Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Army personnel identify as non-binary.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The requested information is not held by the Ministry of Defence. The Joint Personnel Administration System (JPA) records a Service Person’s sex and sexual orientation; there is no option to record gender identity. For those who transition their gender (gender reassignment), the record for sex in JPA will be changed accordingly. That a person has transitioned their gender is not recorded.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Army personnel identify as transgender.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The requested information is not held by the Ministry of Defence. The Joint Personnel Administration System (JPA) records a Service Person’s sex and sexual orientation; there is no option to record gender identity. For those who transition their gender (gender reassignment), the record for sex in JPA will be changed accordingly. That a person has transitioned their gender is not recorded.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Royal Air Force personnel identify as non-binary.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The requested information is not held by the Ministry of Defence. The Joint Personnel Administration System (JPA) records a Service Person’s sex and sexual orientation; there is no option to record gender identity. For those who transition their gender (gender reassignment), the record for sex in JPA will be changed accordingly. That a person has transitioned their gender is not recorded.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Royal Navy personnel identify as non-binary.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The requested information is not held by the Ministry of Defence. The Joint Personnel Administration System (JPA) records a Service Person’s sex and sexual orientation; there is no option to record gender identity. For those who transition their gender (gender reassignment), the record for sex in JPA will be changed accordingly. That a person has transitioned their gender is not recorded.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Royal Navy personnel identify as transgender.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The requested information is not held by the Ministry of Defence. The Joint Personnel Administration System (JPA) records a Service Person’s sex and sexual orientation; there is no option to record gender identity. For those who transition their gender (gender reassignment), the record for sex in JPA will be changed accordingly. That a person has transitioned their gender is not recorded.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure local TV services can continue to secure (a) carriage and (b) discoverability on TV sets during the transition to internet protocol television delivery.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government remains committed to securing the most effective framework for local TV operators going forward. This includes continuing to engage with the sector over the next decade to ensure local TV has the tools to deliver its statutory objectives in a changing broadcasting ecology.
To support this, the government will continue providing the regulatory benefits that local TV services have received since 2013. These benefits include, but are not limited to, continued access to digital terrestrial television (DTT) and prominence on DTT and other linear TV platforms, including internet protocol television.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce administrative (a) time and (b) cost for local TV operators renewing local TV licences.
Answered by John Whittingdale
On 7 June 2023, the government launched a public consultation on the renewal of local TV licences. Through the consultation, the government put forward various options for renewal of the multiplex licence, and for the renewal or relicensing of the 34 individual local TV services. The consultation document considered, among other things, which options would minimise the administrative burden on local TV operators.
The consultation was open for 12 weeks, and closed on 13 September. A summary of in-scope responses submitted to the consultation and the government’s response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2023 to Question 198502 on Geothermal Power: Southampton, what funding is available for a more detailed study to understand the full potential of heating available from the Wessex Basin Aquifer.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Heat Networks Delivery Unit (HNDU) provides grant funding to local authorities and select public and private sector organisations in England and Wales for heat network development. This support is available via bidding rounds. Up to 67% of the total eligible costs of a development stage is available, with the exception of project management costs, which may be fully funded by HNDU for public sector applicants and registered social landlords. Grant funding is provided to successful local authorities under Section 31 of the Local Government Act and other applicants under Section 98 of the National Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.
Currently, Round 13 is open for applicants, closing on 31 December 2023.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential implication for its polices of the announcement by Meta that it plans to discontinue its funding for the Community News Project on local journalism.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The government is disappointed to see that Meta is closing its Community News Project. We are working to support journalism and local newsrooms to ensure the sustainability of this vital industry, and our new digital markets regime will help rebalance the relationship between the most powerful platforms and those who rely on them – including press publishers.
Additionally, our support for the sector has included the delivery of the £2 million Future News Fund; the zero rating of VAT on e-newspapers; the extension of a 2017 business rates relief on local newspaper office space until 2025; the publication of the Online Media Literacy Strategy; and the BBC also supports the sector directly, through the £8m it spends each year on the Local News Partnership, including the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
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 made an assessment of the suitability of Southampton as a location for geothermal energy production.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department has funded feasibility studies to examine potential for heat network development in Southampton. Deep Geothermal has been identified as a potential heat source for heat networks which would supply consumers within the city. A more detailed study is required to understand the full potential of heating available from the Wessex Basin Aquifer, building on lessons learnt from the UK's first geothermal power scheme which supplied the Southampton District Energy Scheme. Funding is available to the public sector to explore this opportunity further.