The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the reduction in the number of civilians referred to in paragraph 4.61 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, Cm 9161, will be made in Scotland.
Mr Julian Brazier
Full details of how these reductions will be profiled over the next five years will be developed as programmes mature.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lingfield on 2016-01-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the review of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, charities not in receipt of grants from public funds will be subject to freedom of information requests.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government will announce its intentions about the development of the Freedom of Information Act once it has received and considered the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information’s recommendations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to promote shared ownership.
Brandon Lewis
Shared Ownership has an important role to play in helping those who aspire to home ownership but may be otherwise unable to afford it. The Autumn Statement confirmed £4.1 billion for 135,000 new Help to Buy: Shared Ownership starts by 2021 and we have relaxed restrictions on who can buy Shared Ownership homes. A new prospectus for the Affordable Homes Programme will be published in the spring.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will require the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations board to offer GCSE and A-level Gujarati examinations beyond September 2018; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
The exam boards are independent organisations, and the department continues to work closely with them to secure the future of all the existing language GCSEs and A levels, including Gujarati.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevenson of Balmacara on 2016-03-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the not-for-profit company that sets and co-ordinates the 11 plus exam in Buckinghamshire is subject to the public sector equality duty.
Lord Nash
The Department for Education holds no responsibility for the 11 plus exams. These are commercial products which local authorities and independent schools implement at their discretion.
The 11 plus exam, or newly-named ‘Transfer Test’, in Buckinghamshire is developed by the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) at the University of Durham, which is an independent educational supplier. Private and voluntary organisations are subject to the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010 when they carry out public functions. The duty may therefore apply to CEM’s public functions only, but the Department cannot advise on this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to exempt drivers between the ages of 17 and 25 who have telematics black box car insurance from insurance premium tax to reduce that tax for those drivers.
Harriett Baldwin
Insurance Premium Tax is a tax on insurance companies and it is up to them how they pass it on to their customers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the additional staffing and resources required by the Student Loans Company for administration and postgraduate loan applications from October 2016.
Joseph Johnson
The Student Loans Company will open applications for the new master’s loan for postgraduate study from the end of June 2016. Around 40 additional full-time equivalent staff will support the new loan product.
The additional staff will be required to process the applications, administer the payment of student loans and deal with any enquiries from students in relation to the new product.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to review the eligibility for the operational allowance for service personnel.
Mark Lancaster
We review eligible locations every six months as standard but Ministers have no plans to change the qualifying criteria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authorities have offered reduced business rates to private nurseries since the Minister for Childcare’s speech at the launch of the NDNA’s Annual Nursery Survey in January 2015.
Caroline Dinenage
The Government does not collect data on particular types of premises that might have benefited from local discretionary relief.
Central Government has given local authorities wide-ranging, discretionary powers to grant business rates discounts as they see fit – they are best placed to serve the needs of their community. All local authorities which grant a local discount will receive 50% of the cost from central Government funds.
The Minister for Childcare wrote to all local authorities in November 2014 to encourage them to apply business rates relief to nurseries and reminded them that central Government will meet 50% of the costs involved. He also encouraged nurseries to follow up with their local authorities themselves. The Department for Communities and Local Government wrote to local authorities in January 2015, reinforcing this message. This letter is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/395333/BRIL_1__-_2015__-__General_-_14_Jan.pdf
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is providing to the Women’s League of Burma.
Mr Philip Hammond
Officials at the British Embassy in Rangoon regularly meet representatives of the Women’s League of Burma and its member groups of civil society organisations. The UK has also provided occasional funding support to the Women’s League of Burma, including towards the publication of some of their research. Representatives from the Women’s League of Burma attended the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in June 2014 at our invitation, and the UK assisted with the cost of that visit.