The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how much his Department has spent to date on consultants; and how much he plans to spend on consultants in the next 12 months.
Mr David Jones
The department has not incurred any spend in relation to consultants since it was created. Detailed work is underway to establish the budget required to fulfil the functions, set-up and responsibilities of the Department.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take in response to the findings on bullying and harassment in the Care Quality Commission’s report on the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, published on 29 September 2016.
Mr Philip Dunne
Following the publication of the Care Quality Commission report on 29 September, NHS Improvement placed South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust in Special Measures. The Trust will receive a package of tailored support to address specific issues and drive improvements.
These measures include: buddying arrangements with South Central Ambulance Service, the appointment of an Improvement Director and publication of the Trust’s recovery plan in November, which will include a detailed programme to specifically address the bullying and harassment culture within the Trust. An oversight group has already been established to be chaired by NHS Improvement and including representatives from NHS England, clinical commissioning groups and the Trust to oversee the delivery of quality improvements.
There has been a change in leadership following the resignation of the Chair and Chief Executive. NHS Improvement has appointed an interim Chair and continues to support organisational development and cultural change work, including strengthening complaints processes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2015 to Question 15090, how much his Department spent on costs associated with the roll-out of universal credit between October 2014 and October 2015.
Priti Patel
DWP’S audited and approved accounts are available for the period October 2014 to March 2015 inclusive. These show DWP spent £139m on costs associated with the delivery of Universal Credit (UC).
Expenditure for the period from April 2015 to October 2015 has not yet been audited and approved, and has not been included as it is subject to change.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 3.22 of English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, how many apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities have not completed their transport-related apprenticeship placements.
Nick Boles
The table below shows this information for apprenticeship frameworks that are related to the transport Industry.
Table 1: Apprenticeship success rates for learners with a learning difficulty or disability on frameworks related to the transport industry (2013/14)
|
Frameworks |
Overall Success Rate |
|
Aviation Operations on the Ground |
85.7% |
|
Driving Goods Vehicles |
70.7% |
|
Rail Transport Engineering |
81.0% |
|
Road Passenger Transport – Bus and Coach |
81.0% |
|
Transport Engineering and Maintenance |
96.2% |
|
Vehicle Body and Paint Operations |
58.3% |
|
Vehicle Fitting |
68.8% |
|
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair |
67.0% |
|
Vehicle Parts Operations |
72.2% |
Notes
1) Frameworks with fewer than 20 leavers are excluded.
2) Figures for learning difficulties or disabilities are based on self-declaration by the learner
The Department does not collect the information required to estimate 5 per cent club or NHS apprenticeship success rates.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel regarding its use of administrative detention.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We remain concerned about Israel’s extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should only be used when security makes this absolutely necessary rather than as routine practice, and as a preventative rather than a punitive measure. We continue to call on the Israeli authorities to comply with their obligations under international law and either charge or release detainees. We have raised these concerns with the Israeli authorities on many occasions, including at Foreign Minister, Attorney General and National Security Adviser levels. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv most recently raised the matter of the use of administrative detention on 3 November 2015 with Israeli officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-02-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 25 February (HL6124), what is their definition of political campaigning and lobbying”
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Cabinet Office’s interim guidance on applying the new clause in government grant agreements can be found online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/interim-guidance-on-applying-a-new-clause-in-government-grant-agreements
Grant agreements are routinely subject to conditions, as well as a monitoring/audit process. The new grant clause builds on those existing processes
The new clause has successfully been trialled by the Department for Communities and Local Government over the last 12 months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who claim employment and support allowance in (a) England and (b) Wales have been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease.
Priti Patel
The number of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants with Inflammatory Bowel Disease as their main disabling condition, in England is 9,130 and the number for Wales is 730.
Source: DWP 100% data.
Notes:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish an estimate of the likely impact of the additional levy that will be imposed on well managed and solvent pension schemes in relation to the BHS pension schemes.
Baroness Altmann
Parliament gave the Pensions Protection Fund independence in how it operates. The PPF sets the pension protection levy at the level it considers necessary to meet its long term funding strategy rather than in direct response to recent claims. Factors relevant to the level of the levy include: the PPF’s existing funding position (£3.6bn in reserves at March 2015); the potential level of future claims; the potential level of assets that may be received from transferred schemes; and expected future investment returns.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of naval vessels and aircraft routinely conduct monitoring and reporting of maritime activity (a) in the presence of vessels engaged in fishing and (b) otherwise when they are operating in or transiting through the Exclusive Economic Zone of British Overseas Territories.
Penny Mordaunt
The Ministry of Defence supports the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in combatting illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing through a support agreement between the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the Royal Navy (RN), whereby naval assets conduct fishery protection activities. The RN and MMO work closely to maximise the effectiveness of these fishery protection activities within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the UK.
RN and Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels also conduct maritime security operations at all times while at sea, this includes monitoring and reporting maritime activity to relevant UK authorities. Reporting of fishing and other maritime activity to local UK authorities in Overseas Territories and the relevant authorities of other nations is routinely undertaken whenever a RN or RFA vessel is operating in the vicinity of UK Overseas Territories.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government is making to the governments of India and Pakistan on finding a peaceful solution to the situation in Kashmir which fully involves the people of Kashmir in the process.
Alok Sharma
The longstanding position of the United Kingdom is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting resolution to the situation in Kashmir, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. It is not for the United Kingdom to prescribe a solution or to act as a mediator. We encourage both sides to maintain positive dialogue, but the pace and scope of this is for them to determine.