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43906

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the outcome of the recent Illegal Wildlife Trade conference and the resulting London Declaration; and what steps she plans to take to ensure that animal welfare is a key element of her Department's response to that declaration.
	tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
	tabling member printed	Angela Smith
	uin	192662
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>The Home Office recognises that the illegal wildlife trade is not only a serious threat to our environment, but is also a transnational criminal industry worth billions of pounds every year, and one which drives corruption and insecurity and undermines efforts to cut poverty and develop sustainable economic opportunities.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I was therefore pleased that world leaders from over forty nations, including key states such as Botswana, Chad, China, Gabon, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Tanzania, and Vietnam, alongside the United States and Russia, gathered in London on 13 February 2014 and made a political commitment to take actions to eradicate the demand for illegal wildlife products, strengthen law enforcement, ensure effective legal frameworks, and to reduce the incentive for communities in source countries to get involved in the trade by supporting the development of alternative, sustainable livelihoods. I co-chaired part of the proceedings to underline the Home Office's commitment to this issue.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Home Office will continue to work with other departments to ensure that the Government delivers on the UK Commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Norman Baker question first answered 25/03/2014 12:00:00 answering member 28 label Biography information for Norman Baker
	tabling member	1564 label Biography information for Angela Smith

45034

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2014
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what facilities exist for the retention and care of non-native wildlife species confiscated in the UK; where those facilities are located; and how many times such non-native wildlife species confiscated have been returned to the people or location where they were first confiscated.
	tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
	tabling member printed	Angela Smith
	uin	193703
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Non-native wildlife specimens (including plants) may be retained for various reasons by the Police, UK Border Force (UKBF), Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (RBG Kew), local authorities and other organisations such as the RSPCA.</p><p>RBG Kew has a Plant Quarantine Unit and keeps records of all plant material entering its collections but not records of confiscated specimens that are returned to the people or location they were confiscated from.</p><p> </p><p>UKBF re-homes seized wildlife after having consulted with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the UK's CITES scientific authority for fauna, on appropriate location. It has not been UK practice to return wildlife to countries of export as there is no guarantee of its return to the wild or that it will not re-enter illegal trade. UKBF does not disclose publically the locations where seized items are held. All seized animals remain the property of the crown.</p><p>No police-run facilities exist for the retention and care of non-native wildlife species confiscated in the UK: each case is dealt with on an ad-hoc basis. Information about returned specimens is not held centrally.</p><p>Defra does not hold information about holding facilities used by local authorities and other organisations.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 01/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	1564 label Biography information for Angela Smith

48329

	registered interest
	date	10/04/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions under the Hunting Act 2004 there were in 2013; how many of those prosecutions were successful; and what offences these prosecutions involved.
	tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
	tabling member printed	Angela Smith
	uin	196479
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Court proceedings data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.</p> answering member constituency Ashford answering member printed Damian Green question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 76 label Biography information for Damian Green
	tabling member	1564 label Biography information for Angela Smith

61462

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2014
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Water Charges: South West
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether agreement has been reached to extend to 2020 the reduction to household water bills for South West Water customers.
	tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
	tabling member printed	Angela Smith
	uin	200276
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Government announced the decision to fund South West Water to enable it to cut bills by £50 per year for all household customers in the Budget 2011. Households in the South West have received the reduction since April 2013. The understanding has always been that this reduction would continue for the duration of both the current spending review and the next.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 16/06/2014 15:04:18 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
	tabling member	1564 label Biography information for Angela Smith

66048

	registered interest
	date	07/07/2014
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Seas and Oceans: Environment Protection
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the potential economic benefits of an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas in UK waters.
	tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
	tabling member printed	Angela Smith
	uin	204171
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Impact Assessment for the designation of the first tranche of Marine Conservation Zones assessed the economic benefits of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Marine Protected Areas are expected to result in increases in ecosystem services including provisioning (i.e. increased fish numbers), regulating (i.e. climate regulation), cultural and recreational services. Overall, networks are likely to have additional benefits, such as an increase in biological resilience to adapt to changed conditions. While it is not possible to fully monetise the economic benefits of MPAs the Government is continually reviewing and developing the evidence base in this area with a wide range of interested parties.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 11/07/2014 16:01:07 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	1564 label Biography information for Angela Smith

66050

	registered interest
	date	07/07/2014
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Seas and Oceans
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the economic cost of the degradation of natural capital in the UK's marine environment.
	tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
	tabling member printed	Angela Smith
	uin	204173
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The UK's Marine Strategy Part One (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/marine-strategy-part-one-uk-initial-assessment-and-good-environmental-status" target="_blank">Marine strategy part one: UK initial assessment and good environmental status - Publications - GOV.UK</a>) assessed the cost of degradation of the UK's marine environment. It estimated benefits forgone in a range of £5 million to £50.6 million from the degradation of marine assets, although this was only a partial estimate. The Natural Capital Committee has already considered how natural capital concepts can be applied to the marine environment and Defra is considering its advice.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 11/07/2014 16:04:50 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	1564 label Biography information for Angela Smith

66051

	registered interest
	date	07/07/2014
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Seas and Oceans: Environment Protection
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the UK's seabed is protected from the fishing practice of bottom trawling.
	tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
	tabling member printed	Angela Smith
	uin	204165
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>A single figure would not give an accurate picture of the area of the UK's seabed that is protected from the practice of bottom trawling. This is due to the various fishing method restrictions used, including full spatial closures, seasonal closures and those based on the size of fishing vessels. Additionally, as Defra is only responsible for fisheries management for parts of the UK,with Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities leading in the 0-6 nautical miles area, this data is not held in one place.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 11/07/2014 15:56:48 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	1564 label Biography information for Angela Smith

66052

	registered interest
	date	07/07/2014
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Seas and Oceans: Environment Protection
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the seabed within the UK's Exclusive Economic Zone is designated as marine protected areas; and what proportion of such areas exclude the fishing practice of bottom trawling.
	tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
	tabling member printed	Angela Smith
	uin	204168
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Around 9.4% of the UK continental shelf, as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Part V, Article 76, is designated as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This area includes all of the UK Exclusive Economic Zone.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The closure of fisheries in MPAs located in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a matter for their respective administrations. Therefore, information on the proportion of such areas in the UK is not readily available. As part of Defra's revised approach to fisheries management, 17 new byelaws have been introduced to protect vulnerable habitats from damaging bottom trawling activities in MPAs. Details of these byelaws, including the boundaries of closed areas, are available at:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>- Cornwall Closed Area European Marine Site: <a href="http://www.cornwall-ifca.gov.uk/new_byelaw" target="_blank">http://www.cornwall-ifca.gov.uk/new_byelaw</a></p><p> </p><p>- Devon &amp; Severn mobile gear protection byelaw: <a href="http://www.devonandsevernifca.gov.uk/News" target="_blank">http://www.devonandsevernifca.gov.uk/News</a></p><p> </p><p>- Eastern European Marine Site byelaw: <a href="http://www.eastern-ifca.gov.uk/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=137&amp;Itemid=202" target="_blank">http://www.eastern-ifca.gov.uk/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=137&amp;Itemid=202</a></p><p> </p><p>- Isles of Scilly European Marine Site byelaw: <a href="http://www.scillyifca.gov.uk/European_Marine_Sites" target="_blank">http://www.scillyifca.gov.uk/European_Marine_Sites</a></p><p> </p><p>- Kent and Essex Bottom towed gear byelaw: <a href="http://www.kentandessex-ifca.gov.uk/i-want-to-find-out-about/regulations/keifca-byelaws/keifca-district-byelaws/" target="_blank">http://www.kentandessex-ifca.gov.uk/i-want-to-find-out-about/regulations/keifca-byelaws/keifca-district-byelaws/</a></p><p> </p><p>- North Eastern Humber Estuary European Marine Site byelaw: <a href="http://www.ne-ifca.gov.uk/legislation-and-byelaws/byelaw-regulations/" target="_blank">http://www.ne-ifca.gov.uk/legislation-and-byelaws/byelaw-regulations/</a></p><p> </p><p>- North Eastern Flamborough Head byelaw: <a href="http://www.ne-ifca.gov.uk/legislation-and-byelaws/byelaw-regulations/" target="_blank">http://www.ne-ifca.gov.uk/legislation-and-byelaws/byelaw-regulations/</a></p><p> </p><p>- North Western European Marine Site byelaw (named byelaw 6): <a href="http://www.nw-ifca.gov.uk/" target="_blank">http://www.nw-ifca.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>- Northumberland mobile gear byelaw: <a href="http://www.nifca.gov.uk/byelaws/new-ems-byelaw/" target="_blank">http://www.nifca.gov.uk/byelaws/new-ems-byelaw/</a></p><p> </p><p>- Northumberland Seagrass protection byelaw: <a href="http://www.nifca.gov.uk/byelaws/new-ems-byelaw/" target="_blank">http://www.nifca.gov.uk/byelaws/new-ems-byelaw/</a></p><p> </p><p>- Southern Seagrass protection byelaw: <a href="http://www.southern-ifca.gov.uk/" target="_blank">http://www.southern-ifca.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>- Southern Bottom towed gear byelaw: <a href="http://www.southern-ifca.gov.uk/" target="_blank">http://www.southern-ifca.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>- Sussex Prohibition of fishing byelaw: <a href="http://www.sussex-ifca.gov.uk/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=143&amp;Itemid=205" target="_blank">http://www.sussex-ifca.gov.uk/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=143&amp;Itemid=205</a></p><p> </p><p>- Four new MMO byelaws linked below:</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/protecting/conservation/ems-byelaws.htm" target="_blank">http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/protecting/conservation/ems-byelaws.htm</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 14/07/2014 12:05:46 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	1564 label Biography information for Angela Smith

