The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) homes and (b) businesses have (i) received and (ii) redeemed rural satellite broadband vouchers.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Since the launch of the scheme 2 months ago, 1265 eligible applications have been received and are being processed, and 126 households and businesses have placed orders for installations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to take account in its policies of the conclusions of the Muslim Brotherhood Review, HC 679, published on 17 December 2015.
Karen Bradley
The Review into the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) has highlighted concerns about the Brotherhood and concluded that aspects of its ideology and tactics in the UK, and overseas, have been contrary to our values, national interests and national security.
The Government will intensify its scrutiny of the views and activities that Brotherhood members and associates promote, both here and overseas. It will also continue to consult, and share information and analysis, with other governments in the Middle East and North Africa as appropriate.
We have looked carefully at the findings of the review and will continue to:
• refuse visas to members and associates of the Brotherhood who are on record as having made extremist comments, in line with our existing policy guidelines and approach to extremism in all forms; • seek to ensure charities that have links to the Brotherhood are not misused to support or finance the Brotherhood instead of their lawful charitable purpose; • strengthen liaison arrangements with international partners to ensure that allegations of illicit funding or other misuse of charities are robustly investigated and appropriate action taken; • enforce the EU asset freeze on Hamas; and • keep under review whether the views and activities of the Brotherhood meet the legal test for proscription.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review entitlement to universal credit of people whose wages are paid two weeks in arrears after their temporary employment contract has ended.
Priti Patel
Universal Credit takes earnings into account in a manner that is fair and simple to understand. Earnings are taken into account in the assessment period in which they are received and the Universal Credit award adjusted accordingly. We have no plans to change this policy.
Claimants have access to help and support from the first day they make a claim to Universal Credit, regardless of when earnings are received.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in how many towns there is no choice of secondary education provision.
Edward Timpson
The information requested is not held in the required format.
The Department’s register of educational establishments in England and Wales, EduBase, contains the postal address details of all schools including the postal town which may differ from the actual town where the school is located.
The EduBase system is publically available and can be accessed at: http://www.education.gov.uk/edubase/home.xhtml
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) other NATO member states and (b) Russia on bilateral reductions in stockpiles of non-strategic nuclear weapons; and whether such reductions were discussed at the meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in April 2016.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
Reductions in US and Russian nuclear forces have been negotiated directly between those two countries. Officials regularly discuss the implementation of those agreements, including the Intermediate Nuclear Forces agreement, with the US and other NATO partners. Nuclear weapons were not discussed at the meeting of the NATO/Russia Council held on 20 April 2016, which mainly focussed on the situation in Ukraine.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the allegations of violence by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s against its citizens, and its use of threats to the international community for the purpose of advancing its political cause.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) arbitrary use of violence against its citizens, as documented in the UN Commission of Inquiry report, underlines the brutality of the regime and its lack of respect for basic human rights. The Government has made clear its concerns about the appalling human rights situation in North Korea, directly with the regime and in international fora, including at the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.
The DPRK’s flagrant violation of UN Security Council Resolutions and its continuing provocative behaviour is a clear threat to regional stability and international security. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2270 on 2 March 2016 in response to the DPRK’s nuclear test of 6 January and satellite launch, using ballistic technology, of 7 February. The EU has implemented additional measures.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many letters they have written to (1) women, and (2) men, to inform them of changes to their state pension age; of those letters sent out, how many were returned undelivered; and when letters were returned undelivered, what efforts they then made to contact those individuals.
Lord Freud
Between April 2009 and March 2011, the Department mailed all women born between 6th April 1950 and 5th April 1953, informing them of their State Pension age under the 1995 Pensions Act. This involved sending 1.16 million letters to the affected females.
Following the 2011 changes DWP wrote to all individuals directly affected to inform them of the change to their State Pension age. This applied to women born between 6th April 1953 and the 5th of April 1960 and men born between 6th December 1953 and 5th April 1960. These letters were sent between January 2012 and November 2013. This involved sending 5.77 million letters to the affected males and females.
We do not have the total number of letters returned undelivered over the course of all the exercises. However, I can confirm we have a robust process in place to review all incorrect address returns and properly scrutinise and update customer account details when an address is confirmed. For State Pension customers, this process includes re-establishing contact through Local Authority Social Services or a DWP Visiting Officer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Ely on 2016-10-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that schools, further education colleges and universities are able to provide specialist careers advice and support for disabled young people.
Lord Nash
Good careers education and guidance should give all young people, including those with disabilities, access to the information they need to make informed decisions. That is why we are investing £90 million over this Parliament to improve careers provision for young people.
Careers advice for pupils with special educational needs and disability (SEND) should be based on high aspirations and a personalised approach. Schools and colleges have a legal duty to secure independent careers guidance. This duty applies to all young people up to and including the age of 18 in schools and colleges, and 19- to 25-year-olds in colleges with an Education Health and Care Plan. The 0-25 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice makes it clear that all children and young people with SEND should be prepared for adulthood, and that this preparation should start early.
Local authorities retain their legal responsibility, under section 68 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, to make available support that it considers appropriate to encourage, enable and assist the participation of young people in education or training. For individuals with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, this applies up to the age of 25. Schools and colleges should make use of the local offer published by the local authority that must set out details of SEND provisions in their area – including the full range of post-16 education and training options, and support in preparing for adulthood.
In his latest guidance, the Director of Fair Access encourages higher education institutions, through their access agreements, to consider what more they can do to support students with disabilities. This includes considering students’ differing needs to access higher education, succeed in their studies and progress towards appropriate postgraduate study and employment. Higher education institutions are also subject to requirements in the Equality Act 2010. They have clear duties and responsibilities to ensure that disabled students do not face discrimination or less favourable treatment when applying to, and studying in, higher education.
The National Careers Service provides free, up-to-date, impartial information, advice and guidance on careers, skills and the labour market in England for everyone, including those with disabilities.
We publish destination measures that show the percentage of young people continuing their education in schools, further education colleges, sixth form colleges or higher education institutions. These measures also include apprenticeships and show the percentage who went into employment or training, and those who were not in education, employment or training. The data is also broken down by student characteristics, including the destinations of children with special educational needs leaving key stage 4. This will provide more transparent information on how each school is helping children with disabilities to make the transition into post-16 education, training or employment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much Department for International Development expenditure his Department reported to NATO as defence spending in each year from 2006 to 2014.
Michael Fallon
This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patricia Gibson on 2015-12-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Financial Conduct Authority plans to publish a consultation on nuisance calls.
Harriett Baldwin
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has committed to undertake a review on unsolicited marketing by consumer credit firms. This will take place early next year. The FCA intends to consult on any proposals in summer 2016.
The FCA requires that when cold calling by phone, the identity of the person and the firm is made clear at the outset, as well as the purpose of the communication, so the consumer can decide whether to proceed.