James Gray

The Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Scheme is not administered by the Church Commissioners but by the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

The Church Commissioners understand that despite the very short window for applications, a very substantial number have been submitted. This amply illustrates the need for such a scheme.

All decisions regarding successful bids should be completed by the National Heritage Memorial Fund by the end of March.

Cabinet Office does not centrally collect the specific data requested.

Information requested is not collated and can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:

https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive

Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

I refer the Honourable gentleman to the response to PQ128071 answered on 22 February.

Public sector procurers are required to seek value for money through fair and open competition and in line with our current international obligations.

The Government wants UK companies to be successful in public procurement, and we are seeking to ensure the huge purchasing power of government supports the task of boosting growth, and enables us to actively shape the UK market for the long term.

Information regarding how many and what proportion of the Department’s (BEIS) cloud-hosting contracts have been awarded to (a) hyperscale cloud providers and (b) UK SMEs: and the value of those contracts in each of the last three years, is not held in a format that can be fully and easily extracted. This could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

However, we can confirm the following in relation to (a) and (b).

a) From records held centrally, BEIS has four cloud hosting contracts. We regard three of these to be hyperscale providers. In total these contracts have a value of £883k for 2017/18.

b) The other cloud hosting provider is an SME. This contract has a maximum value of £280k over the last three years.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not centrally collect the specific data requested.

Information regarding contracts above the value of £10,000 is published on Contracts Finder on GOV.UK, available at https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.

The Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Information Commissioner’s Office also have responsibilities in this area.

The Department has appropriate physical security measures to ensure a safe and secure working environment for staff. However, the Department does not provide specific details on the security measures it has in place.

There has been no correspondence between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the British Forces Postal Office on providing such services. Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on the Gov.UK website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy&publication_type=transparency-data

Information for July – September 2017 will be published in due course.

We did not award any contracts to hyperscale cloud providers.

There was no requirement to award UK SMEs cloud hosting contracts in 2015 or 2016. In 2017 we awarded £41,850 to UK SMEs.

DCMS does not centrally collect the specific data requested.

Information regarding contracts above the value of £10,000 is published on Contracts Finder on GOV.UK, available at https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.

The Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Information Commissioner’s Office also have responsibilities in this area.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not met Imagile Infrastructure Management on the delays to its completion of its planned expansion of Malmesbury Academy.

The department has not funded the expansion. The expansion has been funded by Wiltshire local authority, using money they have received from Section 106 funding.

The Department has not awarded any private finance initiative contracts to Imagile Infrastructure Management.

The Department is not aware of any complaints received about delays to private finance contracts administered by Imagile Infrastructure Management.

Imagile Infrastructure Management does not hold any private finance contracts with this Department. The only private finance contracts entered into by this Department are the five private finance 2 contracts procured under the recent Priority School Building Programme. The Department actively manages and enforces those contracts to hold the providers under those contracts to account for their performance.

The department’s cloud hosting contracts have been awarded to UK SMEs over the past three years. We did not award any contracts to hyperscale cloud providers. See table below:

The department is not aware of any databases containing citizen data that are stored by its cloud providers in jurisdictions that are subject to information request by US administration bodies.

The Government’s four-step roadmap has been informed by the latest scientific evidence and seeks a balance between our key social and economic priorities, while preserving the health and safety of the country. The approach focuses on scientific data, not hard and fast dates. The dates shown in the roadmap are the earliest that changes will be made, subject to the data confirming it is safe to do so.

Marinas have not been required to close during the lockdown and have been able to open for permitted activities. Boating activities, including access to marinas and their re-opening where they are closed, should be conducted in line with the roadmap. The Royal Yachting Association is represented at regular stakeholder meetings between Defra officials and other inland waterway representatives.

Boat owners wishing to access their boats during periods of national lockdown should consult the relevant coronavirus regulations and associated guidance on the GOV.UK website to determine what is and is not permitted. Navigation authorities, other industry representatives, and membership bodies in many instances also publish guidance for their waterways on their websites.

Non-essential travel is not permitted anywhere in England during the national lockdown, and while the regulations around essential travel do include some exemptions, attending to regular boat maintenance is not one of them. The regulations allow for an individual or company to employ someone in a professional capacity to visit their boat to undertake regular maintenance works, and they also allow people to leave home exceptionally to secure their second home, caravan or boat to avoid it posing a risk of harm or injury to themselves or others.

From 29 March, people will no longer be legally required to Stay at Home, but should continue to minimise travel wherever possible and should not be staying away from home overnight at this stage.

Under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, it is an offence to take or kill common and grey seals out of season (when they have pups) or to use certain methods to kill or take, unless permitted to do so by a licence issued under the Act. In the last ten years there have been no licenses issued to shoot seals to protect aquaculture or fisheries interests in England.

Fishers have the legal defence to take unlicensed emergency measures in relation to individual seals to prevent damage to their fishing equipment or fish contained within it. There are no reporting requirements under this provision.

Defra is working closely with Marine Scotland, the Marine Management Organisation, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Seafish, the University of St Andrews, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science and the British Embassy in Washington DC on the UK’s approach to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Our aim is that the UK can continue to export to the United States when the MMPA is implemented on 1 January 2022.

