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  • Lord Lisvane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Lisvane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lisvane on 2016-06-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the measures announced in the Queen’s Speech will be published in draft and subject to pre-legislative scrutiny.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Government is committed to facilitating pre-legislative scrutiny when it is possible to do so. In the last session five draft Bills or packages of draft legislation were published. Announcements will be made in due course about draft legislation to be published in the current session.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons TV Licensing is not included in the Tell Us Once service.

    Priti Patel

    Consideration was given to include TV licencing in the Tell Us Once Service, however as the Department for Work and Pensions already provides this information to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, it is not necessary to also include it in the Tell Us Once Service.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many county councils have closed down their children’s centres.

    Lord Nash

    Local authorities have a duty under the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families. Local authorities must also consult fully before any significant changes are made to children’s centre services.

    All 27 county councils in England have children’s centre sites open to families and children providing children’s centre services as part of a network.

    According to data supplied to the department by local authorities, at end May 2016, eight county councils had closed some sites within their children’s centre networks.

    An independent survey carried out by the national children’s charity, 4Children (published October 2015) estimated more than a million children and families were using children’s centres.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to ensure that landmarks in the stewardship of English Heritage fly the Union flag in place of the organisation’s house flag.

    David Evennett

    The English Heritage Trust flies its house flag at its historic sites to help visitors identify its properties. Where properties have more than one flagpole, they are encouraged to fly the Union flag. On certain important occasions, including on the birthday of Her Majesty the Queen (21 April) and Remembrance Day, the Union flag is flown from all sites with flagpoles.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy on providing defibrillators in public places and schools.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We recognise that better provision of defibrillators and increasing the number of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation could help save more lives of those who have a cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting.

    That is why the Chancellor announced in the budget in March 2016 that the Government is making available another £1 million to make public access defibrillators and coronary pulmonary resuscitation training more widely available in communities across England. This builds on last year’s funding of £1 million, which provided almost 700 more publicly accessible defibrillators in communities across England and increased the numbers of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

    Details on how this second tranche of the funding can be accessed will be available in due course.

    The Department for Education (DfE) is encouraging schools to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) as part of their first aid equipment and in November 2014 announced new arrangements to allow schools to purchase AEDs at a competitive price. This is the result of a unique agreement between the DfE and the Department of Health in which devices are bought in bulk and the savings of around 50% are passed on to schools. Since the launch of this policy, 1,389 defibrillators have been provided to schools.

    To help schools in considering whether to purchase a defibrillator, DfE has published advice on installing and maintaining AEDs on school premises. This has been developed drawing on the expertise of National Health Service ambulance services and voluntary and community sector organisations.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the amount charged to the deceased by TV Licensing in each of the last three years.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    TV Licensing (TVL) should be notified when a licence fee holder dies. If the person making the notice has previously been covered by the licence, it will be transferred into their name. If an executor or family member notifies TVL that a property is now vacant, the licence is cancelled, and a refund is made to the deceased’s estate.

    In the case of an over-75s licence, TVL is informed by the Department of Work and Pensions of deaths of those aged over 75. In this case, TVL will write to the licensed address to inform anyone living with the deceased that the licence will cover the occupants until the licence term expires.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-06-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UK funding available to support refugee children in state schools in Jordan and Lebanon can also be made available to voluntary organisations for the same purpose.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK is supporting the Governments of Jordan and Lebanon to deliver the landmark commitments made at the London Syria Conference to enable every refugee and vulnerable host community child to access education by the end of the 2016/2017 school year. UK funding will be aligned with the plans of partner governments and a range of delivery mechanisms are being considered. Our approach is not exclusive: programmes will be implemented through partners who can deliver increases in access to quality education, quickly, efficiently and at scale.

    The UK has worked with NGOs and voluntary organisations to provide support in both Jordan and Lebanon and will consider partnering with those that can demonstrate the ability to deliver effective results in line with Government strategies, progress towards the London Conference goals and offer value for money.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will develop plans to include TV Licensing in the Tell Us Once service.

    Priti Patel

    We are currently reviewing the strategic approach, to support citizens in the wider bereavement journey to support the Government’s 2020 vision and the better use of data across government. This review will include the Tell Us Once Service and the Department for Culture Media and Sport.

  • Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-06-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent survey by the American University of Beirut and UNRWA on the socioeconomic status of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon; and what bilateral and multilateral action they are taking to meet the challenges identified by that survey.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK Government is aware of the survey by the American University of Beirut and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). DFID staff attended the survey’s launch event and have noted its findings.

    The UK is a long-term supporter of UNRWA, including in Lebanon, providing over £60 million in 2015/16 and remaining the third largest donor to the UNRWA General Fund. We also provided £12m in total to UNRWA in Lebanon through the 2015 and 2016 Syria Emergency Appeals, and £1.9m this year through the UK Conflict Stability and Security Fund, supporting Palestinian youth with vocational and English skills training and job placement.

    DFID has also committed to spending up to £40m a year on education in Lebanon, with a major programming element aimed at providing non-formal education to the most vulnerable children and youth, including Palestinians.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of each type of vehicle procured as part of urgent operational requirements for (a) Operation Herrick and (b) Operation Telic have been returned to the UK.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The information on more than 19 vehicle types used over 13 years of both Operation Herrick and Operation Telic is not held centrally and could be provided only at disapproportionate cost.

    “