The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yvonne Fovargue on 2015-11-23.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many rent-to-own firms have applied to the Financial Conduct Authority for authorisation; and how many such firms have been so authorised.
Harriett Baldwin
This question has been passed on to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will reply to directly to the Honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-01-05.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will place in the Library the unpublished 2015 reports produced by the Financial Conduct Authority in 2015 on banking culture.
Harriett Baldwin
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is an independent regulator. It is responsible for determining what information it publishes and when it is published, subject to statutory requirements. The Treasury will lay before Parliament any FCA reports or other documents which the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 requires to be laid before Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2015 to Question 9202, what steps he has taken to reduce the number of peers.
Mr David Cameron
The Leader of the House of Lords has convened cross-party talks to consider the best way forward in addressing the size of the House. Those talks are ongoing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals work for the European External Action Service; and what proportion of the total number of employees in that service they represent.
Mr Philip Hammond
The European External Action Service (EEAS) has not published statistics on numbers of permanent staff by nationality since 2013, when a total of 133 British citizens were working for the EEAS. As of April 2015, our records show there were a total of 119 British citizens working for the European External Action Service, representing 4.8% of approximately 2500 total staff (excluding approximately 1000 local agents in Delegations) employed by the EEAS in 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the UK’s energy was generated from renewable sources in the last 12 months.
Amber Rudd
In 2014, the latest full year for which data is available, 7 per cent of the UK’s energy came from renewable sources, and 19 per cent of the UK’s electricity. This is a 15 per cent increase from the level of electricity generated from renewable sources in 2010.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) migrants and (b) people seeking asylum who have attempted to travel to Europe via Egypt in each of the last two years.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We do not hold figures for the number of migrants and asylum seekers who have attempted to travel to Europe via Egypt. According to the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders (Frontex), in 2014 there were 170,760 detections of illegal border-crossings on the Central Mediterranean route (not only from Egypt). In 2015, the number of detections was 153,946.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Argar on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to increase the effectiveness of the UK Border Force as a law enforcement organisation since it was established as an independent operational command within her Department in 2012.
James Brokenshire
Since it was established as an operational command of the Home Office in 2012, a number of positive changes have been made to Border Force’s working practices in order to make it a more effective law enforcement organisation. In 2012, Border Force was, for the first time, provided with an operating mandate which set out parameters for operational decision-making, including the need to maintain 100% checks on all passengers arriving at passport control at all times. Border Force has also become more intelligence-led – adept at utilising increasing volumes of advance data to make targeted interventions against potentially dangerous passengers and consignments of goods upon arrival in the UK.
Other important changes include: an improvement in command and control arrangements so that Border Force can rapidly respond and adjust to evolving security threats across different locations; employing new leadership in headquarters and ports across the country to install a more security-focussed culture in the organisation and plan effective operations with partner organisations at both a national and international level. Border Force has also increased the capability of its officers to respond to security threats, by equipping all permanently employed staff working at passport control with powers and training to detain individuals that pose a threat to the public who are subject to an arrest warrant or otherwise liable to arrest.
These reforms have had a transformative effect on Border Force. As well as undertaking its traditional immigration and customs roles more effectively and efficiently, it has also proved capable of meeting a range of new strategic priorities, including rapidly implementing a screening regime in response to the global ebola outbreak and being a international leader in its work to identify victims of trafficking and slavery. Furthermore, in the past year Border Force has seized nearly 8 tonnes of Class A Drugs, more than two and half times as much as in 2009/10.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Attorney General, what progress he has made on increasing the number of prosecutions for disability hate crime.
Robert Buckland
In 2015/16, the CPS completed 941 prosecutions for disability hate crime, an increase of 41.3% on the previous year when it completed 666 prosecutions.
The number of convictions rose from 503 in 2014/15 to 707 in 2015/16, an increase of 40.6%.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-10-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the educational resources available to (1) teachers, and (2) parents, to encourage healthier living among children and young people.
Lord Nash
This Government wants all children to lead healthy and active lives and schools have a key role to play in teaching children about healthy lifestyles. Schools have the flexibility to choose which educational resources they use to support their teaching and there are opportunities across the curriculum for pupils to be taught the knowledge and skills they need to support heathy living.
The national curriculum is compulsory in state maintained schools and sets the expectation that across a variety of subjects, pupils are taught about the importance of leading a healthy active lifestyle. Physical education (PE) is compulsory at all four key stages in the national curriculum and should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way that supports their health and fitness. Across science and design and technology, pupils are taught about the importance of healthy eating and nutrition.
Change4Life is the Government’s flagship social marketing programme aimed at inspiring everyone to eat well, move more and live longer. In 2015 more than 385,000 families signed up to the “10 Minute Shake up” campaign, which are designed as fun activities for children to squeeze short 10-minute bursts of activity into their day. In January 2016, Change4Life launched the Food Detective campaign. Developed by educational experts, these curriculum-linked resources encouraged pupils to become Food Detectives and to learn more about sugar and 5 a day to support a healthy and balanced diet.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government applied to the European Commission globalisation adjustment fund to secure support funding for the British steel industry plants recently closed or under threat of closure.
Priti Patel
The European Globalisation Fund (EGF) provides a financial contribution for active labour market measures, aimed at reintegrating those made or at risk of being made redundant in the labour market.
Member States are responsible in the first instance for tackling trade adjustment redundancies – the fund is therefore designed to add to national, regional and local assistance.
The UK already offers a broad range of personalised support to workers made redundant through its Rapid Response Service and Jobcentre Plus, which could not be duplicated or substituted by EGF.
The Rapid Response Service and the Jobcentre Plus Core Offer are effective reintegration tools which represent good value for money and are our primary and most effective means of response to support the industry.
In addition to this, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has also announced packages of support worth up to £80 million for SSI in Redcar and up to £9 million for TATA Steel in Scunthorpe.
Only if more support is necessary other suitable sources of support will be considered.