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  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which agreed EU directives have not yet been transposed directly into UK law; and if she will make a statement.

    Matt Hancock

    Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation.

    One directive within the jurisdiction of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not been transposed yet.

  • Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of establishment of the Fundraising Preference Service on charitable donations.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The fundraising preference service is a recommendation of the 2015 review of fundraising regulation led by Sir Stuart Etherington. Its development has been charity sector-led and it will be implemented by the independent fundraising regulator.

    The government welcomes the proposals for a fundraising preference service. It will give greater control to the public about how and whether they are approached with targeted charity fundraising requests. It will be particularly useful for people who feel inundated with such requests. It will also help charities to ensure that they target their fundraising material only at those people who want to receive it. The fundraising preference service will be an important element in restoring public trust in charity fundraising, which will be of long term benefit to charities.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to encourage children not to access indecent images on social media.

    Matt Hancock

    The UK is a world leader in child online safety, with legal protections against abuse and illegal content, and tools for parents and children to avoid content they do not wish to see. The UK Council for Child Internet Safety, (https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-council-for-child-internet-safety-ukccis) set up in 2008, brings Government together with key stakeholders to help to keep children and young people safe online. We also have a strong track-record in working with the internet industries to drive progress. We have introduced legislation in the Digital Economy bill to require age verification controls for access to online pornographic material provided on a commercial basis.

  • Byron Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Byron Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Byron Davies on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in how many instances his Department’s procurement section sought further information from a company with regard to potential corruption, bribery or fraud in the last two years.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) routinely carries out checks on potential contractors prior to contract award, including on criminal activity, such as convictions for tax evasion, bribery or fraud, and a review of a company’s audited accounts. These enquiries are conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011.

    This process is reiterated in all competitive and single source tender documentation issued to tenderers prior to any contract award.

    Any suspicion of corruption is reported to the appropriate authority. Where justified, the MOD can exclude potential suppliers who pose an unacceptable risk to public money.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of dental treatment available to armed forces personnel.

    Mark Lancaster

    Delivering high quality dental care is fundamental to the health and deployability of the Armed Forces. Examinations and treatment provided by Defence Primary Healthcare are delivered against detailed standards that differentiate military dentistry from other oral healthcare systems. All care is subject to a comprehensive assurance regime, externally validated by the Care Quality Commission, and a system exists to centrally capture patient complaints, suggestions and compliments, all pursuant to quality improvement.

    We are committed to improving dental care further. A Strategic Oral Health Needs Assessment has recently been undertaken that will lead to an improved distribution of dental clinical capacity. It will also act as the precursor to a revised Armed Forces’ Oral Health Strategy. Other improvements we are making include a three year pilot to assess how dental therapists can contribute to the oral health outcomes required by Defence.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which agreed EU directives have not yet been transposed directly into UK law; and if he will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    There are no EU directives related to the Ministry of Defence’s responsibilities awaiting transposition into UK law.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times explosive ordinance officers were deployed to deal with incidents in Northern Ireland between 1 January 2016 and 1 July 2016.

    Mike Penning

    Incidents requiring explosive ordnance disposal experts in Northern Ireland are dealt with solely by military personnel. The information requested on the number of occasions Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel have responded to incidents in Northern Ireland is published annually in the Report of the Independent Reviewer of the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007. The statistics will be included in the forthcoming report which covers the period of August 2015 to July 2016.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the statement by Ned Price, US National Security Council Spokesman, of 8 October 2016, on reviewing the US support provided to the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemen, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the UK Government carrying out such a review of UK support.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​The UK Government is deeply concerned by the conflict in Yemen, including recent events in Sana’a. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application. The key test for our continued arms exports to Saudi Arabia in relation to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is whether there is a clear risk that those items might be used in a serious violation of IHL. The situation is kept under careful and continual review.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2016 to Question 44352, for what contracts the largest three total payments were made to (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young and (d) KPMG in the last three years.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Details of the Ministry of Defence contracts with the highest expenditure over the past three years, with PwC, Deloitte, Ernst and Young, and KPMG are provided in the following table.

    Contract title

    Supplier

    Total expenditure – 2013-14 to 2015-16 £

    MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDER CONTRACT FOR HUMAN RESOURCES

    PWC LLP

    11,866,144

    PROVISION OF EXTERNAL SUPPORT TO DEFENCE INTERNAL AUDIT

    PWC LLP

    7,453,821

    SUPPLY OF CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO SUPPORT THE DELIVERY OF DE&S RECRUITMENT AND DELIVERY PROGRAMME

    PWC LLP

    7,395,956

    EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE PROVISION OF IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT FOR THE DEFENCE INFRASTRUCTURE ORGANISATION TRANSFORMATION LOT 1 & 2

    DELOITTE LLP

    11,274,792

    HUMAN RESOURCES EXTERNAL SUPPORT FOR DE&S

    DELOITTE LLP

    3,900,000

    EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT THE DELIVERY OF THE DE&S OUTPUT REVIEW PROGRAMME

    DELOITTE LLP

    3,360,000

    INVENTORY MANAGEMENT TRANSFORMATION PHASE 3

    ERNST & YOUNG LLP

    38,215,660

    EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT FOR LOGISTIC COMMODITIES AND SERVICES INVENTORY MANAGEMENT OPTIMISATION PHASE 2 PROJECT

    ERNST & YOUNG LLP

    7,000,888

    EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT FOR LOGISTICS, COMMODITIES AND SERVICES PROJECT

    ERNST & YOUNG LLP

    3,546,641

    MOD COST ASSURANCE AND ANALYSIS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

    KPMG LLP

    56,484,928

    MATERIEL STRATEGY-PROVISION OF FINANCIAL ADVISOR

    KPMG LLP

    18,161,930

    COST ASSURANCE AND ANALYSIS SERVICE (CAAS) DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME – COST ESTIMATING

    KPMG LLP

    4,905,124

    The information provided reflects the fact that we are making fundamental changes to the way we manage the business of Defence, and independent experts with specialist skills are making a valuable contribution to this work. They benefit our permanent workforce by making us more self-reliant and resilient in providing the cutting-edge capabilities our Armed Forces need to keep our country safe.

  • Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rupa Huq on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is investigating allegations that the Saudi-led coalition deployed UK manufactured cluster munitions; and whether UK military personnel or UK aircraft were involved in the deployment of such munitions.

    Sir Michael Fallon

    We are aware of reports, including from Amnesty International on 6 June 2016, of the alleged use of UK-supplied cluster munitions in the Saudi-led coalition campaign in Yemen. We take this allegation very seriously, have analysed the case carefully and raised the issue with the Saudi-led coalition.

    The UK is not a member of the coalition and there are no Royal Air Force aircraft in coalition operations. British military personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or in the targeting process.