The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on the costs to Ofcom of couriering documents to its (a) board members and (b) Chief Executive in each of the last five years.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The department does not hold this information
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he takes to monitor the economic effect of projects his Department has funded.
Anna Soubry
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has taken a number of steps to embed systematic monitoring of our policies and programmes, including economic effects. The Department’s vision for monitoring and evaluation is outlined in our Evaluation Strategy, found on the GOV.UK website.
In particular:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of dairy products procured for his Department was sourced from British producers in the latest period for which figures are available.
Guto Bebb
The Wales Office does not procure any dairy products.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department provides support to farmer networks and farmer-to-farmer training to promote good soil management.
Mr Nick Hurd
DFID is supporting farmer networks and farmer to farmer training on soil management. For example we fund the International Fund for Agriculture Development’s Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP). This is assisting farmers networks on the promotion of better land and soil management practices and technologies including those developed under our support by the international agriculture research organisation the CGIAR.
For example in Nigeria ASAP is supporting the establishment and strengthening of community development associations for 200,000 smallholder farmers to adopt agricultural practices that both reduce soil erosion and their risks to climate change.
We are also funding farmer to farmer training under our country programmes. In Zambia this is focussed on climate smart agriculture and better management of soils. While in Malawi our support on conservation agriculture has helped 60,000 smallholder farmers to increase their crop yields and incomes by 25% on average.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-09-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much Ascent Flight Training has been fined for failing to deliver an adequate service since it signed the 25-year contract with the Ministry of Defence.
Earl Howe
Up to June 2015, £308,000 was deducted from payments to Ascent Flight Training. No further deductions have been made since that time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the effectiveness of the Need to Sell scheme for residents who are reapplying, (b) the level of flexibility offered by that scheme for those who are reapplying under different criteria, (c) how that scheme streamlines its procedures for those constituents who have terminal illnesses, financial burdens arising from High Speed 2 or any other pressing requirement to sell.
Andrew Jones
The Need to Sell scheme is operating as it was intended, and operating fairly. We have already updated guidance to reflect learning from the scheme since its inception in January 2015. This demonstrates that we keep the scheme under review and act if necessary to improve the way it operates.
Those reapplying for the Need to Sell scheme within six months of their initial application are only judged on the criteria on which they previously failed to meet. Furthermore the assessment panel provides detailed feedback directly to applicants on the criteria they failed to meet. This means that when reapplying applicants can provide targeted evidence that may increase the chance of a re-application being accepted.
HS2 Ltd endeavours to make decisions on all applications as quickly as possible. As all applicants are applying with a compelling reason to sell it would not be fair to introduce a fast-track system for some applicants. We aim to deal with all applications within three months, however currently the average time to deal with an application is seven weeks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many counter-terrorism personnel were employed in the West Midlands in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.
Mr John Hayes
For security reasons we do not publish a breakdown of counter-terrorism budget or staffing by region.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barbara Keeley on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 17 November 2015, Official Report, column 515, on non-hospital care, on what date he commissioned Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies to examine pressures in the care home sector; and if he will make a statement.
Alistair Burt
Paul Johnson has not been commissioned to examine pressures in the care home sector, nor are there any plans to commission him or the Institute for Fiscal Studies to undertake such a review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to renew concessions to the immigration rules for Syrian nationals lawfully in the UK beyond 28 February 2016.
James Brokenshire
The Government is currently considering whether to renew the concession for Syrian nationals in respect of the Immigration Rules. The Government continues to monitor the situation in Syria closely in order to ensure our response is appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 23641, which of the five findings contained in the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator assessment of Exercise Senator 2011 has not been formally closed out.
Mr Philip Dunne
The finding not yet formally closed out in the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR) assessment of Exercise Senator 2011 called for a review of the hazard assessment for the transport operation. This is to ensure that protection measures remain proportionate to the risk and continue to be based on up-to-date scientific and regulatory advice. DNSR continues to have confidence in the adequacy of the arrangements currently in place, as has been demonstrated at emergency response exercises, but believes it is timely to conduct a review.
We currently expect the finding to be closed out within the next 12 months.