Asked by: Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative - Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect the proposed ban on burning coal in domestic settings on fuel poverty.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As stated in the Government Response published on 21 February, we want to see a move from bituminous coal to less polluting fuels in the domestic setting. We will facilitate this transition by only allowing the sale of smokeless coal (or anthracite) and low sulphur manufactured solid fuels for the purpose of domestic combustion.
Asked by: Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative - Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes are off grid.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Four million homes in Great Britain were estimated to be without mains gas in 2018; fourteen percent of all homes. These are the latest figures available.
Asked by: Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative - Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of particulate emissions is generated by domestic coal burning.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Details on emissions of particulate matter (PM) by fuel type are not available for the latest year’s emissions inventory (first published 14 February 2020). This information will be available later in the spring via the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory website. Levels and trends in annual emissions of particulate matter in the UK are available from the National Statistics on emissions of air pollutants. These can be found at the following URL:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/emissions-of-air-pollutants
Data from the previous year’s inventory (published in 2019) indicate that approximately 3% of all PM2.5 emissions and 2% of all PM10 emissions in the UK were attributed to the domestic burning of coal in 2017. This equates to 3.3 kilotons and 3.4 kilotons of PM2.5 and PM10 emitted from domestic coal combustion in 2017, respectively. These figures include the burning of anthracite which is coal with a high carbon content.
Asked by: Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative - Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times the Thames flood barrier has been closed in each month since January 2017.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There have been 12 Thames Barrier Flood Defence Closures since January 2017. The table below shows how these have fallen over the following months.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Total |
January | 2 | 3 |
|
| 5 |
February |
|
|
| 2 | 2 |
March |
|
| 1 |
| 1 |
April |
|
|
|
|
|
May |
|
|
|
|
|
June |
|
|
|
|
|
July |
|
|
|
|
|
August |
|
|
|
|
|
September |
|
| 1 |
| 1 |
October | 1 |
| 1 |
| 2 |
November |
|
|
|
|
|
December |
| 1 |
|
| 1 |
There have been 46 Thames Barrier Closures in total since January 2017. This includes monthly test closures and flood defence closures. A table showing the monthly breakdown is below:
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Total |
January | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
February | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
March | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 |
April | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 |
May | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 |
June | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 |
July | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 |
August | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 |
September | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 |
October | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 |
November | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 |
December | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 |
Asked by: Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative - Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of small firms and shops in (a) England and (b) Thurrock which will have a reduction in business rates in 2015-16.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I refer my hon. Friend to my earlier answer at oral questions today to my hon. Friend, the Member for Mid Derbyshire (Pauline Latham), PQ 906620.
Our retail relief is benefitting 450 businesses in Thurrock and Small Business Rate Relief is benefiting 950 businesses.
Our rates retention scheme gives authorities a strong growth incentive. Councils benefit from nearly £11 billion under the scheme.
Asked by: Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative - Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of how many cases met the criteria for inclusion in the migration refusal pool before 2008; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by James Brokenshire
This Government inherited over 223,000 records - dating from before December 2008 - with very poor data quality, and no structured plan. Alongside wider work to restore control to our immigration system, particularly through abolishing the UK Border Agency, the Government initiated a programme to bring sense to this stock of old records. Having identified and taken out records relating to those people known to have left the country, as well as duplicate and erroneous records, the number of meaningful pre-2008 records is just over 89,000. Those are now being addressed in the proper way.
Asked by: Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative - Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many clandestine migrants have been identified at (a) the UK's seaport and (b) the Port of Tilbury in each year since 2000.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The following detections of clandestine migrants have been made across all UK sea ports since 2011 (to obtain data pre-2011 would be at disproportionate cost): 692 detections in 2011, 568 in 2012 and 678 in 2013.
In order to ensure the integrity and security of the UK border, Her Majesty’s Government does not comment on port specific statistics.
The figures quoted are management information, subject to internal quality checks and may be subject to change. The figures include those detected at a sea port and on ferries.
Asked by: Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative - Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the additional investment which would be required at junction 30 of the M25 for the Lower Thames crossing options A and C.
Answered by John Hayes
The Department for Transport’s initial estimate of the additional investment that may be required at junction 30 of the M25 for the Lower Thames crossing options A and C was published on 15th July 2014, and is available on the Department’s website at:
Asked by: Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative - Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on traffic flows along Thurrock's local road network of option A and option C for the Lower Thames crossing.
Answered by John Hayes
The review report (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-lower-thames-crossing-options-final-review-report) of location options A, B, C and Cvariant for the new Lower Thames crossing, which was published alongside the options consultation on 21st May 2013, considered the potential impacts on the surrounding local road networks. Following the Secretary of State’s announcement of 15th July 2014, these and many other potential impacts will now be examined in greater detail at both remaining location options A and C - and further consultation is expected to follow in late 2015 or early 2016.
Asked by: Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative - Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the consequences for air quality in Thurrock of options A and C for the Lower Thames crossing.
Answered by John Hayes
The Department for Transport’s initial comparative assessment of the potential consequences for air quality in Thurrock of options A and C for the Lower Thames crossing was published on 15th July 2014, and is available on the Department’s website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/324374/module-1.pdf