Category: Speeches

Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) staff of which grades and (b) desk teams were working on Russia in his Department in (i) 2011, (ii) 2012, (iii) 2013, (iv) 2014 and (v) the latest date for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Hammond

The FCO’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate has one team working directly on Russia, and a significant proportion of the work across the Directorate is also focused on Russia. In addition, many teams and staff at all grades across the wider FCO and its overseas network have responsibilities which relate directly or indirectly, to Russia.

The breakdown of staff numbers for the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate in 2013-15 (overseas and at home) is as follows:

31 March 2013 – 116

31 March 2014 – 106

31 March 2015 – 119

31 October 2015 – 114

Figures prior to 2013 are not available broken down by by Department. In 2014, following the crisis in Ukraine, we reinforced the FCO’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate by increasing the number of senior staff and deputy directors, as well as expanding the Russia and Ukraine Teams. This included an SMS 2 Director, in addition to an SMS 1 Additional Director. In 2011, 2012 and 2013 the Director position was graded at SMS 1. Other Government Departments have also increased resources on Russia.

01/01/2023
Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received on the provision of lorry parking facilities on the strategic road network; and what steps he is taking to improve the provision of such facilities.

Andrew Jones

We have received three letters on this subject from MPs, plus several from hauliers and lorry drivers. We have also received representations in meetings with the Freight Transport Association, the Road Haulage Association and Unite the Union.

We are concerned by suggestions that a lack of suitable, affordable facilities is one of the factors leading to the current shortage of lorry drivers. Therefore we are having discussions with the haulage industry and Highways England to see what improvements are possible.

01/01/2023
Lord Quirk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Quirk on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 21 December 2015 (HL4282), how they reconcile that answer with the statement by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology in Postnote on forensic linguistics of September 2015 that even recordings of an offender’s voice, verified to the satisfaction of police experts, are not admissible as evidence” in the criminal justice system.”

Lord Faulks

The research briefing to which the noble Lord refers distinguishes between speaker profiling, which courts have yet to find to be sufficiently reliable a technique to constitute admissible evidence in a criminal case, and speaker comparison, evidence of which may be admissible.

Expert evidence is admissible in criminal proceedings at common law. In summary, the evidence must be relevant to what is in issue; it must be capable of helping the court to assess the significance of matters beyond everyday experience (for example, the results of scientific tests); and it must be given by someone who is competent to do so. The Criminal Procedure Rules and the associated Criminal Practice Directions set out the procedure for introducing expert evidence, and list the factors to which the court will have regard in determining the reliability of expert opinion.

01/01/2023
Liam Fox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Fox on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many deployments are family postings.

Penny Mordaunt

Overseas tours for military personnel can be broadly grouped into three categories: operational deployments, exercises and longer-term postings.

Operational deployment roles are high readiness deployments anywhere in the world where there is an operational requirement and are not family accompanied. UK military personnel are currently performing these roles in parts of Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the South Atlantic Islands.

The standard tour length for operational deployments can vary greatly depending on the circumstances but is likely to be six months, with some Service personnel serving up to 12 months or longer.

Large-scale exercises are conducted in Belize, Canada and Kenya to provide training for UK military operations. There are a small number of permanent UK military staff posted in each location, and these roles are family accompanied. UK military personnel sent to these locations on exercise are not accompanied by their families.

Permanent or longer-term posted roles or assignments can be family accompanied. Permanent overseas postings which can be family accompanied include Bahrain, Qatar, the USA, Gibraltar, the South Atlantic Islands, the Cyprus Sovereign Base Areas and the United Nations Operation TOSCA, Singapore and European countries. Around 4,600 of these posts are family-accompanied.

01/01/2023
Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26284, what steps NHS England has taken to deal with potential conflicts of interests in the support offered by Deloitte to the development of its clinical commissioning policies; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

Deloitte is contracted to provide consultancy and advice to NHS England in support of its policy development programme for commissioned specialised services.

Deloitte is acting in an advisory capacity only and all decisions and governance processes associated with the policy development and adoption process have been retained by NHS England.

Where there has been potential for commercial in confidence information, this data and any associated analysis has been handled by NHS England alone.

01/01/2023

The Earl of Clancarty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Clancarty on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many individuals took Art and Design GCSE in each year since 2011 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland combined, and what percentage of the total number of GCSEs this constitutes.

Lord Nash

The Department for Education produces statistics on England only.

The table below shows the total number of pupils attempting Art and Design and the percentage this represents of all pupils attempting GCSEs at the end of key stage 4 for the years requested. This information is published in the “Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2014 to 2015” Statistical First Release available on GOV.UK.

	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
Number of pupils attempting Art and Design	155,724	151,601	156,482	164,648	170,783
Pupils[1] attempting GCSE[2] Art and Design as a percentage of all pupils attempting GCSEs	25.4	25.0	25.3	27.1	28.5

[1] Pupils at the end of key stage 4.

[2] GCSE only.

01/01/2023

Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information he holds on the number of community pubs with assets of community value status that have been closed or that no longer operate as a pub.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect this information.

01/01/2023
Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many enquiries have been made by hon. Members to HM Revenue and Customs on tax credits claims by (a) e-mail, (b) telephone and (c) letter in the last 12 months.

Damian Hinds

HMRC receives enquiries from hon. Members about tax credit awards in a number of different ways. HMRC seeks to answer every one as a high priority.

HMRC collates internal management statistics relating to tax credit enquiries but does not hold comprehensive figures as to how many of these were submitted by hon. Members via each medium.

01/01/2023
Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider changing adult learning funding to fund British Sign Language courses for families of children who are born deaf.

Robert Halfon

This Department funds British Sign Language (BSL) qualifications in England through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). In the current economic climate, our funding must be focussed where it can have the most impact, so we support young adults aged 19 and over to gain the skills and qualifications they need to get work or to progress in their chosen career.

Learners who need lip reading skills to access work or stay in work are eligible to receive public funding through the Skills Funding Agency, and we are introducing changes that will make BSL qualifications acceptable, for the purposes of apprenticeship completion requirements, as an alternative to Functional Skills English for apprentices whose first language is BSL.

Colleges and training providers are independent and autonomous bodies and are responsible for their course provision. They are required to respond to the needs of learners, employers and communities to ensure that provision meets the need of local people, and we would expect every college or training organisation that receives public investment to consider offering lip-reading and sign language provision if there is a demand for it locally. Our more flexible adult education budget funding rules for 2016/17 enable broader types of learning activities that re-engage people in learning, build confidence, and enhance well-being.

01/01/2023
Desmond Swayne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Desmond Swayne on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Forestry Commission is taking to reduce potential conflicts of interest arising from contracts to carry out wetland restoration projects; and if she will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Potential conflict of interest is addressed by the existence of a formal partnership agreement which sets out the basis on which the Verderers of the New Forest, the Forestry Commission and the New Forest National Park Authority will work together to implement the Verderers’ New Forest Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) Agreement. The partnership has appointed a project board to steer and oversee the implementation of the HLS agreement and the board’s terms of reference enable it to address any potential conflicts of interest.

01/01/2023