Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Charnwood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the tree-planting rates have been in England in each year since 2006.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Forestry Commission collect and publish National Statistics for England on the area, in hectares, of new woodland planting. It also estimates the number of trees planted, based on the average number of trees planted per hectare in the grant supported planting. In 2015-16 this average was 1,566 trees per hectare.
Table 1 below provides annual planting area published by the Forestry Commission since 2006 and its estimate of the number of trees planted.
In 2015-16 the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) supported 546 hectares of planting and it is estimated that 165 hectares of woodland was created, without RDPE support, bringing the total created during 2015-16 to 711 hectares.
In the period April 2016 to June 2016, a further 422 hectares of woodland was recorded as being planted with RDPE support.
The RDPE figures reflect the slow initial take up of Countryside Stewardship support for woodland planting. Planting is recorded at the time the grant is paid, which means that some planting will have taken place in the previous financial year to that in which it is recorded. Approximately 1,292,000 trees were planted in England with RDPE support since April 2015.
Table 1: New planting of woodland in England since 2005-06
Financial Year to 31st March | a) New planting by land area | b) Estimated number of trees |
| Thousand hectares | Million trees |
2005-06 | 3.7 | 4.1 |
2006-07 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
2007-08 | 2.6 | 2.9 |
2008-09 | 2.5 | 2.8 |
2009-10 | 2.3 | 2.5 |
2010-11 | 2.5 | 2.8 |
2011-12 | 2.7 | 3.0 |
2012-13 | 2.6 | 2.9 |
2013-14 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
2014-15 | 2.4 | 2.6 |
2015-16 | 0.7 | 0.8 |
Source: Forestry Statistics 2016 (Forestry Commission)
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Charnwood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure the sustainability of the sea-bass population.
Answered by George Eustice
Bass continue to be a priority for the UK Government as we prepare for negotiations at EU level in December to agree further measures that will apply in 2017. Our approach will include consideration of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea scientific advice on bass for 2017 and will clearly recognise the continuing need to maintain strong action to help this stock recover.
The European Commission’s proposals, expected shortly, will help to inform our negotiating position. This will take into account the current and long term interests of the recreational and commercial fishing sectors in this important fish stock. We will be working with stakeholders, other Member States, and the European Commission in the coming weeks to inform the UK position.
At the domestic scale our review of bass measures is focusing principally on bass nursery areas. Where it is identified that action is required, this work will be further developed and, where national legislation may be required, will follow the usual legislative process. We will seek the views of key stakeholders on the way forward. Any proposed national legislation will be subject to public consultation involving stakeholders, other Government Departments and interested parties.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Charnwood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the likely rate of tree-planting in England in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Forestry Commission has reported, as an Official Statistic, that 522 hectares of woodland, equivalent to 798,000 trees, was planted through Government-funded incentives to the end of June 2016. All agreements for schemes with planting planned for 2017 are currently being processed and have yet to be signed, meaning that no forecast of tree numbers can yet be provided. However, the Forestry Commission estimates that the likely rate of new woodland planting will increase in the remainder of 2016 and 2017.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Charnwood)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation on the ground in Yemen.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Yemen is one of the most serious and complex humanitarian crises in the world. The United Nations (UN) estimates that 21.2 million people in Yemen require humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs for food, water, sanitation, and healthcare, or protect their fundamental rights. Yemen is also experiencing an economic crisis, which has driven up food and other prices, and reduced people’s purchasing power.
Ultimately, only an end to the conflict will address the humanitarian crisis. The UK is working closely with other countries to de-escalate the conflict and is providing significant support to UN-led peace talks. The UK is also working with the UN and other countries to improve commercial and humanitarian access to and within Yemen.
The Secretary of State recently co-hosted an international event on Yemen to shine a spotlight on the humanitarian crisis. At the event, the UK announced a further £37 million, bringing our total humanitarian support for Yemen to £100 million for 2016/2017.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Charnwood)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress her Department has made on increasing the volume of aid delivered on the ground in Yemen in the last six months.
