Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials of his Department are working on contingency planning for floods.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the lead government department responsible for planning for and responding to flooding emergencies. The Cabinet Office’s role in contingency planning is to ensure coherent, robust, risk-based planning is undertaken across Government and that generic capabilities are in place to prepare for and respond to a range of emergencies, including flooding.
Three officials in the Cabinet Office are currently spending a significant amount of their time contributing to the National Flood Resilience Review. Eight officials in the Civil Contingencies Secretariat work on the response to flooding as well as other emergencies.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government's policy is on contingency planning for potential major industrial accidents.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
A robust statutory framework exists for contingency arrangements in the event of a major industrial accident. This focuses on both accident prevention and multi-agency contingency planning delivered through the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 and legislation addressing specific industrial hazards, including the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 2015, the Pipeline Safety Regulations (PSR) 1996, and the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (PEPPIR) 2001. The CCA requires multi-agency partnerships to assess the risks associated with industrial accidents and to undertake suitable specific or generic contingency planning. COMAH, PSR and REPPIR require site operators, local authorities and others to ensure effective arrangements are in place to respond to the onsite and offsite consequences of major accidents and provide for warning and informing those who might be affected.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has had with (a) the Home Department, (b) the Department of Health and (c) telephone companies about the potential vulnerability to flooding of the emergency services communication lines.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
The vulnerability of communications, including those used by emergency services, to flooding is part of the National Flood Resilience Review, alongside the vulnerability of other utilities and public services. This review, led by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is wide ranging, involving conversations with multiple government departments, including the Home Office and Department of Health as well as infrastructure operators. A report on progress is scheduled to be published in the summer.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what dates the National Flood Resilience Review met; what the dates are for future meetings of that review; and if he will publish the (a) agendas for and (b) minutes of meetings of that review.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
The National Flood Resilience Review Group meets regularly to review progress of the review. We do not comment on specific date, nor do we publish agendas or minutes
The National Floods Resilience Review Group is chaired by Oliver Letwin and consists of Ministers and senior officials from relevant departments, including Defra, DECC, DfT, DCLG, HMT, DCMS, the Environment Agency and the Met Office.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the membership of the National Flood Resilience Review team is.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
The National Flood Resilience Review Group meets regularly to review progress of the review. We do not comment on specific date, nor do we publish agendas or minutes
The National Floods Resilience Review Group is chaired by Oliver Letwin and consists of Ministers and senior officials from relevant departments, including Defra, DECC, DfT, DCLG, HMT, DCMS, the Environment Agency and the Met Office.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on civil contingencies of the policies announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
My officials and I worked closely with departments and the Treasury in preparing for the spending review to ensure that crucial civil contingencies capabilities were maintained. The settlement outlined in the Autumn Statement strikes the right balance between protecting the public and communities and reducing the budget deficit.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many voluntary exit payments for Civil Service employees with a value of more than £95,000 have been rejected since May 2015.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Information about the number and value of payments made under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme are accounted for in Departmental annual reports. Details about the overall number of cases rejected under the scheme is not held centrally.
There are no cases that are currently outstanding that were submitted to my department before 1 October 2015.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many requests for voluntary exit payments for Civil Service employees with a value of more than £95,000 he has received since May 2015.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Information about the number and value of payments made under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme are accounted for in Departmental annual reports. Details about the overall number of cases rejected under the scheme is not held centrally.
There are no cases that are currently outstanding that were submitted to my department before 1 October 2015.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many requests for voluntary exit payments for Civil Service employees with a value of more than £95,000 have been outstanding since May 2015.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Information about the number and value of payments made under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme are accounted for in Departmental annual reports. Details about the overall number of cases rejected under the scheme is not held centrally.
There are no cases that are currently outstanding that were submitted to my department before 1 October 2015.