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  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of lion trophies imported into the UK.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Strict controls on the import of lions and their body parts were introduced in January 2015. These ensure that the exporting country must be satisfied that the animal was hunted sustainably and that the importing country must also carry out this check. We are working with CITES partners to strengthen hunting safeguards and put in place additional trade controls as appropriate.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, approximately how many (a) British and (b) non-British nationals are employed cleaning the Westminster estate of her Department.

    Caroline Dinenage

    All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

    Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

    More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. However, there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to address the issue of physical violence against teaching assistants in schools.

    Nick Gibb

    Violence in schools is always unacceptable.

    It is the responsibility of head teachers to ensure the safety of all their staff, including teaching assistants, and the good behaviour of pupils. We have supported schools by empowering teachers to take action against poor pupil behaviour, clarifying teachers’ powers, extending their searching powers and allowing teachers to impose same-day detentions.

    The previous Secretary of State appointed behaviour expert Tom Bennett to lead two reviews of behaviour. The first review was published in July and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-government-response-to-carter-review.

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  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to manage the levels of stress experienced by school support staff.

    Nick Gibb

    When well deployed and supported, teaching assistants can make a valuable contribution to the education of our children. They are entitled to a suitable work-life balance and it is regrettable if they are experiencing excessive stress in their work.

    Responsibility for managing teaching assistants and other support staff rests at local level. Head teachers best understand the needs of their schools and the support staff who work within them.

    The Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) guidance report; “Making Best Use Of Teaching Assistants”, offers the latest evidence and makes a number of recommendations to help schools make best use of their teaching assistants. The EEF report is available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/uploads/pdf/TA_Guidance_Report_Interactive.pdf.

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  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, approximately how many (a) British and (b) non-British nationals are employed cleaning the Westminster estate of her Department.

    George Eustice

    This information is not held. The cleaners for Defra’s Westminster estate are provided by Interserve (Facilities Management) Ltd. The contract with the supplier requires them to follow all the appropriate checks when employing non British nationals, but the supplier has advised that they do not keep internal statistics about employees being British or non-British.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to maintain the level of UK and EU funding for the fishing industry and communities as part of the UK’s negotiations on leaving the EU.

    George Eustice

    The Chancellor has set out that the guarantee for European Structural and Investment Fund projects announced in August will be extended to the point at which the UK departs the EU. This guarantee includes the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and provides further certainty to those fishers, seafood businesses and other organisations seeking support. Where projects secure EMFF funding before we exit, payments will be guaranteed even after the UK has left the EU.

    Defra officials will be working with the Department for Exiting the EU to look at future policies for fisheries. We will continue to work closely with relevant industry and other key stakeholders to develop these new arrangements.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to ensure the UK fishing industry retains access to the EU market after the UK leaves the EU.

    George Eustice

    We are about to begin negotiations to realise the opportunities we have from exiting the EU, and securing access for trade will be part of our future policy work. While trade is important, having access to fishing grounds and setting appropriate catch levels are also crucial to ensuring a prosperous catching sector and sustainable management of the fish stocks; the issues are inter-related.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy that UK recipients of EU fisheries and other scientific funding receive the same level of funding as part of the UK’s negotiations on leaving the EU.

    George Eustice

    Defra officials will be working with the Department for Exiting the EU to look at future policies for fisheries. We will continue to work closely with relevant industry and other key stakeholders to develop these new arrangements which will consider existing support provided to the fisheries community.

  • Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals for a new clean air act.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    There is extensive existing legislation to support action to improve air quality. Councils can already implement clean air zones although we are introducing legislation which will allow the government to mandate councils to take action. A consultation seeking views on the draft Clean Air Zone Framework and on the draft regulation mandating the implementation of Clean Air Zones was published on the 13 of October.

    Legislative proposals are being drafted related to the implementation of the Medium Combustion Plant Directive and the National Emissions Ceilings Directive.

    Defra also plans to consult this autumn on proposals to reduce pollution from electricity generating plants with high emissions of nitrogen oxides that are not currently regulated. The proposals would set emission limit values on relevant air pollutants, with a view to having legislation in force no later than January 2019, and possibly sooner.

    Air quality is improving; since 1970 sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions have decreased by 95%, particulate matter (PM10) by 73% and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 69%.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of staff on the payroll of her Department who work in Westminster are (a) British nationals and (b) nationals of another country.

    George Eustice

    All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

    More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.