The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what meetings her officials have had with non-governmental organisations which receive funding from her Department since she took up office.
Rory Stewart
As a matter of course, DFID officials meet regularly in the UK and overseas with a wide range of non-governmental organisations who receive funding from DFID.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent progress the Government has made on providing humanitarian assistance to Yemen.
Mr Desmond Swayne
On 27 September 2015, the Secretary of State announced an additional £20 million for humanitarian assistance to Yemen, bringing our overall contribution for 2015-16 to £75 million and making the UK the 4th largest bilateral donor to Yemen crisis.
UK aid is providing vital medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter, as well as supporting UN work to co-ordinate the international humanitarian response.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the animal licensing review will include a review of how to tackle internet sales of rare animals.
George Eustice
The proposed review of local authority licensing of animal activities will encompass the Pet Animals Act 1951 which regulates the selling of pet animals, including the sale of animals on-line.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 8 January (HL4766), what is their assessment of the adequacy of railway links between London and South-West England.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The National Infrastructure Commission is not currently undertaking work on railway links between London and South West England.
Network Rail assessed the adequacy of the rail links between London and the South West as part of the rail industry’s Long Term Planning Process. The Western & Wessex Route Studies form part of this process and develop options for future services and for investment in the rail network up to 2043.
The options set out in the Route Studies are based on a regional and route based interpretation of the outputs and demand forecasts from previous market studies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made on preparations for the EU referendum.
Mr David Lidington
Secondary legislation required for the referendum is making good progress. The Conduct Regulations, which set out the detailed framework of how the poll will be administered, have been debated in both Houses of Parliament. The date of the referendum must be agreed by Parliament in another statutory instrument which was laid before Parliament in draft on 22 February.
On 23 February the Electoral Commission published its "assessment of readiness" which endorsed the Government’s approach and noted that "arrangements for delivery of a well-run referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union are well advanced".
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of the Government’s proposals for community pharmacies on rural communities.
Alistair Burt
Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.
We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and others, including patient and public representatives, on our proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course. This will include the impact on rural communities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 31102, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Government’s proposal for every school to become an academy on (a) divergences between schools’ admissions arrangements and (b) proposals to limit who may refer objections to the Schools Adjudicator; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
The Department’s White Paper, ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’, sets out the Government’s aim that every school should have the opportunity to become an academy. In this context, it sets out our intention to seek views on a number of changes to the admissions system to make it simpler and clearer for parents to navigate.
As part of these proposed changes, we intend to streamline the functions of the Office of the Schools Adjudicator so that objections to admission arrangements are resolved faster. This will include limiting who can object so only local parents and councils may refer objections, so that the adjudicator function can remain focused on resolving the concerns of those who may be directly affected by a school’s admission arrangements.
The White Paper is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/educational-excellence-everywhere
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make representations to the Office for National Statistics on including a separate ethnicity box for Sikh in the (a) 2021 census and (b) 2017 test questionnaire.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his (a) foreign counterparts and (b) cabinet colleagues on recent reports of border clashes between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
James Duddridge
We are concerned over recent reports of fighting between Ethiopian and Eritrean forces along the border near Tsorena. I made a statement on 16 June calling on both countries to exercise restraint and to adhere to the terms of the Algiers Agreement. We have also made clear to Ethiopia and Eritrea that they should engage in meaningful political discourse to seek a resolution to the ongoing border issues. Officials have discussed the clashes with our partners in Europe and at the UN, many of whom share our concerns and have made similar calls for restraint.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of staff departing from (a) his Department and (b) the Prime Minister’s Office who accepted jobs with Heathrow Airport Limited; and what estimate he has made of the number of staff arriving in (i) his Department and (ii) the Prime Minister’s Office from Heathrow Airport Limited in each of the last five years.
Ben Gummer
The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.