76484

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Nature Conservation: Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been (a) arrested, (b) cautioned, (c) proceeded against and (d) convicted of an offence under the provisions of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 in each year since their enactment.
	tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
	tabling member printed	Angela Smith
	uin	204551
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2014 answer text <p>The number of offenders cautioned and defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts of offences under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (which came into force on 1 April 2010), in England and Wales, from 2010 to 2013 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.</p><p> </p><p>Arrest data is not held by the Ministry of Justice.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 03/09/2014 12:50:12 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning attachment 1 file name 204551.xls title Table 1
	tabling member	1564 label Biography information for Angela Smith

92689

	registered interest
	date	10/10/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what average hourly rate is paid to (a) external solicitors and (b) Treasury Solicitor staff working on developing the residence test for legal aid.
	tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
	tabling member printed	Angela Smith
	uin	209963
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2014 answer text <p>Legal aid is a fundamental part of our justice system, but resources are not limitless. Legal aid is paid for by the taxpayer and at all times we must strive to ensure that public confidence is maintained in the system.</p><p>We believe that in principle, individuals should have a strong connection to the UK in order to benefit from the civil legal aid scheme. We have therefore proposed to introduce a residence test for civil legal aid requiring applicants to be lawfully resident in the UK, Crown Dependencies or British Overseas Territories at the time they apply for civil legal aid and have resided there lawfully for at least 12 continuous months in the past.</p><p>The civil legal aid residence test is part of the Legal Aid Transformation Programme, which consists of a number of work-streams.</p><p>In April 2014, the Department’s Legal Directorate was absorbed by the Treasury Solicitor’s Department. There is no record of the hours spent by Treasury Solicitor staff in the Legal Directorate advising on the legal aid residence test policy. Treasury Solicitor staff in the Department’s Legal Directorate do not record the time spent on advising on developing the residence test for legal aid or charge the Department an hourly rate for work undertaken. The Department has not engaged any Treasury Solicitor staff on developing the policy on the residence test beyond those employed within the Department’s Legal Directorate.</p><p> </p><p>No external barristers (other than Treasury Counsel) or external solicitors were engaged by the Department on developing the residence test for legal aid. It is not possible to separate work carried out by Treasury Counsel on the development of the policy of the residence test as one work-stream from the wider programme or from the litigation relating to the policy.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara grouped question UIN 209964 209965 question first answered 20/10/2014 14:29:41 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
	tabling member	1564 label Biography information for Angela Smith