The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of EU migrants who will be eligible to receive benefits in each of the next five years and (b) cost of paying those benefits to the public purse.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The information requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of the Young Women’s Trust on page 13 of its report, Making apprenticeships work for young women, that apprenticeships are reinforcing, rather than challenging, occupational segregation by gender.
Nick Boles
We want to make apprenticeships accessible to the widest possible range of people, as part of meeting our commitment to reach 3 million starts in England by 2020.
Women are well-represented within English apprenticeships – 53.0% of starts in 2014/15 were made by women. This is higher than in both 2013/14 (52.9%) and 2009/10 (49.6%). We will continue to support the extension of this positive representation across all sectors.
We have made it a priority to ensure that all young people have access to quality careers advice and support to help them make the right personal choices. This includes communicating career opportunities in sectors such as science and engineering. We will launch a new communications campaign in May aimed at promoting the benefits of apprenticeships. Our promotional campaigns include role models of successful female apprentices in sectors where they are under-represented.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 26 April 2016 to Question 35103, what the role is of the Liaison Officers deployed in Saudi coalition headquarters.
Michael Fallon
UK Liaison Officers located in Saudi Headquarters exchange information between the UK and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to give the UK a better degree of insight into Saudi processes.
They remain under UK command and control and are not embedded with the Saudis. They do not provide training or advice on International Humanitarian Law compliance, and have no role in the Saudi targeting chain.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken is for a decision to be made for a personal independence payment claim in (a) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (b) Scotland and (c) England.
Penny Mordaunt
The table below shows the average (median) actual clearance times (AACT), in weeks, for normal rules new claims and DLA reassessments to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for Airdie and Shotts, Scotland and England in April 2016.
|
April 2016 |
Normal Rules, New Claims AACT (weeks) |
Normal Rules, DLA Reassessments AACT (weeks) |
|
Airdie and Shotts parliamentary constituency |
11 |
13 |
|
Scotland |
10 |
13 |
|
England |
9 |
12 |
Source – PIP Computer Systems management information.
Notes to table:
1) The figures are for normal rules only, and do not include special rules for the terminally ill, as these claims have a separate and faster route through the claims process.
2) ‘Time take for a decision’ has been interpreted as the average time between the date of referral to the assessment provider and the date of the DWP decision to either award or disallow the claim. It does not include claims that were withdrawn by the claimant or claims that were disallowed by DWP pre-referral to the Assessment Providers (e.g. for failure to meet basic eligibility criteria or failure to return the Part 2 form within the time limit).
3) Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number of weeks.
Further information on AACTs is published and available at;
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-independence-payment-statistics
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to announce the contract award date for the Defence Business Services corporate services integration and innovation provider contract; and if he will make a statement.
Mark Lancaster
The Ministry of Defence is currently examining options for the future of Defence Business Services (DBS) as part of the Future DBS Programme. No final decisions have been taken on whether any elements of DBS’ current operations will be outsourced. Timescales will be confirmed in the event of a decision to outsource.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the influx of refugees and migrants into the Western Balkans on the security situation in that region, and what discussions they have had with (1) NATO, and (2) the EU, about that issue.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The British Government makes ongoing assessments of the impact of refugees and migrants on the security situation in the Western Balkans. There have been limited discussions in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on migration as the issue is largely a national and EU competence. NATO can address some of the causes of migration by helping to improve the security and resilience of countries in the region through its partnership frameworks and Defence Capacity Building activity. We have been in regular contact with the EU on addressing all aspects of the crisis. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Teresa May), participated in an EU Conference with Western Balkans and other countries in Luxembourg on 8 October, which agreed a comprehensive package of measures for dealing with the challenges of migration through the Eastern Mediterranean route. We consider it important that the actions agreed at this Conference, and other actions agreed between the EU and the Western Balkans – notably the 17-point Plan of 25 October – are implemented as soon as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish guidance for higher education institutions on how Student Opportunity Fund monies are allocated.
Joseph Johnson
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is responsible for decisions on how the student opportunity fund is allocated to higher education institutions, and for publishing associated guidance.
The Government issues a grant letter to HEFCE outlining Government’s priorities for expenditure through the teaching grant, including on widening access. This will take account of the announcements made in the Spending Review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant the Answer of 4 December 2015 to Question 18424, whether the Syrian-led negotiations under UN auspices have begun; what the status is of these talks; and which parties are involved in such talks.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
UN Security Council Resolution 2254 of 18 December has set out a timeline for the commencement of Syrian-led negotiations, for January 2016, under UN auspices, building on an agreement reached in the International Syria Support Group. The date for the commencement of negotiations will be proposed by the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura. Representatives of all Syrian parties will be invited, with the exclusion of UN designated terrorist groups including Daesh and Al Qaeda affiliated groups.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the change in real terms spending on children’s service (a) overall and (b) per 1,000 head of population aged 0 to 19 was in each local authority between 2010 and 2015.
Mr Marcus Jones
Expenditure on children’s social care, in 2010-11 (adjusted to real terms) and 2014-15 (the latest year for which figures are available), for each local authority in England, is attached.
Data on children’s social care expenditure is not collected for the age range requested.
Due to differences in definition, it is not possible to compare figures for 2010-11 with 2014-15. In particular, elements of services to young people are now included within education expenditure.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Environment Agency has taken to identify those responsible for the fly-tipping of plastic and other rubbish in Cornwall Road, Smethwick in March 2015.
Rory Stewart
The Environment Agency is continuing to investigate the case of illegal dumping on land in Cornwall Road. As this is an active investigation I am unable to provide further details at this stage.
Illegal dumping and waste crime more generally is unacceptable whether it occurs on public or private land.
The Government is taking action to crack down on this unacceptable behaviour and has pledged an additional £20 million of funding for waste crime enforcement over the next five years as part of the Spending Review. We are also working with the Environment Agency through a joint Waste Crime Action Plan to ensure its regulatory effort is targeted effectively and focussed on speedy and tough enforcement action