Answered by Rory Stewart
On 21st September, the Secretary of State co-hosted an international event on Yemen at the UN General Assembly to shine a spotlight on the crisis. At the event, donors pledged over $100 million in additional humanitarian funding for Yemen and UN agencies committing to improving the delivery of humanitarian aid on the ground. As of 6 October, the UN Appeal is now 47% funded, up from 32% at the end of August.
The UK is the 4th largest donor to the Yemen crisis. We have so far committed £100 million in humanitarian assistance over the financial year (16/17), with £41.5 million distributed between March and August 2016 for food, medical supplies, water, and emergency shelter.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Charnwood)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with Ministers of the Welsh Government on the Swansea Tidal Lagoon project; and what recent assessment he has made of progress on that project as a result of those discussions.
Answered by Alun Cairns
I discussed the proposed Tidal Lagoon project with the First Minister for Wales and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy when I met with them both in August.
This is an exciting project for Wales. We must, however, ensure that it will deliver affordable energy and that it represents value for money for energy consumers. Charles Hendry is due to finalise his independent review into tidal lagoons this autumn which will help establish an evidence base to ensure all decisions made regarding tidal lagoon energy are in the best interests of the UK.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Charnwood)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to replicate the system of Historic Environment Records used in Wales in England.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
In England local planning authorities are required to have regard to the terms of the National Planning Policy Framework, which indicates that they should either maintain or have access to an Historical Environment Records (HER).
The Heritage Information Access Strategy (HIAS) programme intends to secure an improved and more cost effective approach to handling digital historic environment data, especially that held by local authority Historic Environment Records. It is intended to improve the accessibility of that information and work with HERs to become more user focused. As part of HIAS Historic England will continue to champion the development, maintenance and implementation of standards for the creation, management and storage of digital historic environment data.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Charnwood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to support people with personal savings.
Answered by Simon Kirby
This Government has taken radical steps to support savers. From April 2017 the Lifetime ISA will mean People under 40 can use it to save for their first home and retirement and receive a 25% bonus from the Government. From the same date, all savers will also be able to benefit from the largest ever increase in the annual ISA allowance from £15,240 to £20,000 per year.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Charnwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of schools in England have access to a defibrillator; and if she will make an assessment of how that proportion compares to the equivalent proportions in each other constituent part of the UK.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Department for Education is encouraging schools to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) as part of their first aid equipment. To help them do this, on 26 November 2014 we announced new arrangements to allow schools to purchase AEDs at a competitive price. This is the result of a unique agreement between the Department for Education and the Department of Health in which devices are bought in bulk and the savings of around 50% are passed on to schools.
Since the launch of this policy, 1389 defibrillators have been provided to schools across the following regions:
England – 1326
Wales – 62
Scotland – 0
Northern Ireland – 1
These figures include 654 defibrillators purchased by schools since my answer to parliamentary question 13301 in October 2015. Taking into account all of the devices sold to schools through these arrangements, the estimated accumulative saving for schools is approximately £470,000.
Schools do not have to purchase a defibrillator through the government scheme, and the Department does not collect information on how many schools have access to a defibrillator.
To help schools in considering whether to purchase a defibrillator, the Department has published advice on installing and maintaining AEDs on school premises. This has been developed drawing on the expertise of NHS ambulance services and voluntary and community sector organisations.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Charnwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to increase the proportion of schools with access to a defibrillator.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Department for Education is encouraging schools to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) as part of their first aid equipment. To help them do this, on 26 November 2014 we announced new arrangements to allow schools to purchase AEDs at a competitive price. This is the result of a unique agreement between the Department for Education and the Department of Health in which devices are bought in bulk and the savings of around 50% are passed on to schools.
Since the launch of this policy, 1389 defibrillators have been provided to schools across the following regions:
England – 1326
Wales – 62
Scotland – 0
Northern Ireland – 1
These figures include 654 defibrillators purchased by schools since my answer to parliamentary question 13301 in October 2015. Taking into account all of the devices sold to schools through these arrangements, the estimated accumulative saving for schools is approximately £470,000.
Schools do not have to purchase a defibrillator through the government scheme, and the Department does not collect information on how many schools have access to a defibrillator.
To help schools in considering whether to purchase a defibrillator, the Department has published advice on installing and maintaining AEDs on school premises. This has been developed drawing on the expertise of NHS ambulance services and voluntary and community sector organisations.