The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30116, what proportion of job seekers allowance claimants who received a sanction in the past year did not subsequently resume their benefit claim.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with Parkinson’s disease receive attendance allowance.
Justin Tomlinson
Statistical information on Attendance Allowance claimants, including the numbers of people suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, is available from the DWP Tabulation Tool: http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/tabtool.html
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have found work through the Universal Jobmatch system.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not available, as Universal Jobmatch is a self-service job posting and matching service. Outcomes of vacancies posted on the site are not monitored
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2016-03-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) Afghan interpreters, and (2) members of their immediate families, have been relocated to the UK under (a) the ex-gratia redundancy scheme, and (b) the intimidation policy.
Lord Keen of Elie
Up to the end of February, 262 Afghan locally engaged civilians along with 356 members of their families have been relocated to the UK under the ex gratia redundancy scheme.
No locally engaged civilians have been relocated to the UK under the current intimidation policy. One former staff member has been relocated to the UK under a previous version of the policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the carbon emissions of UK forces operating abroad were in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Mr Julian Brazier
Information on the Department’s carbon emissions can be found in the Sustainable Ministry of Defence Annual Report 2014/15, using the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447951/20150723-Sustainable_MOD_Annual_Report-internet-ver.pdf
These figures cover carbon emissions from the Defence estate, including overseas sites and domestic business travel; the Department does not hold data on emissions from UK military operational activity overseas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what attempts have been made to clean up contamination from bullets and shells used by UK forces in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Iraq and (c) Libya; what the cost has been of that work to date; and which UK companies have been awarded contracts to carry out that remediation.
Penny Mordaunt
In all operational theatres the UK, where practical and possible, records the use of all explosive ordnance and makes every effort to ensure no remnants, hazardous or otherwise, remain. This is done for both humanitarian concerns and operational imperatives as we would not wish to leave any ordnance which could fall into the hands of our adversaries and subsequently be used against UK forces.
UK forces records the use of all munitions and protects civilians under the Geneva Conventions with marking, removal and destruction of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) wherever practical and possible: where troop movements may be affected or where ERW represent an immediate and significant danger to life. The Ministry of Defence does not hold information centrally on commercial ERW clearance: after the cessation of hostilities, the UK will normally contract commercial organisations, through the Department for International Development, to carry out the routine assessment, marking and clearance of ERW and risk education for humanitarian and developmental purposes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on reaching a settlement with Gurkha soldiers who retired before 2000.
Mr Julian Brazier
The Government and the people of the United Kingdom hold the Gurkhas in the highest esteem and have done so throughout their 200 years of service to the Crown. Successive Governments have taken steps to ensure that the service provided by Gurkhas is appropriately recognised and reflects the terms and nature of that service, including in relation to pensions.
These sentiments were most recently confirmed in the previous Coalition Government’s response to the All Party Parliamentary Group report on historic Gurkha grievances and the statement made by my hon. Friend the former Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Ms Soubry) on 29 January 2015 HCWS234.
This reaffirmed successive Governments’ long standing approach to public sector pension provisions which is that an individual qualifies for a pension according to the rules of that scheme at the time, and that improvements to public sector pension or compensation schemes should not be introduced retrospectively because of the burden such an approach would place on the Exchequer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on the illegal dog trade.
George Eustice
The Government takes the illegal movement of dogs seriously and it is committed to working with the Devolved Administrations, delivery bodies, enforcement agencies and non-government organisations to tackle this issue.
Whilst there have been no recent Ministerial meetings on the illegal movement of dogs, Defra’s Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) has recently discussed the issue with his Devolved Administration counterparts, including the Northern Ireland CVO.
Additionally, there have been discussions on this issue between other Defra officials and officials within the Northern Ireland Devolved Administration.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects to have put in place comprehensive management plans for each of the existing Marine Conservation Zones.
George Eustice
The Government is committed to delivering a ‘Blue Belt’ of well-managed Marine Protected Areas around our coasts. Where fisheries management measures are required, the Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities and the Marine Management Organisation will put in place measures, such as byelaws, for all inshore Tranche 1 Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) by the end of this year. To date, 19 new byelaws and 14 new voluntary measures that complement over 25 legacy byelaws are already in place. Appropriate fisheries management measures for inshore Tranche 2 MCZ sites will be identified by January 2018, following their designation earlier this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of deploying ocean-going drones to help catch illegal trawlers in Marine Conservation Zones in place of staffed patrol vessels.
George Eustice
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the ten Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities are responsible for enforcing fisheries legislation in UK waters off England. The MMO is considering carefully the potential for new technology to aid enforcement operations, and will continue to keep such technology under review.