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  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the situation in North Korea.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We remain extremely concerned by the ongoing situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) especially regarding the nuclear threat and human rights.

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s 2013 annual human rights report listed the DPRK as a country of concern. Compelling reports of widespread and systematic human rights violations, including the curtailment of fundamental freedoms and the continued use of political prison camps, are especially worrying. I met the US Special Envoy for DPRK Human Rights, Robert King, on 6 May to discuss how we can maintain international pressure on this.

    The security situation remains deeply troubling. Recent statements implying that the DPRK is considering a further nuclear test, coupled with the DPRK’s March decision to launch ballistic missiles in clear breach of UN Security Council Resolutions and to conduct live-fire artillery exercises, have only served to heighten tensions in the region. The UK continues to closely monitor the situation with our allies.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many new businesses have been registered in Swindon since 2010.

    Michael Fallon

    Companies House confirms that since 2010, 5,308 companies have been registered in Swindon. This figure is based on company registration data from postcode areas, which can cross town boundaries, and should be considered an approximation.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to encourage more women to franchise their businesses.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government offers a wide range of support to all types of businesses to start up and grow, including franchises, for example through the Growth Accelerator, the New Enterprise Allowance, mentoring and the Start Up Loan scheme.

    Women-led small and medium-sized businesses contribute around £82 billion to the economy. 42% of the 15,000 mentors trained through the Get Mentoring initiative are women and have contributed to the 27,000 strong mentoring network at www.mentorsme.co.uk. The latest figures show that over 37% of Start Up Loans have gone to female entrepreneurs.

    We will continue to work closely with the Women’s Business Council and others to help ensure that more women see starting and growing their own business as a real option.

    “

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to extend Pulse Oximetry screening for children.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The UK National Screening Committee has recommended that a pilot for pulse oximetry screening for children should be set up to explore the practicalities of implementation. Ministers have accepted this advice and a pilot will commence shortly.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle domestic abuse.

    Norman Baker

    The Coalition Government’s approach to tackling domestic violence and abuse is
    set out in its Violence against Women and Girls Action Plan, updated in March
    2014. It is a subject we take very seriously.

    In 2013, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
    Constabulary (HMIC) to undertake a comprehensive review on how the police deal with domestic
    violence and abuse. HMIC’s report exposed significant failings. The Home
    Secretary is establishing a new national oversight group, which she will chair, and on which I will sit, to ensure HMIC’s recommendations are acted upon.
    The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it
    clear that every police force must have an action plan in place by September
    2014, to improve their response to domestic violence and abuse.

    The Government is committed to ensuring that the police and other agencies have
    the tools necessary to tackle domestic violence, to bring offenders to justice
    and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives. The
    Government accordingly announced the national roll-out of Domestic Violence
    Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme
    from 8 March 2014.

  • Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many officials in his Department are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    The Department has no employees with a zero hours contract.

  • Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK Border Agency staff in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the UK were (i) on zero-hours contracts and (ii) temporary staff in each of the last two years up to the most recent period for which records are available.

    Karen Bradley

    The UK Border Agency was absorbed into the Home Office on 1 April 2013; its
    successor business areas are UK Visas & Immigration and Immigration Enforcement.

    (i) The Home Office and its Agencies do not employ and have not employed staff
    on zero-hours contracts.

    (ii) A geographical breakdown of temporary staff employed in UK Border Agency
    successor business areas in each of the last two years is shown at Table 1.

    [ATTACH TABLE]

    NOTE: Office for National Statistics defines temporary staff as those civil
    servants with contracts of employment of less than one year; staff with Fixed
    Term Appointments and Permanent staff are reported separately by all government
    departments, as are Agency and Contingent Workers.

  • Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much remains outstanding in child maintenance arrears by (a) UK parliamentary constituency area and (b) local authority area in each of the last three years.

    Steve Webb

    Information on the amount of child maintenance arrears owed by (a) UK parliamentary constituency will be placed in the Library.

    The information on child maintenance arrears by (b) local authority area is already published and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284686/csa_qtr_summ_stats_regional_dec13.xls

    Notes:

    The table contains outstanding arrears figures as at December 2012 and December 2013 broken down by each local authority. Although arrears figures are available in previously published versions of the regional tables (available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics–2) these figures are not comparable due to a different methodology.

    “

  • Andy Sawford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andy Sawford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to announce the allocation of additional support to local authorities in England to support corporate counter-fraud activity.

    Brandon Lewis

    We are currently working with a range of representatives from across the sector to identify the most effective mechanism for distributing the £16.6 million over 2014/15 – 2015/16 across local government to help local government combat fraud. We intend to make an announcement about our plans for this investment later in the spring.

  • Mike Hancock – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mike Hancock – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Hancock on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the level of support available for sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder.

    Norman Lamb

    No recent central assessment has been made of the level of support available for people with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Such assessments are conducted at a local level as part of any local area’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA). JSNAs are the means by which local leaders work together to understand and agree the needs of all local people, with the joint health and wellbeing strategy setting the priorities for collective action. Clinical commissioning groups are then responsible for commissioning services to meet the assessed needs of the local population they serve.