The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Prime Minister, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in 10 Downing Street.
Mr David Cameron
A list of special advisers, and their pay bands, is published on an annual basis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-03-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the definition of the term Commonwealth values” when used by that organisation.”
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We believe that Commonwealth values are those set out clearly in the Commonwealth Charter which was adopted by Heads of Government on 14 December 2012. These include democracy, human rights, international peace and security, through to gender equality and the role of civil society. We will continue to work with the Commonwealth Secretariat to ensure that commitments in the Charter are upheld, adhered to and kept under review by member governments, parliaments and civil society organisations. Hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2018 will give us the opportunity to build on the excellent progress made in Malta and reinforce the need for all members to observe the values outlined in the Charter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many full-time equivalent staff currently work in (a) the Joint Intelligence Organisation’s Assessments Staff and (b) the National Security Secretariat; and how many such staff have not previously been employed as civil servants.
Mr Oliver Letwin
Staff in the JIO are drawn from the Cabinet Office and across Government including the MOD, FCO, and Armed Forces. They are employed on a range of terms and conditions including formal and informal, short and long term secondments. In 2004 the Rt Hon The Lord Butler of Brockwell reported that its size was “some 30 senior and middle-ranking officials”; it is currently larger than that but, given the nature of the work that they do, I am unable, for security reasons, to give further detail. There are about 200 people in the National Security Secretariat, similarly drawn from a range of Departments and employed on a range of terms and conditions. Again, for security reasons, I am unable to give details on the previous employment of staff in either organisation, but both draw on external experts in their business.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-06-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department plans to take to make young working families aware of ways in which they can access (a) proposed Government schemes in the Lifetime Savings Bill and (b) other Government schemes relating to long-term savings.
Harriett Baldwin
We are committed to supporting savers of all incomes and at all stages of life. From April 2017, the Government will introduce a Lifetime ISA for adults under 40 to help save for a first home or retirement. The Government will also introduce a new Help to Save scheme, available from no later than April 2018, to support working families on low incomes to build up a rainy day fund.
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that all consumers can access high quality, affordable advice so they can make informed decisions about their hard-earned money. That is why we will replace the Money Advice Service with a new commissioning body that will identify gaps in the financial guidance market and commission targeted money guidance accordingly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have been (a) killed and (b) injured as a result of accidents during exercises at the army training ground at Otterburn in each of the last 10 years.
Mark Lancaster
In the period 1 January 2006 to 4 September 2016, there has been one death whilst on training or exercise at Otterburn training area. The death occurred in 2016.
The table below shows the recorded number of personnel injured on training or exercise at Otterburn in the period 1 April 2008 to 30 June 2016 reported through the MOD Health and Safety and Casualty Notification process. These totals may not include all injuries, as some minor injuries may have been treated immediately and not reported. Reporting of injuries is improving, and usage of the training area has increased since 2015.
|
Year |
Numbers |
|
2008-09 |
~ |
|
2009-10 |
26 |
|
2010-11 |
26 |
|
2011-12 |
18 |
|
2012-13 |
42 |
|
2013-14 |
58 |
|
2014-15 |
54 |
|
2015-16 |
119 |
|
2016-172 |
~ |
|
Total |
357 |
Source: Notification of Casualties (NOTICAS); MOD Health and Safety databases
Footnotes:
1.Personnel includes Regular personnel, Reservist Personnel, Cadets and Civilians.
2.Data only available between 1 April 2016 to 30 June 2016.
Data presented as "~" has been suppressed in accordance with Defence Statistics rounding policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many local health and care providers have sought advice from private sector consultants in drafting Sustainability and Transformation Plan Footprints; and at what cost to the NHS.
David Mowat
Sustainability and Transformation Plans are local plans and have been developed locally. Neither the Department nor NHS England collects data on whether these plans have been developed with outside advice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of primary schools signed up to (a) Centre for Education and Monitoring, Durham University, (b) Early Excellence, (c) GL Assessment, (d) Hodder Education, (e) National Foundation for Educational Research and (f) Speech Link as baseline assessment providers by 30 April 2015; and which schemes were subsequently approved by her Department.
Nick Gibb
A full break down of suppliers which were removed from the approved list has not been provided because of potential commercial sensitivities for the suppliers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Glyn Davies on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Welsh language is taken into account in his Department’s policy development processes.
Matthew Hancock
We expect all policy making to take account of the needs of all parts of the UK, including Wales, and continue to build up our policy making capability to do so. The government fully recognises the importance of the Welsh language in providing services to citizens. For Cabinet Office, the priority is to make sure that GOV.UK carries high quality Welsh content and to provide the tools for other parts of government to publish in both languages.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date the decision was made not to proceed with developing a future theatre nuclear weapon (FTNW); and how much had been spent on (a) the vehicle element and (b) the warhead element of the FTNW programme up to that point.
Mr Philip Dunne
On 18 October 1993, the then Secretary of State for Defence informed Parliament (Official Report, column 32): "we have concluded that our previous requirement for a new stand-off nuclear weapon capability is not a sufficiently high priority to justify the procurement of a new nuclear system in the current circumstances. Instead, we will plan, after the WE177 eventually leaves service in the long term, on exploiting the flexibility and capability of the Trident system to provide the vehicle for the delivery of our sub-strategic deterrent."
Also on 19 July 1993 (HC Deb vol 229 cc83-4W), the then Minister for Defence Procurement provided the following information about expenditure to evaluate options for the Future Theatre Nuclear Weapon:
Expenditure to the end of March 1993 on studies of possible vehicles:
|
Year |
£ |
|
1989-90 |
928,518 |
|
1990-91 |
1,372,329 |
|
1991-92 |
1,870,285 |
|
1992-93 |
2,658,471 |
Information on costs incurred on the Future Theatre Nuclear Weapon warhead programme was withheld for reasons of national security. Those reasons no longer apply but this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department made of the merits of other potential methods of debt insurance before authorising use of government buildings in London as security for the sukuk bonds.
Harriett Baldwin
In the Sukuk structure, rental payments provide the income for investors. When the Sovereign Sukuk were issued in July 2014 the profit rate was set at 2.036% in line with the yield on gilts of similar maturity, making the investor return on the Sukuk broadly equivalent to that on conventional gilts of similar maturity.
Three central government properties form the underlying assets which underpin the Sukuk.
The Government was clear at the time of issuance that the Sukuk issuance was not for debt financing purposes. Instead, it was issued to deliver on the government’s commitment to become the western hub for Islamic finance. The issuance showed that the UK is open for business with all parts of the world and provided high quality capital to UK-based Islamic banks.
UK based institutions that offer Islamic finance services are contributing to jobs and growth with assets totalling $4.5bn at the end of 2014.