We have a long-term UK bycatch monitoring programme that uses dedicated observers to focus monitoring efforts on fisheries that pose a high risk of cetacean bycatch. The data from this programme have been used to complete our response to the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to fulfil requirements of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).

We continue to engage with the United States to discuss the details of the UK’s approach to cetacean bycatch monitoring and management and to ensure that we meet the requirements of the MMPA Import Provision Rule.

Under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, it is an offence to take or kill common and grey seals out of season (when they have pups) or to use certain methods to kill or take, unless permitted to do so under exceptional circumstances or by a licence issued under the Act. In the last ten years there have been no licenses issued to shoot seals to protect aquaculture or fisheries interests in England.

The UK Government and devolved administrations are in regular dialogue with the EU, the United States and stakeholders about our US Marine Mammal Protection Act preparation, including any implications for UK seal licensing regimes, to ensure future access to US markets.

The Department for Exiting the European Union uses information technology services provided by the Cabinet Office. Therefore, I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question 129786.

The Department for Exiting the European Union uses information technology systems and information management expertise provided by the Cabinet Office. Therefore, I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question 128071.

This information cannot be disclosed as it may jeopardise the Department’s Protective Security stance.

However, as Department Exiting the European Union is a tenant in other government department’s buildings, it abides by the rules and regulations that they stipulate for the delivery and management of mail and parcels.

All secure mail is handled as part of the Government Secure Mail Service, which may include the use of the British Forces Postal Office, but the Department has not had any direct communications with the BFPO about providing these services.

The Department for International Trade was formed in July 2016. In 2016 one contract was awarded to a UK small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) for cloud hosting. In 2017 one contract was awarded to a UK SME and one contract was awarded to a hyperscale cloud provider for cloud hosting. These proportions are shown in the table below.

The value and proportion of these contracts by value of UK SME and hyper scale provider is as follows:

The Department of International Trade (DIT) follows government security standards relating to the receipt of incoming post and parcels, as laid out under the HMG Security Policy Framework and as appropriate for each DIT location. DIT has not had discussions with the British Forces Post Office on this matter.

The department prepares for a wide range of incidents that have the potential to disrupt air operations in the UK.

Details on the risk to aviation from an Icelandic Volcanic event are set out in “UK National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies 2017.” This document includes details on the actions taken by government and industry since the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in 2010, as well as an assessment of the likelihood and impact of a future eruption. This covers both the risk of disruption from an ash rich eruption, as well as air pollution risks posed by a prolonged gas rich eruption, generating large amounts of sulphur dioxide and sulphate aerosol.

We are confident that contingency plans developed by the government and the aviation industry, alongside actions taken by the Icelandic authorities, will reduce significantly the level of disruption arising from a similar eruption to that in 2010. Volcanic activity across Iceland is kept under constant scrutiny and the contingency plans can be deployed quickly if required.

The department prepares for a wide range of incidents that have the potential to disrupt air operations in the UK.

Details on the risk to aviation from an Icelandic Volcanic event are set out in “UK National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies 2017.” This document includes details on the actions taken by government and industry since the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in 2010, as well as an assessment of the likelihood and impact of a future eruption. This covers both the risk of disruption from an ash rich eruption, as well as air pollution risks posed by a prolonged gas rich eruption, generating large amounts of sulphur dioxide and sulphate aerosol.

We are confident that contingency plans developed by the government and the aviation industry, alongside actions taken by the Icelandic authorities, will reduce significantly the level of disruption arising from a similar eruption to that in 2010. Volcanic activity across Iceland is kept under constant scrutiny and the contingency plans can be deployed quickly if required.

The department prepares for a wide range of incidents that have the potential to disrupt air operations in the UK.

Details on the risk to aviation from an Icelandic Volcanic event are set out in “UK National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies 2017.” This document includes details on the actions taken by government and industry since the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in 2010, as well as an assessment of the likelihood and impact of a future eruption. This covers both the risk of disruption from an ash rich eruption, as well as air pollution risks posed by a prolonged gas rich eruption, generating large amounts of sulphur dioxide and sulphate aerosol.

We are confident that contingency plans developed by the government and the aviation industry, alongside actions taken by the Icelandic authorities, will reduce significantly the level of disruption arising from a similar eruption to that in 2010. Volcanic activity across Iceland is kept under constant scrutiny and the contingency plans can be deployed quickly if required.

The department prepares for a wide range of incidents that have the potential to disrupt air operations in the UK.

Details on the risk to aviation from an Icelandic Volcanic event are set out in “UK National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies 2017.” This document includes details on the actions taken by government and industry since the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in 2010, as well as an assessment of the likelihood and impact of a future eruption. This covers both the risk of disruption from an ash rich eruption, as well as air pollution risks posed by a prolonged gas rich eruption, generating large amounts of sulphur dioxide and sulphate aerosol.

We are confident that contingency plans developed by the government and the aviation industry, alongside actions taken by the Icelandic authorities, will reduce significantly the level of disruption arising from a similar eruption to that in 2010. Volcanic activity across Iceland is kept under constant scrutiny and the contingency plans can be deployed quickly if required.