Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) diplomatic and (b) military contribution the UK is making to the Global Coalition Against Daesh.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK remains committed to the Global Coalition Against Daesh and is the second largest contributor to Operation INHERENT RESOLVE.
As part of this military contribution, the UK provides support and funding for a range of initiatives across the region, including providing training, mentoring and professional military education to the Iraqi Security Forces. The UK has trained over 111,000 members of Iraqi Security forces, including over 21,000 of the Kurdish Peshmerga.
The UK also leads the Coalition’s counter-Daesh communications activity, working with Government and civil society partners.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Global Coalition Against Daesh in reducing the threat from terrorists in (a) Iraq and (b) Syria.
Answered by James Heappey
As a leading member of the Global Coalition, the UK will continue to provide military support to the Iraqi Security Forces and regional partners in order tackle the threat of terrorism from Daesh, including to the UK. This remains a priority for the international community.
Since 2014, the Coalition has helped liberate over 110,000 square kilometres of former Daesh territory and continues to provide essential support to the Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Security Forces at the request of the Iraqi Government. The Coalition also delivers essential aid to liberated communities, and the UK leads on the Coalition’s mission for countering Daesh propaganda.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) flying hours and (b) air strikes have been conducted by UK armed forces against Daesh in (a) Iraq and (b) Syria in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by James Heappey
There have been three air strikes conducted by UK Armed Forces against Daesh in Iraq and Syria in the last 12 months (two in Iraq and one in Syria). The combined flying hours of Reaper, Typhoon and Voyager during from November 2022 – November 2023 were 16,255 (Reaper: 6,940; Typhoon: 6,314; and Voyager: 2,999). As the data concerns operational activity, figures may be updated in the future.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled UK Covid-19 Inquiry Management Statement, published in August 2022, what steps he is taking to ensure the Covid-19 public inquiry represents overall value for money.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is an independent public inquiry.
In line with the UK Covid-19 Management Statement, the Inquiry’s Accounting Officer must conform to value for money and good financial management requirements and must provide financial updates to the Cabinet Office as its sponsor department.
The Chair is under a statutory obligation to avoid unnecessary costs in the Inquiry’s work and she has been clear that she intends to complete her work as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The Inquiry publishes regular financial updates, the latest from November 2023 can be found at the link here: https://covid19.public-inquiry.uk/documents/uk-covid-19-inquiry-financial-report-for-quarter-2-2023-24/. The total expenditure for the financial year to 31 March 2023 was £22.4m.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the Mott MacDonald report commissioned by his Department on RAAC.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government does not plan to publish the full Mott MacDonald report on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) dated April 2022 on GOV.UK. A redacted copy of the report is attached to this answer. These redactions have been approved by the Information Commissioner, with personal data and commercially sensitive information having been redacted. Some of the information contained in the report has also been superseded by data that National Health Service trusts have subsequently published on RAAC.
The Government confirmed on 25 May 2023 that the hospitals considered in the report will be rebuilt by 2030 as part of the New Hospital Programme.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Statement 2023, whether his Department has appointed advisers to review the potential merits of a NatWest retail share offer.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Statement 2023, the Chancellor set out that, as part of the plan to return NatWest to the private sector, the government will explore options to launch a share sale to retail investors in the next 12 months, subject to supportive market conditions and achieving value for money. Commercial advisers will be required to support the government’s assessment of options for a retail offer and any decisions regarding the merits of an offer will be taken by ministers in due course.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of community sentences were completed (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully due to (i) the committal of an additional offence and (ii) a breach of sentence stipulations in each of the last five years.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We have increased funding for the Probation Service by an additional £155m a year to recruit staff and to deliver better and more consistent supervision of offenders in the community. The data shows that since 2018, the proportion of successfully completed community sentences has increased from 70% to 74%. Please find the full dataset requested in the accompanying table.
Delivering public protection and cutting crime is not just about custody. There is persuasive evidence that suspended and community sentences are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending and promoting rehabilitation. Community sentences can include a range of robust requirements to punish the offender, protect the public and deliver rehabilitation. Electronic monitoring of curfews, exclusion zones, attendance at appointments, location monitoring and alcohol bans are all available requirements which the courts can use. Courts can also impose up to 300 hours of unpaid work to make sure that offenders are visibly and publicly making reparations for their crimes. Any breach of these requirements could see them returned to court and face immediate custody.
Please note that where there is a significant risk of harm to an individual or where the offender has breached an order of the court, the courts will retain full discretion to impose a sentence of immediate custody.
Data sources and quality:
The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Source:
National Delius case management system.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has taken on the role of the Energy Efficiency Taskforce.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Secretary of State, after careful deliberation, concluded that the draft work of the Energy Efficiency Taskforce could be streamlined into ongoing government activity. The numerous ideas, discussions and draft recommendations will be instrumental in driving forward energy efficiency.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, by what date local authorities are required to start processing applications under the Home Upgrade Grant 2 scheme.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Local Authorities applied for funding under Phase 2 of the Home Upgrade Grant within the bid window of September 2022 to January 2023, and were able to begin delivering installs of energy efficiency measures from April 2023. The timeframe for the assessment of homes and installation of energy efficiency measures will depend on the relevant local authority, but all projects should be completed by March 2025.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the limit on costs recoverable from an individual party in an Aarhus Convention claim.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government introduced a revised Environmental Costs Protection Regime (ECPR) in 2018, which allows certain environmental claims to be brought without prohibitive expense.
The Government is committed to conducting a review of the ECPR and will publish a call for evidence in due course.