The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the level of take-up by (a) micro, (b) small and (c) medium-sized enterprises has been of the cyber essentials programme.
Mr Edward Vaizey
At the end of March 2016, 2,181 Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certificates had been issued, of which it is estimated 28% were awarded to micro, 28% to small, and 22% to medium-sized businesses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training his Department provides for women to enable them to serve in combat on the front line.
Penny Mordaunt
Women already serve in a variety of roles with front line units including pilots, submariners, medics, fire support team commanders, military intelligence operators, counter improvised explosive device operators and dog handlers. They have made and continue to make a valuable contribution to recent and current operations including Afghanistan.
Women are currently excluded from serving in Ground Close Combat roles; the Infantry and Royal Armoured Corps, the Royal Marines and the Royal Air Force Regiment. The Prime Minister stated on 20 December 2015 that he wants to see all roles in the Armed Forces opened up to women in 2016 and further physiological research currently under way will inform a final decision in mid-2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Kennedy on 2016-02-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the financial sector and employer groups on workplace money management and workplace payroll savings schemes.
Harriett Baldwin
The government is committed to supporting savers, and government officials meet regularly with the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals to discuss the role that payroll deduction can play in promoting workplace saving, particularly in relation to the credit union movement. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is funding a £38m project to enable participating credit unions to expand their services to many more consumers, including to employees via workplace payroll savings. DWP is also looking into providing payroll savings facilities for their staff who are members of a credit union.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the total number of military personnel supporting operations against Daesh in each month since December 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Penny Mordaunt
The UK is one of over 60 nations contributing to US-led Operation Inherent Resolve, the overarching anti-Daesh global coalition. This global coalition, which includes the US, Arab, European, Asian and Australasian partners, is working with the Government of Iraq and regional neigbours to defeat Daesh in both Iraq and Syria.
We cannot comment on the size of contributions made by other nations, but the UK plays an important role both in terms of numbers of personnel supporting the mission and the unique capabilities we contribute.
The UK contribution in terms of numbers of personnel has remained relatively constant since December 2015 at around 2,000, of which around 1,000 are deployed across the region.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government for which projects and for what reasons the Highways Agency has requested an additional £140 million funding.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
£140m was allocated to Highways England to complete schemes which had not been included in the five year road programme detailed in the Road Investment Strategy.
The funding was used to complete the ‘pinch point’ programme, Dart Charge implementation, as well as the completion of various small improvement schemes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what consideration she has given to the retention of Article 10(a) paragraph 16(a) of the EU Emissions Trading System, Directive 2003/87/EC, to take account of the carbon leakage vulnerability of activities with a high proportion of raw material-related process emissions under the next phase of the EU Emissions Trading System; and if she will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government supports reform to strengthen the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) while continuing to support the competitiveness of British businesses in the transition to a low-carbon economy. We recognise the barriers to decarbonisation in certain sectors with a high proportion of raw material-related process emissions. The Government has engaged with industry and industrial sector bodies to understand the enablers and barriers to deep decarbonisation, including through the joint industry-Government decarbonisation and energy efficiency roadmaps. We will continue to work closely with UK industry to consider ways to account for process emissions in the next phase of the EU ETS, starting in 2021.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Russian government on increases in the number of attacks on EU and US diplomats stationed in Russia.
Sir Alan Duncan
We continue to take robust measures to protect all our staff in Russia and raise our concerns with the Russian authorities in Moscow and the Embassy in London as appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 45147, what his Department’s total spend has been to date.
Mr David Jones
The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) is properly resourced. Detailed work is underway to establish the final budget required and this will be voted on and published as part of the Supplementary Estimate process. Total expenditure by the Department will be set out in the Annual Report and Accounts in the usual way.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2015-11-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they are giving to relaxing visa restrictions for those seeking to come to Britain as carers in order tackle nursing and care home staffing shortages.
Lord Bates
Tier 2 of the Points Based System for immigration – the skilled work route – has been reserved for graduate occupations since 2011. Carers do not qualify for entry to the UK under this route and sponsors are therefore unable to bring in workers from outside the EEA to fill such roles.
While the Government acknowledges that care work requires certain skills, it should be possible to source those skills from the resident workforce. The care sector, like others, needs to reduce its dependency on migration and develop a sustainable strategy for tackling high vacancy and turnover rates by doing more to attract, train and retain resident workers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2015 to Question 18122, (a) how many times and (b) on what grounds Palestinian academics have not been given permission to attend academic conferences in the UK in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.
James Brokenshire
Acquiring information on the number of times academics of Syrian nationality have been refused entry to attend an academic conference would involve examining each individual case record held by UK Visas and Immigration for the category. To do so would incur a disproportionate cost.
In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide information on the reasons for refusing entry to the UK.
All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules.