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583143

	registered interest
	date	14/09/2016
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Diego Garcia: Military Bases
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the outcome has been of recent discussions with the US administration on renewal of the military base in the British Indian Ocean Territory; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	46439
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2016 answer text <p>​The Government welcomes the US presence on Diego Garcia and as such, we continue to discuss with the US Government their continued use of Diego Garcia. US presence on the island of Diego Garcia is governed by a series of agreements, called Exchanges of Notes, of which the overarching agreement sets out that the whole Territory should be made available for UK and US defence purposes for an initial 50 year period of 1966 to 2016. If neither side object during a two year window of December 2014 to December 2016, the agreement will continue as it stands until end December 2036. An announcement on the outcome of discussions will be made to Parliament and the public in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 12/10/2016 16:21:53 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

576924

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2016
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Railways: Franchises
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the size of (a) rail franchises and (b) the Govia Thameslink rail franchise on the efficient delivery of rail services.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	45089
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/09/2016 answer text <p>We take a very large number of factors into account when determining the most appropriate way forward when franchises are due for renewal. We undertook just such an assessment when considering options for the most appropriate approach to providing passenger rail services during the delivery of the Thameslink Programme infrastructure and the introduction of new rolling stock. This included balancing the size of the franchise against the need to ensure effective coordination of all the services on the lines affected by Thameslink during the construction period. We of course always take into account lessons learned from practice when looking at similar decisions in the future.</p><p> </p><p>Regarding the size of the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise, as I made clear at the Transport Select Committee, it is unlikely the Department will wish to let such a franchise in the future. The size of the franchise is a factor in this assessment. However, I believe that with the measures recently announced this franchise should deliver a better passenger experience in the future.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 13/09/2016 09:54:47 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

638059

	registered interest
	date	16/11/2016
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Non-domestic Rates
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on 100 per cent business rate retention; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	53475
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2016 answer text <p>We recently conducted a consultation on our approach to the implementation of 100% Business Rates Retention. There were over 450 responses from local authorities, businesses interests and other organisations. My officials are currently considering these and we will publish a summary of the responses and our proposed way forward in due course. In the meantime, we will continue close collaboration with local government in taking this work forward, including through the Business Rates Retention Steering Group, which is jointly chaired by the Local Government Association and the Department for Communities and Local Government.</p><p>The Steering Group was established to consider the mechanisms needed to set up and run the new business rates system, as well as the timetable and implementation of the reforms. It oversees the work of a set of technical working groups, each looking at particular aspects of the reforms. The Group meets on a regular basis and has done so on 6 occasions since April 2016. All papers for meetings are published here: <a href="http://www.local.gov.uk/business-rates" target="_blank">http://www.local.gov.uk/business-rates</a></p> answering member constituency Nuneaton answering member printed Mr Marcus Jones question first answered 24/11/2016 16:42:17 answering member 4024 label Biography information for Mr Marcus Jones
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

598453

	registered interest
	date	10/10/2016
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Employment: Mental Illness
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent measures the Government has undertaken to ensure that people with mental health conditions are properly supported into work.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	47903
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2016 answer text <p>We are investing significant resources in improving provision to help people with mental health conditions back to work. This includes funding to increase the coverage of the Talking Therapy services by 600,000 people per year to 1.5million by 2020 and investment in a number of voluntary initiatives and trials to test different types of support, with a view to taking forward those that have the most impact.</p><p>In addition we will shortly be publishing a Green Paper on work and health to seek views on what will work to deliver real lasting change for disabled people and those with a health condition. Mental health will be a key focus of our Green Paper as we know that people with mental health conditions fare poorly in the labour market.</p><p>Our aim is to help transform the lives and prospects of disabled people and those with a health condition and contribute to building a society and an economy that works for everyone.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 18/10/2016 15:35:55 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

634146

	registered interest
	date	11/11/2016
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Primates: Animal Experiments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many project licences her Department has approved for scientific procedures on non-human primates that involve head and/or body restraint and/or fluid and or food restriction in each of the last five years; and what the severity limit for each such procedure was.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	52554
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2016 answer text <p>The prospective severity classification takes account of the highest severity likely to be experienced by any animal used in the protocol. The information related to prospective severity for scientific procedures on non-human primates that involve head and/or body restraint and/or fluid and or food restriction in each of the last 5 years is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The number and actual severity of procedures conducted on non-human primates can be found in the “Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals” published here:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-of-scientific-procedures-on-living-animals</p> answering member constituency Wyre and Preston North answering member printed Mr Ben Wallace question first answered 29/11/2016 17:05:24 answering member 1539 label Biography information for Mr Ben Wallace
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

605789

	registered interest
	date	19/10/2016
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	hansard heading	Minimum Wage
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in the national minimum wage on the incomes of low income households; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	49383
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2016 answer text <p>The introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016 marked an important step towards building an economy that works for everyone. At £7.20, it represented a 50p increase on the National Minimum Wage, and a pay rise for over a million low paid workers across the UK, many of whom will be in low income households.</p><p> </p><p>The estimated impacts of the National Living Wage are set out in the impact assessment and Annex B of the Office of Budget Responsibility’s July Economic and Fiscal Outlook (available at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2016/9780111141625/impacts/2016/3 and http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/July-2015-EFO-234224.pdf respectively).</p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 27/10/2016 14:01:16 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

634140

	registered interest
	date	11/11/2016
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Primates: Animal Experiments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations her Department has received from primate users to reassess its prospective assessment of the term severe for non-human primates subjected to head and/or body restriction and water and/or food restriction on neuroscience research.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	52551
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2016 answer text <p>The Home Office regulator maintains engagement with the neuroscience community, as recommended by the Weatherall report 2006. To understand the ongoing relevance of primate research the regulator attended meetings in 2016, arranged by funders and neuroscientists, at which severity assessment was discussed. The regulator also engages regularly and pro-actively with the breadth of stakeholders across the life science community through to animal protection and welfare groups.</p> answering member constituency Wyre and Preston North answering member printed Mr Ben Wallace question first answered 29/11/2016 17:07:02 answering member 1539 label Biography information for Mr Ben Wallace
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

596062

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2016
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Air Routes: USA
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations the Government has made to the US Department of Transportation on progress made on authorising Norwegian Air UK Ltd services from Gatwick and other British airports to the US, as permitted by the EU-US Air Transport Agreement in December 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	47550
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2016 answer text <p>The Government made a formal representation on this issue to the US Department of Transportation on 11 February 2016, which is recorded in the US DoT docket DOT-OST-2015-0261. Ministers and officials continue to make representations on this matter as and when opportunities arise.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Holland and The Deepings answering member printed Mr John Hayes question first answered 17/10/2016 14:55:12 answering member 350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

637873

	registered interest
	date	16/11/2016
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Ilois: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 November 2016, WS260, how he plans to use the £40 million offered in support of the Chagos Islands community over the next 10 years (a) generally and (b) to benefit the UK Chagossian population in Crawley constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	53323
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2016 answer text <p>The Government is determined to address the aspirations of Chagossians for better lives and for a continued connection to the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). Accordingly, the Government is creating a significant and ambitious support package to provide Chagossians with better life chances and is developing an increased visits programme. This will be used to address the most pressing needs of Chagossians, notably adequate health and social care, improved education access and employment opportunities. The package will now be worked up fully in discussion with all those with an interest, including the Chagossian community.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 24/11/2016 13:47:07 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

626504

	registered interest
	date	01/11/2016
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Elections: Fraud
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to strengthen the security of voter identification to prevent electoral fraud.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	51374
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2016 answer text <p>The Government is committed to tackling fraud and making our electoral process more secure. We have already taken steps to improve the security of UK polls through the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration (IER).</p><p>The Government has welcomed Sir Eric Pickles’ report on his review into electoral fraud. The report sets out a number of findings and recommendations including in relation to voter identification. We are considering these carefully and will provide a response shortly.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 08/11/2016 11:17:15 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

595611

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2016
	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	Foie Gras: Sales
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will consider taking steps to ban the sale of foie gras in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	47247
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2016 answer text <p>The EU has introduced controls on the production of foie gras. These controls do not ban the sale of foie gras and while the UK is a member of the EU we are subject to EU Treaty obligations in relation to the free movement of goods. Foie gras is not produced in the UK and this Government has made its views very clear that the production of foie gras using force feeding (or ‘gavage’ as it’s known in France) gives rise to serious welfare concerns. If any production were to occur, the Animal and Plant Health Agency would be asked to investigate and advise on any contravention of UK animal welfare laws.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 18/10/2016 12:26:30 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

600767

	registered interest
	date	12/10/2016
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Air Routes: Iraq
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has for further evaluation of the possibility of establishing direct flights from the UK to Erbil International Airport in Iraqi Kurdistan; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	48356
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2016 answer text <p>The Department for Transport would welcome the commencement of direct flights to the United Kingdom from Erbil International Airport, once the security situation permits that. The current advice to UK civil aviation operators from the Department, contained in a Notice to Airmen, is that they should not overfly Iraqi territory.</p> answering member constituency South Holland and The Deepings answering member printed Mr John Hayes question first answered 20/10/2016 13:07:00 answering member 350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

