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78459

registered interest
date	16/07/2014
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	Turtles: Cayman Islands
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 the CITES Management Authority has declared that the Cayman Turtle Farm is a humane facility.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	206288
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The elected government of the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory, has devolved constitutional responsibility for animal welfare and conservation including for legislation and policies governing the Cayman Turtle Farm.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>An independent investigation in 2002, carried out in support of an application to register the Cayman Turtle Farm as a captive-breeding operation under CITES, a Convention for which Defra is responsible, concluded that the standards of care at the Cayman Turtle Farm were humane.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The UK Government has been in contact with the Cayman Islands Government more recently, expressing the UK’s commitment to raising animal welfare standards and requesting an assurance that the Cayman Islands Government takes the findings of a report by the then World Society for the Protection of Animals seriously and be committed to making appropriate improvements. I am pleased to say that the Deputy Premier of the Cayman Islands, Mr Kirkconnell, gave that assurance in a response to the Secretary of State on 24 October 2013.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The UK CITES Management Authority has not made a recent assessment of whether the Cayman Turtle Farm is a humane facility.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 22/07/2014 12:15:30 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

78479

registered interest
date	16/07/2014
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	Cayman Islands
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the degree to which the Cayman Turtle Farm is a humane captive breeding facility.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	206226
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2014 answer text <p>The elected government of the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory, has devolved constitutional responsibility for animal welfare and conservation including for legislation and policies governing the Cayman Turtle Farm. The UK is responsible for the international relations of the Cayman Islands and for their compliance with obligations arising under international law. The UK has extended the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to the Cayman Islands. The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is providing technical support and advice to support the Cayman Islands in fully meeting its international environmental and conservation obligations. The UK CITES Management Authority has not made a recent assessment of whether the Cayman Turtle Farm is a humane facility, but did commission an independent investigation in 2002 in support of an application for registration as a captive-breeding operation under CITES, which found it was a humane facility.</p> answering member constituency Boston and Skegness answering member printed Mark Simmonds question first answered 21/07/2014 15:37:27 answering member 1393 label Biography information for Mark Simmonds
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

77955

registered interest
date	15/07/2014
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	Regulation
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 steps her Department is taking to simplify existing environmental, marine and agricultural regulations.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	205985
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>By contributing to Red Tape Challenge, Defra has reviewed over 1200 of its regulations. As a result of these reviews Defra has made commitments to revoke or improve nearly 800 regulations and as well as a number of significant non-regulatory changes that will directly benefit business and the wider public. These include the reform of all regulatory guidance produced by Defra and its agencies by spring 2015, so that users can quickly access clear information on what they need; changes to data reporting obligations, to remove any duplicate and unnecessary requests for information; and plans to explore opportunities to simplify and reduce the number of compliance inspections on farms.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>These reforms are being made without reducing existing protection of the environment or animal and plant health and are detailed in a report entitled “Defra <em>better</em> for Business: A Strategic Reform Plan for Defra Regulations” which was published on 9 April 2014[1]. Defra is working to deliver the vast majority of these proposals by April 2015 so that benefits can be felt quickly. Current estimates suggest that business could by then be saving £300million per year as a result of these reforms.</p><p> </p><br /><p>[1] <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/302112/pb14166-defra-better-for-business.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/302112/pb14166-defra-better-for-business.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 21/07/2014 14:05:53 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

77960

registered interest
date	15/07/2014
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	Landfill
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 assessment her Department has made of the success of steps taken to meet the 2013 and 2020 EU Landfill Directive.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	205986
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>We are confident that we will have met the 2013 landfill diversion target and will meet the 2020 target set out in the EU Landfill Directive.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In October 2013 we published an analysis of progress against the 2020 target, which can be found on the GOV.UK website at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/forecasting-2020-waste-arisings-and-treatment-capacity-norfolk-county-council-residual-waste-treatment-project" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/forecasting-2020-waste-arisings-and-treatment-capacity-norfolk-county-council-residual-waste-treatment-project</a> . The analysis concludes that there is a high likelihood of meeting or exceeding the 2020 target.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Landfill tax is a key instrument to meeting the landfill diversion targets along with our policies and initiatives such as support of infrastructure to divert waste from landfill through the Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 21/07/2014 15:35:12 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

77961

registered interest
date	15/07/2014
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	Peatlands
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 steps her Department is taking to restore upland peat sites.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	205987
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Defra has a range of measures in place to support the restoration of upland peat sites. These include protection through statutory area designations such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). In addition there are specific incentives for peatland restoration in agri-environment schemes. In 2013 we committed £31.2 million through Environmental Stewardship (covering around 98,000ha) to management options for the maintenance and restoration of moorland habitats. A further £4.1million was committed in capital grants for grip blocking. These are the key options in Environmental Stewardship that contribute to the management of upland peat. This support will continue to be provided under the new environmental land management scheme.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The Dark Peak Nature Improvement Area (NIA) in the Peak District, one of the twelve NIAs announced in 2012, is focused on improving upland peatland habitats across an area of 25,000ha.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>In September 2013 we launched the pilot UK Peatland Code which provides a basis for business sponsorship of peatland restoration. An initial suite of restoration projects from across the UK have been identified covering over 25,000 ha of mainly blanket bog.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Upland peat restoration is also being addressed through Defra’s Research and Development Programme, with over £1 million committed between 2010 and 2015 to identify restoration techniques with the best environmental outcomes.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 22/07/2014 10:55:59 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

