The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will review the effect on access to justice and protection of human rights of civil legal aid reforms introduced by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
Sir Oliver Heald
We are committed to reviewing Parts 1 and 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 within three to five years of its implementation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason the qualifying threshold for baseline assessment providers was set at 10 per cent of primary schools.
Nick Gibb
The reception baseline contracts contained a number of criteria for approving suppliers.
The 10 per cent threshold was set to ensure a statistically reliable sample size for each supplier when determining the relative progress measure for each pupil.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2015-12-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many children move schools each month because of bullying, and what assessment they have made of the implications of such moves for the education system and the children affected.
Lord Nash
The Department does not collect information on the number of children who move school each month because of bullying.
All bullying is unacceptable and every school is required to have a behaviour policy including measures to tackle all forms of bullying. They are held to account by Ofsted and inspectors will look at records and analysis of bullying, discriminatory and prejudicial behaviour.
In 2015-16, the Government is providing £3.3m to charitable organisations to help tackle bullying and to provide support for those who are bullied. This is further to the £4m provided over the period 2013-15.
Levels of bullying have reduced as a consequence of the efforts of schools and anti-bullying charities. The Longitudinal Study of Young Peoplein England published by the Department in November 2015 compared experiences of bullying among two cohorts of 14 year olds (year 10 students)from 2004 and 2014. It found that 30,000 fewer people in year 10 in 2014 said they had been bullied in the last twelve months. This represented a decrease from 41 per cent in 2004 to 36 per cent in 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-01-07.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received from (a) landfill operators and (b) environmental bodies on the proposed removal of third party contributions from the Landfill Communities Fund; and whether he plans to change that proposal in response to those representations.
Damian Hinds
Since its introduction in 1996, the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) has contributed over £1.4bn to community projects in areas affected by a local landfill site and the government acknowledges the positive impact of this funding for communities. However, as the LCF is a tax credit scheme, it reduces tax revenues and we therefore have a responsibility to seek value for money for the taxpayer.
Despite difficult decisions on spending, the government has decided to retain and reform the LCF. Following representations on the issue of contributing third parties, the government softened proposals in this area at Budget 2016, and the requirement for a 10% landfill operator contribution has not been set in legislation. However, the government wants landfill operators to make a greater contribution to the LCF, and the regulator of the scheme, ENTRUST, has published guidance setting out this expectation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support his Department provides to support children giving evidence in court in cases of a physical or sexual nature.
Mike Penning
Measures include the use of intermediaries to help communication, allowing witnesses to give evidence by way of pre-recorded video and /or live video links from outside the courtroom, screening the witness from the accused, removing people from the public gallery whilst the witness gives evidence and the removal of gowns and wigs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff leaving employment at her Department in the last three years have subsequently been rehired within 12 months by the (a) Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (b) Ministry of Defence, (c) Department for Energy and Climate Change, (d) Department for Culture, Media and Sport, (e) Cabinet Office and (f) HM Treasury.
Mr Nick Hurd
DFID would not record or have access to details of former employees who have been rehired by other government departments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the total cost of administrating devolution deals in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.
James Wharton
We do not hold this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much UK public money has been used to purchase steel from loss-making state-owned Chinese steel making companies (a) through the Crown Commercial Service and (b) in total in the last 10 years.
Matthew Hancock
The Crown Commercial Service has not awarded any contracts for the procurement of steel.
Information on departmental spend on steel is not held centrally.
All departments are now required to implement new guidelines, which we published on 30 October last year, on how government buyers should source steel for major projects so that the true value of UK steel is taken into account in major procurement decisions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-06-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to empower regulators and law enforcement agencies to prevent and detect the laundering of corrupt assets through the UK financial system.
Harriett Baldwin
In April, we launched the Action Plan for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance, to address the gaps identified in the National Risk Assessment, and to make significant changes to improve our response to threats.
The Action Plan will reform the supervisory regime so that the high anti-money laundering standards and controls that the UK subscribes to are implemented successfully.
It also commits us to establish an enhanced law enforcement response to the threats we face through building new capabilities in law enforcement agencies and exploring tough new legal powers to enable the relentless disruption and prosecution of criminals and terrorists.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister’s Anti-Corruption Summit in May launched a number of new initiatives to address illicit financial flows and give momentum to existing projects.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is her policy to retain targets to recycle 50 per cent of waste by 2020 after the UK withdrawals from the EU.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
While we remain in the EU, all rights and obligations associated with our membership will remain in place, including the target to re-use or recycle 50% of our household waste by 2020. Beyond that, the Government remains committed to actions to reduce waste and increase our rates of recycling. In our 2015 Manifesto, we set the goal of being the first generation to leave England’s natural environment in a better state than that in which we found it. This is a big ambition and one to which the Government remains committed.