The below Parliamentary question was asked by Marion Fellows on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s policy is on the granting of visas to Syrian passport holders to enter the UK on a short term basis.
Mr Robert Goodwill
It is not Home Office policy to refuse an application for a visa on the basis of an applicant’s nationality. All visa applications are considered on their merits, in accordance with the Immigration Rules.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-10-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent ageing and older people in developing countries remain an issue of concern for the Department for International Development, why this matter no longer forms part of the Department’s ministerial portfolios, and whether ageing still forms part of the Department’s Inclusive Societies work.
Lord Bates
The Department for International Development’s (DFID) Inclusive Societies department leads the Department’s work on ageing. The Minister of State, Rory Stewart, has responsibility for Inclusive Societies department’s work.
Many DFID programmes reach and include older people, for example on health systems strengthening and eye care, or specific programmes for the poorest including supporting slum dwellers in Tanzania or supporting widows resulting from the Genocide in Rwanda.
Ageing also features in DFID country level poverty analyses as a key factor in understanding poverty. In addition to this DFID is taking a global leadership role to push for better quality and use of age disaggregated data to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals leave no one behind. DFID hosted a series of high profile events on this subject in May and is working towards the publication of an action plan detailing next steps early in 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the contribution of the provision of free childcare to UK productivity in (a) 2005-2010, (b) 2010-2015 and (c) 2015-2020.
Priti Patel
DWP have made no assessment of the provision of free childcare on productivity itself. However, several reports, including the DWP working paper A Survey of Childcare and Work Decisions among Families with Children, identify childcare costs as one of the main barriers to returning to work after the birth of a child. ONS data show women with young children have lower employment rates than men, and the Resolution Foundation reports that mothers who are employed are more likely to have part time and low-paid jobs due to childcare responsibilities. Provision of free childcare should support mothers to combine high-skilled and full time work with raising children.
Also, evidence from the IFS report The Economic Effects of Pre-school Education and Quality suggests that children who have attended pre-school earn more over their working lives on average than children who have had little or no pre-schooling.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make it his policy to ensure that 15 per cent of the three million apprenticeships his Department plans to deliver over the next five years are taken up by disabled people.
Nick Boles
We are committed to reaching 3 million new apprenticeship starts by 2020. Thousands of disabled people have benefitted from apprenticeships. In the 2014/15 academic year 44,090 of those starting an apprenticeship declared a disability or learning difficulty (LDD). This is 8.8% of the total starts.
Apprenticeships are jobs with training and availability is dependent upon employers offering opportunities. However, we believe that there is more that can be done to ensure that people from a diverse range of backgrounds are in the best possible place to apply for and secure an apprenticeship. Employers must fulfil their duties as set out in the Equality Act 2010 for apprentices as they would for other employees.
An Apprenticeships Equality and Diversity Advisory group helps government understand and address any apprenticeship equality and diversity issues in order to reduce barriers and make apprenticeships as inclusive as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether railway verges are surveyed to identify locations where there is a danger that landslides may occur; and if he will make a statement.
Claire Perry
This is an operational matter for Network Rail. Network Rail advises that its railway earthwork assets are inspected by suitably qualified engineers at intervals of 1, 3, 5 and 10 years. The frequency of inspection is driven by the hazard rating of the asset, which is calculated from data that is recorded during visual observations across the slope.
The likelihood of an earthwork asset failing increases during periods of rainfall, in particular during extreme rainfall events. During times where there is an increased likelihood of failure, additional inspections are undertaken. These are focussed with available resources on locations of highest safety risk, where the consequence of a failure is greatest.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the finding of the report by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association last year An Unholy Mess that a significant number of religiously selective schools are breaking the School Admissions Code by taking into account the past behaviour, attendance, attitude, or achievement, of children.
Lord Nash
Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.
Where an objection is made to the Schools Adjudicator, if the arrangements are found to be unfair or fail to comply with the Code, the admission authority must make changes to ensure their arrangements are compliant without undue delay. Where an admission authority fails to implement decisions of the adjudicator, the Secretary of State may direct the admission authority to do so.
We continue to keep the Code under review, and, where we consider any changes are necessary to make the admissions system work more effectively for parents, these will be subject to a full public consultation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the cost of including data by type of disability in the school census.
Edward Timpson
No estimate has been made of the cost of including data by type of disability in the school census. The Department is exploring if there are other ways of capturing details of pupils’ disability.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what applications for arms export licences were rejected by his Department in each year since 2010.
Anna Soubry
Information on military and dual use export licences is published as Official Statistics in the quarterly and annual reports on Strategic Export Controls which are all available to view on GOV.UK. These reports contain detailed information on export licences issued, refused or revoked, by destination, including the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences.
Data covers all years from 2008 up to 30 September 2015. Information covering the period 1 October to 31 December 2015 will be published on 19 April 2016.
Bespoke reports on the published data can be run via https://www.exportcontroldb.bis.gov.uk/
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support a UN implementing agreement for the establishment and management of marine protected areas in the high seas.
James Duddridge
The UK supports the need for a new implementing agreement and the need to establish a mechanism to deliver Marine Protected Areas in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This is because whilst a range of different bodies with varying responsibilities address the protection of marine bio-diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, these bodies have sectorally or regionally restricted mandates.
The first session of the Preparatory Committee (Prepcom) to develop a new implementing agreement took place at the UN from 28 March to 8 April. The UK was represented by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Defra officials. We will continue to engage on this issue in preparation for the remaining three sessions of the Prepcom.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Rochester on 2016-06-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prisoners have been identified as having been radicalised whilst in custody in England and Wales since the beginning of 2014.
Lord Faulks
Radicalisation is a process rather than an event and therefore it is not possible to identify with any certainty which prisoners have been radicalised specifically during their time in prison.
Extremism is one of the biggest threats facing this country. That is why the Justice Secretary commissioned a review of Islamist extremism in prisons.
As we have made clear, the report has been received and a summary document will be published in due course.