The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Clancarty on 2016-03-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will announce their response to the consultation Implementing the English Baccalaureate.
Lord Nash
The consultation closed on 29 January. We are currently considering the responses and will publish the Government response and final policy in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any enquiries have been launched into the involvement of UK financial institutions in the matter of the Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK has a robust but proportionate anti-money laundering regime. The UK’s first National Risk Assessment of money laundering was published on 15 October 2015. It identified the threats and vulnerabilities faced in this area, and an Action Plan will be published shortly, clearly setting out the steps that will be taken to address them.
The Prime Minister made clear in his Singapore speech on corruption last year that the Government is determined to make sure the UK does not become a safe haven for corrupt money. The Prime Minister’s Anti-Corruption Summit in May will also consider what more the UK and our international partners can do to tackle flows of illicit finance at home and abroad.
Any investigation is an operational matter for the police and the prosecution authorities. The decision on whether to investigate a case, and then take forward a prosecution, will depend on the evidence available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that when a girl is identified as being at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM), frontline professionals are taking the steps outlined in the multi-agency statutory guidance on FGM.
Karen Bradley
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.
The Government is clear that tackling FGM needs a coordinated response from a range of professionals, including teachers, health professionals, social workers and police which is why on 1 April we published updated multi-agency guidance on FGM which we have put on a statutory footing to support compliance. To support professionals to take the steps outlined in the guidance, including receiving adequate training, we have made available free FGM e-learning for all professionals. To date, the course has been completed by over 30,000 people. Our FGM Unit is providing outreach support to local areas and working to raise awareness of resources available to professionals, including training, best practice examples and information on legislation and policy.
In addition, the Department of Health’s £3 million FGM Prevention Programme is focused on improving the response of NHS to FGM, and through its Innovation programme, the Department for Education is funding the Local Government Association and Barnardo’s to develop a centre of excellence and outreach to support local authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-07-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits to Bradford and the wider regional economy of electrifying the Calder Valley line.
Andrew Jones
Later this year the rail industry will present its initial advice to Government on investment needs for the national network, drawing on the outputs of Network Rail’s long term planning process, including its refresh of the national electrification strategy. Taking account of this advice and other inputs – including from Transport for the North – the Government intends to articulate its emerging priorities for improvement to the national network during 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of staff employed by his Department are non-UK nationals.
Mr David Jones
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart McDonald on 2015-11-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the £2,000 employment allowance is not allotted to NHS dentists employed as independent contractors.
Mr David Gauke
The Employment Allowance is an annual cut of up to £2,000 from the employer National Insurance Contributions bill of businesses and charities throughout the UK. As announced by the Chancellor in his Summer Budget, the allowance will increase to £3,000 from 2016-17.
The allowance is designed to back businesses looking to grow and take on new people by reducing the costs of employment. Where businesses are already funded wholly or mainly by the public sector, they already benefit from public funds and as a result are not eligible for the Employment Allowance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when his Department’s consultation on a new system of maintenance support for higher education students wishing to study part-time from 2018-19 will be launched.
Joseph Johnson
The consultation will be launched in the new year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-01-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to monitor and evaluate the effect of the men who have sex with men human papilloma virus vaccination programme.
Jane Ellison
In November 2015, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised that a targeted human papilloma virus vaccination programme for men who have sex with men attending genito-urinary medicine and HIV clinics should be undertaken, subject to procurement of the vaccine and delivery of the programme at a cost-effective price. The Department and Public Health England are considering the JCVI’s advice, including how such a programme could be monitored and evaluated.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2015 to Question 18956, if he will provide details of the new Access fund for sustainable travel.
Mr Robert Goodwill
On 15 February 2016, we announced that the new Access fund would be launched later in 2016 for delivery in 2017/18, and will be preceded by a £20m Sustainable Travel Transition Year for 2016/17.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-03-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many meetings (1) Treasury ministers, and (2) Treasury officials, have had with the Association of British Insurers in each of the last three years.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of companies and organisations to discuss relevant issues.
As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.
Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available via the gov.uk website.