77973

registered interest
date	15/07/2014
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	Nature Conservation
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 steps she has taken to implement the commitments contained in the white paper, The Natural Choice: securing the value of nature published in 2011.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	206012
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>We have made good progress on implementing the ambitious programme of policies set out in the White Paper. Of the 92 commitments made in the White Paper, over three quarters are now assessed as “completed” and action is ongoing to deliver the remaining commitments.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have published a series of implementation updates on the GOV.UK website, setting out the progress that has been made towards the White Paper’s commitments, most recently in February 2014. This information can be found at:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-environment-white-paper-implementation-updates" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-environment-white-paper-implementation-updates</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 22/07/2014 10:39:47 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

65278

registered interest
date	02/07/2014
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	British Library Business and IP Centre
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the British Library's Business & IP Centre national network.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	203556
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2014 answer text <p>The Intellectual Property Office worked with the British Library Business and IP Centre (BIPC) to develop a national blueprint that other libraries can use to develop a business and IP service in key UK cities. A programme to initially embed the blueprint into Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield was launched in July 2013. It is too early to provide impact data for the whole network, but data for the BIPC London and BIPC Newcastle, based on user feedback, shows that:</p><ul><li>Almost 50% of users increased their awareness of the importance of intellectual property</li><li>Over 40% were helped to develop their ideas</li><li>Over 40% were able to understand their customers and markets better</li><li>Almost a third acquired new skills through workshops</li><li>Close to a quarter were helped to write their business plan</li><li>Over 20% were helped to protect and exploit their novel ideas/designs</li></ul><p>In total the two centres helped to create approximately 2800 businesses and have further created approximately 3500 additional jobs in new and existing businesses.</p> answering member constituency Havant answering member printed Mr David Willetts question first answered 09/07/2014 16:19:26 answering member 53 label Biography information for Lord Willetts
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

65279

registered interest
date	02/07/2014
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	British Library Business and IP Centre
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the contribution to the economy of the British Library's Business & IP Centre national network.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	203557
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2014 answer text <p>The Intellectual Property Office worked with the British Library Business and IP Centre (BIPC) to develop a national blueprint that other libraries can use to develop a business and IP service in key UK cities. A programme to initially embed the blueprint into Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield was launched in July 2013. To date performance data is only available from the BIPC London and BIPC Newcastle. This shows an average turnover increase of £8.80 in London and £6.23 in Newcastle per £1 of public money invested.</p><p>In addition £47.1 million in London and £2 million in Newcastle of net Gross Value Added has been generated, equating to £8.13 in London and £4.11 in Newcastle of GVA per £1 of public money invested.</p> answering member constituency Havant answering member printed Mr David Willetts question first answered 09/07/2014 16:23:30 answering member 53 label Biography information for Lord Willetts
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

65280

registered interest
date	02/07/2014
answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept id	26
answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
hansard heading	British Library Business and IP Centre
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs created in partnership with the British Library's Business & IP Centre national network.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	203558
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2014 answer text <p>The Intellectual Property Office worked with the British Library Business and IP Centre (BIPC) to develop a national blueprint that other libraries can use to develop a business and IP service in key UK cities. A programme to initially embed the blueprint into Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield was launched in July 2013. It is too early to provide impact data for the whole network, but data for the BIPC London and BIPC Newcastle shows that since they opened these two centres have helped to create approximately 2800 businesses and 3500 jobs in new and existing businesses.</p> answering member constituency Havant answering member printed Mr David Willetts question first answered 09/07/2014 16:21:30 answering member 53 label Biography information for Lord Willetts
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

62216

registered interest
date	17/06/2014
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	Cemeteries: Planning Permission
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has published for the use of local authorities in determining planning permission applications for the creation of cemeteries.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	200634
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>In March, we published new planning guidance, which local planning authorities can use when determining planning applications. It explains that planning applications are considered on their own merits and, by law, must be determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The ‘Open space, sports and recreation facilities' section of the guidance addresses provision of open spaces of public value.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>More broadly, separate to the planning system, the underlying statutory duties for local (burial) authorities are outlined in the Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1977. The associated guidance is overseen by the Ministry for Justice, and is available at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/burials-and-coroners/burial-ground-managers.pdf" target="_blank">www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/burials-and-coroners/burial-ground-managers.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 01/07/2014 15:40:52 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord