Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.259 of Budget 2015, HC 1093, which Department has been allocated as lead Department for the implementation of a marine reserve around the Pitcairn Islands.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is leading on the implementation of a Marine Protected Area around the Pitcairn Islands.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the application and interpretation of provisions in the Habitats Directive on bats inhabiting church premises in other EU member states.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Whilst we do not hold any information about how other Member States apply or interpret the provisions in the Habitats Directive in relation to bats in churches, the Government understands the problems that the presence of bats can cause.
To assist churches, Defra has funded research to identify techniques that can be used to deter bats from sensitive areas of churches, the results of which were published in March 2014. English Heritage is now funding a project trialling the techniques identified by this research in several churches to develop a toolkit and advice pack. A bid for Heritage Lottery funding to help pay for the implementation of this toolkit is also being prepared.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he will take to monitor the loss to development of land in England and Wales during the UN International Year of Soils in 2015.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Department for Communities and Local Government has previously published national statistics on Land Use Change. These statistics report the amount of undeveloped land, including agricultural land, changing to a developed use changing to a developed use.
In 2013, the Department let a tender to secure these statistics and a 30 per cent reduction in costs using an innovative new methodology. The first publication of these new statistics will cover the year 2013-14 and has been provisionally announced for June/July 2015. Subsequent years publications will be preannounced for publication in due course.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2015 to Question 219323, how many hectares of land as mapped in the High Speed 2 Phase One environment statement have been allocated for (a) woodland, (b) wetland and (c) grass and habitat creation.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The number of hectares of land set aside for the various land uses are 522.7 for woodland, 45.7 for wetland and 410.5 for grass and habitat creation.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the land due to be compulsorily purchased for High Speed Two is required for (a) construction of the track and associated infrastructure and (b) environment mitigation.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
It is not possible to answer the question as stated. HS2 is an integrated railway that has been designed to avoid and or reduce environmental impacts throughout its development. The approach used to developing this railway has been to fully integrate environmental mitigation into the railway’s design. For example, environmental impacts and mitigations are considered when designing the depth of a particular cutting.
It is therefore not possible to separate the usage of compulsorily purchased land into the two defined categories.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure the routine commissioning of cough assist machines in the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jane Ellison
I refer my Rt. hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my Rt. hon Friend, the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Andrew Mitchell) on 27 October 2014 to Question 211129.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the Government's latest projected cost is for the London to Birmingham stretch of High Speed 2, with contingency identified separately.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The current estimated cost of Phase 1 of High Speed 2 (London to West Midlands) is £15.65 billion. A contingency provision of £5.75 billion has been set at P95 level. Based on these prices the cost per single track kilometre is £47.56 million for Phase 1, including £80, 000 per kilometre for noise barriers. These figures are in 2011 prices and at the P95 level, meaning that at this early stage there is a 95 percent confidence level that the project can be delivered for this cost.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the projected cost per kilometre is of the London to Birmingham stretch of High Speed 2; and what the projected cost per kilometre is of noise barriers on that stretch.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The current estimated cost of Phase 1 of High Speed 2 (London to West Midlands) is £15.65 billion. A contingency provision of £5.75 billion has been set at P95 level. Based on these prices the cost per single track kilometre is £47.56 million for Phase 1, including £80, 000 per kilometre for noise barriers. These figures are in 2011 prices and at the P95 level, meaning that at this early stage there is a 95 percent confidence level that the project can be delivered for this cost.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Dutch government about its planned incineration tax.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
There have been no discussions with the Dutch government about its planned incineration tax.
Asked by: Caroline Spelman (Conservative - Meriden)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the likelihood of nations to which the UK exports for incineration introducing similar measures to the Dutch government's planned incineration tax.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Defra has no current plans to assess the likelihood of nations, to which the UK exports for incineration, introducing similar measures to the Dutch government’s planned incineration tax.
Earlier this year we held a call for evidence on the Refuse Derived Fuel market in England, including the effect that exports had on its availability on the domestic market. We are currently analysing the evidence submitted.