604691

	registered interest
	date	18/10/2016
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many people were (a) prosecuted for and (b) convicted of offences under the Wild Animals (Protection) Act 1996 in each police force area in England in 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	49177
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2016 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of people who have been charged with, and prosecuted for, offences brought by way of the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996. This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Although it is not possible to identify the number of people charged with particular offences, records are held showing the overall number of offences in which a prosecution commenced in the magistrates’ courts. In 2015 there was one offence commenced under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 25/10/2016 09:47:22 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

634149

	registered interest
	date	11/11/2016
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Animal Experiments
	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 accuracy and independence of retrospective reporting by researchers performing scientific procedures on animals, as a method for assessing the severity of suffering experienced by animals subjected to such procedures; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	52550
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2016 answer text <p>Project licence holders or suitably qualified individuals acting on their behalf are expected to classify actual severity at the end of the series of procedures based on day-today observations of the animals, and submit the data to the regulator as part of the annual returns process. The regulator has published guidance on the assessment and reporting of the actual severity experienced by animals that have undergone regulated procedures. The first requirement to report actual severity to the regulator was from 1 January 2015 for procedures ending in 2014 and are published at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-of-scientific-procedures-on-living-animals" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-of-scientific-procedures-on-living-animals</a></p><p>The Home Department has not conducted a systematic review of the available data from 2014 and 2015.</p> answering member constituency Wyre and Preston North answering member printed Mr Ben Wallace question first answered 29/11/2016 17:05:42 answering member 1539 label Biography information for Mr Ben Wallace
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

627483

	registered interest
	date	02/11/2016
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Innovation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to promote innovation in (a) south east England and (b) nationally.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	51661
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2016 answer text <p>Innovate UK has invested around £1.8 billion in innovation; supporting 7,600 UK businesses and creating around 55,000 new jobs. We are supporting more companies to innovate through R&amp;D Tax Credits; with claims rising to £2.45bn in 2014-15.</p><p>In London and South East England, the Cell and Gene Therapy; Future Cities; and the Digital Catapults have been established to commercialise new and emerging technologies where there are large global market opportunities. And companies are already benefitting from our support. For example; Dearman, based in Croydon, won an inspirational SME innovation award recently for its clean cold and power technologies.</p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 09/11/2016 15:37:36 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

634147

	registered interest
	date	11/11/2016
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Primates: Animal Experiments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will maintain a severity level of severe for procedures on non-human primates involved in neuroscience research that involves restraining the animals by the head and/or body for several hours every day and the use of fluid and/or food restriction while they are forced to undergo repetitive tests.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	52552
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2016 answer text <p>During the harm-benefit analysis the Home Office will assign the severity classification in accordance with European Directive 2010/63/EU which has been transposed into the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (as amended) and is published at:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consolidated-version-of-aspa-1986</p><p>All non-human primate project licence applications which are potentially severe severity are also considered by the Government’s independent scientific advisory body, the Animals in Science Committee, for scrutiny and advice before a decision is taken on whether, and on what terms, they may be granted.</p> answering member constituency Wyre and Preston North answering member printed Mr Ben Wallace question first answered 29/11/2016 17:07:24 answering member 1539 label Biography information for Mr Ben Wallace
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

634148

	registered interest
	date	11/11/2016
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Primates: Animal Experiments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria her Department applies when considering applications for licencing neuroscience research on (a) non-human primates in general and (b) on primates which involves head and/or body restraint and/or fluid and/or food restriction in particular.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	52553
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2016 answer text <p>Animal welfare is at the forefront of any decision to use animals in research, and the Regulator requires robust evidence that the research complies fully with the principles of the 3Rs (replacement, refinement and reduction). In addition, Inspectors require a justification for the use of non-human primates, setting out what results they contribute to the project that no other animal could provide.</p><p>Applications which involve head and/or body restraint and/or fluid and/or food restriction also require particular explanation and justification as to why those techniques are needed and how they can be refined to reduce suffering. The Home Office regulator considers every application, including the associated severity assessment, for a project licence on a case by case basis.</p><p>Home Office Inspectors, all with veterinary or medical qualifications, conduct a harm-benefit analysis to ensure that any harm that may be caused to animals is justified by the potential benefits. The regulator has published operational guidance, detailing how project licence applications are assessed, and further advice on how the harm-benefit analysis process applies to all project licence assessments.</p> answering member constituency Wyre and Preston North answering member printed Mr Ben Wallace question first answered 29/11/2016 17:06:43 answering member 1539 label Biography information for Mr Ben Wallace
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith