The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Mills on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to review and update NICE guidance to take account of emerging new technologies in electronic auditing.
George Freeman
Neither the Department nor the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has any plans to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research her Department has conducted or assessed on the effect of wood-burning stoves on air pollution.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
Defra has commissioned its independent Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) to assess the potential air quality impacts of biomass combustion, including from domestic wood burning stoves. The report reviews the current evidence base and provides recommendations for further assessment. The report will be published in due course.
Air quality is monitored and assessed on an ongoing basis. The National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory is updated annually and compiles data on total UK air pollutant emissions from a broad range of sources. This includes estimates of emissions from domestic combustion.
Defra undertakes air quality modelling to assess the impact emissions have on concentrations of air pollutants in the UK. This is carried out on an annual basis.
Defra also commissioned research aimed at testing different measurement techniques on stoves to inform analysis on the impacts of the Eco-design Directive, which will provide new Particulate Matter emission limits for domestic stoves and boilers. This research will be published in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to encourage people with ability to seek election to local councils; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Marcus Jones
Strong and effective democratic local governance requires the best possible candidates to stand for election.
Whilst encouraging and fostering suitable candidates is largely a matter for political parties and the local government sector itself, rather than government, we have, through the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government, provided support for such programmes as ‘Be a Councillor’ designed to encourage ambitious and talented councillors.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil servants in her Department are members of trades unions; how much working hours facility time is claimed by each such civil servant; and what the cost of that facility time is to her Department.
Nick Gibb
The Department for Education does not hold records on how many civil servants are members of a trade union.
The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to civil service facility time on a quarterly basis. The latest data is Quarter 4, 2014 and is available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the decision was taken to lay the Northern Ireland (Elections) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2015 on 2 November, and which Ministers were involved in taking the decision.
Lord Dunlop
Northern Ireland Office Ministers took the decision to lay the Northern Ireland (Elections) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2015 on 30 October 2015, following discussions with Ministerial colleagues at the Cabinet Office. Northern Ireland Office officials began work on the Order in May 2015, although work was delayed by the department’s focus on the Northern Ireland Talks process. The Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland was advised of the impact of the proposed changes relating to procedural error by letter on 31 July 2015. The Chief Electoral Officer expressed support for the proposed content of the Order in meetings in June 2015. The Electoral Commission was consulted on the Order on 1 October 2015. As the Explanatory Memorandum to the Order sets out, there are significant differences in the systems operating in Northern Ireland and Great Britain and a one size fits all approach is not justified.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance claimants in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland who have been sanctioned found work within three months of that sanction being imposed.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The information that is available, on the number of sanction referrals and adverse sanction decisions, in respect of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), is published and available at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/:
Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started—SuperWEB2.html
Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:
http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Members for East Worthing and Shoreham and Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle on the British Mercantile Marine Memorial Collection which was sent on 28 October 2015 and resent on 5 January 2016.
Greg Hands
I replied to the Hon. Member on 19 November 2015. A copy of my reply has been resent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of full-time members of staff in his Department work on the Northern Powerhouse initiative.
James Wharton
The Northern Powerhouse is a key ambition of this Government and requires input from officials across my Department and other Government Departments across a wide range of policy areas. This enables bottom-up ownership of the Northern Powerhouse agenda by Northern areas to drive evidence and strategic policymaking to ensure the North can influence, direct and benefit from the Northern Powerhouse, including through Devolution Deals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-03-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to tackle the lower expected offer rate to Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups higher education applicants.
Joseph Johnson
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has set a goal of increasing by 20% the number of BME students in higher education by 2020. Entry rates for 18 year olds in each ethnic group increased in 2015, reaching the highest recorded values for each group. Between 2009 and 2015, the entry rate for young people in the Black ethnic group increased by over 40 percent proportionally. The Government has introduced a number of policies, including those set out below, to achieve my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s goal.
We recently announced that universities would be required to publish admissions and retention rate by gender, ethnic background and disadvantage. Greater transparency will expose where offer rates for students from the poorest and black and minority backgrounds are particularly low and help to encourage universities to take further action.
In addition, UCAS are consulting on making applications to university name-blind from 2017 to make sure that everyone, no matter what their background, is treated equally.
I have asked Universities UK to establish an expert advisory group on social mobility to provide further advice in this area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Foreign Secretary’s recent visit to Tripoli, whether they are considering the deployment of ground troops to Libya as part of UK efforts to support the Government of National Accord, and what practical assistance they plan to provide, if any, in terms of training Libya’s police, coastguard and military.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), was clear in his oral Statement to the House of Commons on 19 April that the British Government has no plans to deploy troops to Libya in a combat role. The security agenda must be owned and led by the new Libyan government. The UK, along with international partners, stands ready to respond to requests from the Libyan government for assistance in training the Libyan armed forces, to improve their effectiveness in providing security, and in the fight against Daesh. But any support the UK provides would be in response to a clear request made by the Libyan government. During his visit to Tripoli, the Foreign Secretary agreed with Prime Minister Serraj that we should continue to work closely to establish what those training and technical support requirements are; and what, if any, role the international community can play in helping to meet them.