Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which of his Department's surplus aircraft, by aircraft type, were disposed of by sale or gifting since January 2013; and what the military registrations were of each those surplus aircraft so disposed.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Information on aircraft sales and gifting from December 2016 to December 2018 is provided in the tables below. Further information outside of these dates could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Additionally, I am also withholding information on prices, costs and revenues, as disclosure would prejudice commercial interests as well as relations between the United Kingdom and other states.
Aircraft Sales: December 2016 – December 2018
Aircraft Type | Tail Number |
Jet Provost T5A | XW418 |
Harrier GR3 | XZ994 |
Wessex | XS520/ XP137 |
Meteor | WH132 |
Wessex HC Mk2 | XR528 |
Hawk TMk1 | XX292/ XX226/ XX290/ XX175 |
Hunter T.8C | WV396 |
Jet Provost T5A | XW420 |
Bulldog | XX665 |
Tornado GR4 | ZA549 |
Meteor F. Mk. 8 | VZ568/7261M |
Puma HC Mk1 | XW208 |
Chinook HC Mk1 | ZA717 |
Typhoon T3 | ZJ800 |
Hercules C1/C3 | XV200/ XV177 |
Lynx HMA Mk8 | ZD566/ XZ722 |
Lynx AH Mk9A | ZG884/ ZG886/ ZG916 |
Wessex HU Mk5 | XT771/ XT761 |
Sea King Mk4 | ZF116 |
Lynx AH Mk9A | ZF539/ ZG887/ ZG888/ ZG914 |
Harrier T8 | ZD990 |
Sea Harrier FA2 | ZH807 |
The aircraft sales were made through a contractor under the marketing agreement held with the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The MOD does not hold details of contractor marketing routes.
Government to Government Aircraft Sales: December 2016 – December 2018
Aircraft Type | Tail Number |
Sea King Helicopters | ZH544/ ZH545/ ZA295/ ZA296/ ZA299/ ZF117/ ZG821 |
Hercules Mk5 | XH880/ XH886/ XH881/ XH884 |
Aircraft Gifting Cases: December 2016 – December 2018
Aircraft Type | Tail Number |
Sea King HAR Mk3 | XZ593 |
Lynx AH Mk7 | ZD280 |
Hawk TMk1 | XX308 |
Jaguar GR1 | XX824 |
Wessex HC Mk2 | XR529 |
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the disused Yarnton-Witney-Fairford branch line remains in the ownership of Network Rail.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Network Rail no longer owns the disused Yarnton-Witney-Fairford branch line. The Highways England Historical Railways Estate is now responsible for the historical railways estate.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the disused national rail network remains in the ownership of Network Rail.
Answered by Andrew Jones
Highways England is now responsible for the vast majority of the historic railways estate. This includes legacy bridges, abutments, tunnels, cuttings, viaducts and similar properties associated with closed railway lines, and sales. Network Rail is still responsible for a small proportion of disused railway lines which have been retained due to their close proximity or connection to currently operational railway lines. Network Rail’s records however do not distinguish between disused and operational railway lines, and therefore it is not possible to precisely indicate how much disused network they own.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Electoral Commission report of 14 December 2018 entitled Cost of delivering the June 2016 referendum on the UK's membership of the EU, what the total cost of the referendum was to the public purse including pre-purdah referendum publicity and documentation.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The cost to taxpayers of delivering the 2016 EU Referendum was £129.1 million. A breakdown of that cost is provided in the report published by the Electoral Commission.
The then Government undertook publicity on EU membership ahead of the referendum. This cost an additional £9.3 million.
The total cost to taxpayers was thus £138.4 million
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with the Civil Aviation Authority on the implementation of Class E airspace with transponder mandatory zones in the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
There have been no specific discussions with the CAA on the implementation of Class E airspace in UK. In accordance with the Air Navigation Directions 2017, the policy on the classification of airspace and its implementation lies with the independent airspace regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority.
However, as The Government continues to modernise our airspace, it needs to be mindful of longer term changes that will have an impact on wider airspace management. This includes the increasing need to enable the safe integration, rather than segregation, of all aircraft. This is why, as part of the Aviation Strategy, The Department is working with the CAA to explore a new policy on mandating electronic identification for all users.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the 10 most common breaches for which developers were fined in England and Wales for breach of planning permissions in 2017.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
My Department does not hold specific information on court fines for breaches of planning control. The Government is clear that effective enforcement is important to tackle breaches of planning control. We have given local authorities a wide range of enforcement powers, with strong penalties for non-compliance. Effective use of these powers is important as a means of maintaining public confidence in the planning system.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many times developers have been fined in England and Wales for a breach of planning permissions in 2017; and what the value was of those fines.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
My Department does not hold specific information on court fines for breaches of planning control. The Government is clear that effective enforcement is important to tackle breaches of planning control. We have given local authorities a wide range of enforcement powers, with strong penalties for non-compliance. Effective use of these powers is important as a means of maintaining public confidence in the planning system.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with the Civil Aviation Authority on the implementation of Class E airspace with transponder mandatory zones in the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
There have been no specific discussions with the CAA on the implementation of Class E airspace in UK. In accordance with the Air Navigation Directions 2017, the policy on the classification of airspace and its implementation lies with the independent airspace regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority.
However, as The Government continues to modernise our airspace, it needs to be mindful of longer term changes that will have an impact on wider airspace management. This includes the increasing need to enable the safe integration, rather than segregation, of all aircraft. This is why, as part of the Aviation Strategy, The Department is working with the CAA to explore a new policy on mandating electronic identification for all users.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of supporting heritage aviation organisations to acquire ex-military aircraft and associated equipment for (a) flying and (b) static displays when they are disposed of by the Ministry of Defence.
Answered by Michael Ellis
We recognise the important heritage value of ex-military aircraft and equipment; however, it is for museums and other organisations to determine acquisitions appropriate for their collections. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport estimates that it has given over £500,000 towards the rescue of ex-military aircraft through the National Heritage Memorial Fund. The Heritage Lottery Fund has also provided £3.5million in support of ex-military aircraft.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is responsible for the disposal of ex-military aircraft and equipment. The MOD’s gifting policy acknowledges the heritage value of ex-military aircraft and equipment, and permits gifting to DCMS and MOD-sponsored museums.
Asked by: Robert Courts (Conservative - Witney)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many international investment agreements to which the UK is a signatory include protections against expropriations without compensation.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is a signatory to over 90 bilateral investment treaties (BITs). The UK is also a party to the plurilateral Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), which has 53 other parties including the EU. The ECT and all of the UK’s BITs currently in force include protections against expropriation without compensation.