The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government has given to the government of Nepal on the conduct of elections.
Mr Hugo Swire
The UK provided £14 million to support the 2013 Constituent Assembly elections in Nepal. This consisted of support to provide an environment conducive to free, fair and inclusive elections and technical support.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) military and (b) civilian personnel were employed within Defence Intelligence in each of the last six years.
Penny Mordaunt
The strength of Defence Intelligence for Service and civilian personnel at year end for the years 2010-11 to 2015-16 was:
|
Year |
Service Personnel |
Civilians |
|
2015-16 (at January 2016) |
2,137 |
1,360 |
|
2014-15 |
2,332 |
1,365 |
|
2013-14 |
2,412 |
1,323 |
|
2012-13 |
2,458 |
1,306 |
|
2011-12 |
2,323 |
1,132 |
|
2010-11 |
2,330 |
1,326 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will extend her Department’s OpenDefra initiative to the Rural Payments Agency and Land Registry.
George Eustice
The OpenDefra initiative extends to the whole of Defra including the Rural Payments Agency. The initiative does not extend to the Land Registry.
The Rural Land Register, the Land Management System that has replaced it, or other systems maintained by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), do not look to establish land ownership. The RPA is required to maintain information on land use, in England because land use, and the entitlement to use it, is one of the determining factors in relation to eligibility to claim funds that RPA validates.
We are currently reviewing, the Data Protection Act, confidentiality of information held and intellectual property rights to determine whether information on land use can be released under the open data initiative.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish the outcome of their review of local council tax support schemes.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The independent review of Local Council Tax Support schemes has now concluded and its final report was published on GOV.UK on 8 April. The report is available (attached) here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-council-tax-support-schemes-an-independent-review.
A copy of the report has been placed in the House Library
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Cash on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with (a) Big Six and (b) other combined cycle gas turbine generators on the effect on the electricity market of Black Start payments to coal-fired power stations.
Andrea Leadsom
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not had specific discussions with the Big Six or combined cycle gas turbine generators on this matter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has received from minority faith groups since July 2013 on the availability of coroners at all times.
Dr Phillip Lee
Justice Ministers have received representations from the Jewish and Muslim communities about coroners out of hours’ services and have met representatives from these communities. We recognise the importance of an out of hours service and have worked with the police and local authorities to this end.
Regulation 4 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013 requires coroners to be available at all times to address matters relating to an investigation into a death which must be dealt with immediately and cannot wait until the next working day. This is particularly important in cases of homicide and mass fatalities. Coroners also make themselves available if needed in cases involving organ and tissue donation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to enable the Nursing and Midwifery Council to process disciplinary hearings in a more timely, effective and efficient manner.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent body responsible for the regulation of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom. The NMC is responsible for discharge of its statutory duties including fitness to practise (FtP) investigations and hearings.
The Department is working closely with the NMC on a number of proposed legislative changes which will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its FtP processes. The Department has recently consulted on these proposed changes and is currently considering the responses received.
The Government is committed to ensuring that professional regulation continues to provide effective protection for patients.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-10-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the proportion of aid funding which is channelled to large international agencies compared to that channelled to local non-governmental organisations.
Baroness Verma
UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) channelled through non-governmental organisations is set out in the table below. DFID is currently conducting the Civil Society Partnership Review, which is considering future funding arrangements.
2014 data will be published on the DFID website as National Statistics on Thursday 3rd December 2015.
|
Channel Code Description |
2013 ODA (£ millions) |
% of Total UK ODA |
|
NGO (where country base is undefined) |
£150,895 |
1% |
|
Internationally-based (non-UK) NGO* |
£362,696 |
3% |
|
UK-based NGO* |
£662,307 |
6% |
|
Developing country-based NGO |
£178,313 |
2% |
*Many international and UK-based NGOs have significant local developing country footprints.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate the Government has made of the number of training places for nurses required by the NHS in each of the next five years.
Ben Gummer
Health Education England (HEE) was established and has been mandated by the Government to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service. As one of the arm’s length bodies to help improve the quality of care delivered to patients, it ensures that the future workforce is available in the right numbers with the right skills, values and competencies to meet patient needs today and tomorrow.
HEE operate an annual comprehensive planning process to ensure their investments meet the future needs of the population. This process determines the education commissioning volumes for the following financial year and are published in the Workforce Plan for England.
The current workforce plan for England for 2015-16 published in December 2014 can be found at the following link:
http://hee.nhs.uk/work-programmes/workforce-planning/
HEE will publish its next annual National Workforce Plan for England by the end of December 2015.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the consultation document on contaminated bloods will be published.
Jane Ellison
The shape and structure of a new scheme will be decided following public consultation. The consultation document, including details of how those who are interested can provide a response, will be published in January.
Following this consultation, taking into account the views that we receive, we will then work as quickly as possible to launch any scheme reform.