Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to encourage innovation in the defence industry.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
With an equipment plan worth £178 billion over 10 years and a rising defence budget, there are great opportunities for innovative suppliers.
We are spending up to 20% of our science and technology budget on game-changing research, creating a 10-year £800 million innovation fund and have established a defence and security accelerator.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to issue new guidance to local authority air quality monitoring units after the UK exits the EU.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Defra will continue to provide technical and policy guidance to local authorities to assist them in meeting their air quality management responsibilities, including air quality monitoring. This guidance is kept under review and was last updated last year.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timetable is for the Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft to be brought into operational service.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The first UK Poseidon P-8A aircraft will be delivered in 2019, when it will be subject to trials in America. It is anticipated that this aircraft will begin to operate from RAF Lossiemouth in 2020.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what lessons his Department learned from the Nimrod MRA4 and Chinook HC Mk3 procurement processes; and what procurement projects his Department uses as benchmarks for effectiveness.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The problems that led to cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4 programme and the difficulties with Chinook Mk3 were rooted in the procurement practices of over 20 years ago. Since then a series of procurement reforms, building on an understanding of why projects such as Nimrod MRA4 and Chinook Mk 3 went awry, have produced a more robust equipment acquisition process that has led to improved project delivery performance as set out in the most recent annual NAO Major Project Reports.
Improvements to our procurement processes help to ensure we can maximise investment in the front line. Our Equipment Plan will invest £178 billion on equipment and support over the next decade.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing an Independent Aviation Noise Authority.
Answered by John Hayes
The government is considering recommendations put forward by the Airports Commission for an independent aviation noise body and will consult on these matters shortly.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it is his policy that the UK will remain part of the European Community Urgent Radiological Information Exchange after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government is assessing the legal and policy implications of the public’s vote to leave the EU. This assessment includes implications for the UK’s membership of the European Atomic Energy Community and participation in the European Community Urgent Radiological Information Exchange.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the implications are for UK membership of the European Atomic Energy Community of the UK's decision to leave the EU.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government is assessing the legal and policy implications of the public’s vote to leave the EU. This assessment includes implications for the UK’s membership of the European Atomic Energy Community and participation in the European Community Urgent Radiological Information Exchange.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an estimate of the effect of the change in the value of sterling since the UK decided to leave the EU on the lifetime cost of Trident replacement.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 October 2016 to Question 48369 to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Mr Chapman).
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to investigate reports of misconduct by Royal Bank of Scotland relating to small business finance.
Answered by Simon Kirby
HM Treasury has no plans to investigate these reports. This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority, which is undertaking a review.
Asked by: George Kerevan (Scottish National Party - East Lothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish the next national audit register.
Answered by David Gauke
We assume that the Hon Member is referring to the National Asset Register. HM Treasury have no plans to publish a National Asset Register. The decision to stop publication of a National Asset Register was made before the first publication of the Whole of Government Accounts for 2009-10. The latest version of the Whole of Government Accounts for 2014-15 was published on 26 May 2016.