil servants from other Departments are working in the Cabinet Office and on Cabinet Office payroll, on a Loan or Secondment as of 30 September 2023.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants at the level of director general are employed by his Department as of 16 October 2023.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
20 civil servants are working in the Department at the level of director general who are employed by the Cabinet Office as of 30 September 2023.
As of the same date the number of civil servants at the director general level from other Departments working in the Cabinet Office is less than 5 so we are unable to answer this as it would disclose personal data of the civil servants involved.
321 civil servants from other Departments are working in the Cabinet Office and on Cabinet Office payroll, on a Loan or Secondment as of 30 September 2023.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants from other Departments are working in his Department as of 16 October 2023.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
20 civil servants are working in the Department at the level of director general who are employed by the Cabinet Office as of 30 September 2023.
As of the same date the number of civil servants at the director general level from other Departments working in the Cabinet Office is less than 5 so we are unable to answer this as it would disclose personal data of the civil servants involved.
321 civil servants from other Departments are working in the Cabinet Office and on Cabinet Office payroll, on a Loan or Secondment as of 30 September 2023.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure the UK complies with the undertakings agreed to in the Geneva Agreements with Iran on the sale of civil aerospace parts to Iran.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The UK, as part of the E3+3, has fully met its obligations under the Joint Plan of Action agreed with Iran in Geneva, including in the area of sanctions relief. The supply of civil aerospace parts to Iran was permitted under EU sanctions prior to the Joint Plan of Action and remains so (subject to the usual export control procedures).
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will amend paragraph 98 of the National Planning Policy Framework to require applicants for onshore wind energy developments to demonstrate an overall national need for renewable energy.
Answered by Kris Hopkins
Inappropriately sited wind turbines can cause significant harm to the local environment. Hence, last year, we changed planning guidance to strengthen the protection of landscape and heritage in relation to onshore wind.
Looking forward, we are keeping planning policy on renewable energy under review and will consider whether any further steps are appropriate in the light of this monitoring. We are open to representations.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to review the boundaries of the county of Lancashire.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
It is not possible to make changes to county areas other than as a consequence of local government structural or boundary changes recommended by the independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England. We have no intention of seeking such change. We are however keen to recognise and acknowledge the continuing role of England's traditional counties in the public and cultural life of the nation and the Government has sought to encourage the marking and continued use of traditional county names and areas irrespective of current tiers of local administration.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which free schools have been approved in each local education authority area excluding London since 2010; and which such schools are (a) non-denominational and (b) of each religious denomination.
Answered by Edward Timpson
There are 174 open free schools in England. Published location information for all these schools is available on the Department for Education's website:
37 of those schools have a faith designation, of which 20 are in areas other than London and can be found in the table below, along with their religious designation.
Name of school | Local Authority | Faith Designation |
Al-Madinah School | Derby | Muslim |
Atherton Community School | Wigan | Christian |
Barrow 1618 Church of England School | Shropshire | Christian |
Becket Keys Church of England School | Essex | Christian |
Grindon Hall Free School | Sunderland | Christian |
Khalsa Secondary Academy | Buckinghamshire | Sikh |
King's School Hove | Brighton and Hove | Christian |
Krishna-Avanti Primary School | Leicester | Hindu |
Leeds Jewish Free School | Leeds | Jewish |
Niskham Free School | Birmingham | Sikh |
Nishkam High School | Birmingham | Sikh |
St Michael's Catholic Secondary School | Cornwall | Christian |
St Anthony's School | Gloucestershire | Christian |
St Mary's Primary School, Dilwyn | Herefordshire | Christian |
Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School | Blackburn with Darwen | Muslim |
The Olive School, Blackburn | Blackburn with Darwen | Muslim |
The Olive Tree Primary School | Bolton | Muslim |
Trinity School | Kent | Christian |
Tyndale Community School | Oxfordshire | Christian |
University Cathedral Free School | Cheshire West and Chester | Christian |
26% of mainstream free schools have a faith designation, as opposed to 34% of all state-funded mainstream schools.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what economic assessment he has made on the effect on tourism jobs in seaside areas and seaside economies of deregulating school holidays.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The Government is giving more schools greater flexibility to adapt the shape of the school year in the interests of their pupils' education.
Whilst this will extend an existing flexibility to a greater number of schools, our advice will continue to include a clear expectation of schools working with each other and the local authority to coordinate dates to avoid unnecessary disruption to parents and their employers.
The Department has consulted with representatives of the tourist industry. Where schools choose to change their holiday dates, following discussion locally with parents and local businesses, there may well be a positive impact on seaside economies. In areas of high-seasonal employment, for example, small variations to term-dates agreed locally may help parents to holiday outside of peak periods.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the extension of the lease for Diego Garcia Airbase.
Answered by Mark Simmonds
We welcome the US presence on Diego Garcia, and we have said we want to see it continue. The current agreement does not conclude until December 2016, and we have not yet held substantive discussions with the US about this subject. I expect my officials to begin doing so later this year.