The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-12.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, who his Ministerial private office informed of his plans to visit Cardiff on 7 January 2016; by what method they so informed those people and on what date those communications took place.
Harriett Baldwin
The Chancellor’s visit to Cardiff on 7 January 2016 was made in accordance with the specifications of the Ministerial Code.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Rebuck on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the requirement for all learners who did not achieve a Level 2 in English and maths by the age of 16 to continue to study those subjects post-16 since its introduction.
Lord Nash
We publish analysis on English and maths attainment by students aged 16 to 18 who did not achieve A* to C by the end of key stage 4 in an annual experimental Statistical First Release. The latest release (relating to 2013/14) is attached and also available online. [1]
The next publication will provide data relating to 2014/15, the first year of the English and maths requirement.
The English and maths requirement has had a positive effect on attainment. In 2015, for 17-year-olds and over, entries in maths were up 30% while English entries rose by 23%. Last year there were over 4,000 more passes in English by students aged 17 and over and over 7,500 more maths passes.
We also monitor in-year management information returns from further education institutions. In 2014/15, 97% of 16 to 19-year-olds without GCSE A*-C English and/or maths attending an FE institution continued their study of these subjects.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to provide additional financial support for Jordan for the provision of (a) aid and (b) jobs for refugees in that country.
Justine Greening
The UK with other members of the international community agreed at the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference a comprehensive approach to tackling the impact of the Syria conflict. This included continued humanitarian support in Jordan and a ‘Jordan Compact’ aimed at improving the investment climate and creating jobs for both Jordanians and refugees from Syria. Funding and implementation arrangements are currently being finalised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mowat on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Attorney General, what steps the CPS is taking to improve the conviction rate for hate crimes involving disabled people.
Robert Buckland
The CPS treats all allegations of hate crime, including those involving disabled people, extremely seriously and continues to place priority on this work. Legal guidance on disability hate crime was refreshed in 2015 and a supporting training package was delivered to all CPS lawyers by January 2016. This equips prosecutors with up to date knowledge to inform their decision making and approach to building the strongest cases possible. In addition, a National Scrutiny Panel on disability is assisting with the development of further refinements to policy guidance on crimes against disabled people and the preparation of a joint CPS/Police/HMCTS statement concerning support to disabled victims of crime.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to prevent mobile telephone providers from imposing long notice periods on customers who are out of contract and wish to move to another provider.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Most mobile telephone providers include terms within contracts that require customers to serve up to 30 days’ minimum notice period in order to terminate a contract, regardless of whether the customer is within the minimum term of their contract or not. Ofcom’s view is that this may be longer than necessary and is currently consulting to make improvements with regards to mobile switching for consumers. In addition, the Government is committed to making it easier and quicker to switch services and fully supports Ofcom’s interim findings in the recent digital communications review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has discussed with the devolved administrations inserting the new anti-lobbying clause into their government grants.
Matthew Hancock
Officials in the Cabinet Office Grants Efficiency Programme team held preliminary discussions with the devolved administrations as part of the implementation of the grants clause. However, as announced on 27 April, the implementation of the clause has been paused pending a review of the representations made and we will take a decision on the form of the clause following this review. Revised guidance will be published in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the evidence of the practice of forced organ harvesting in China set out in the report published in June by David Kilgour, David Matas and Ethan Gutmann, and in the film The Bleeding Edge.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
As the former Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) stated to the House of Commons on the 12 July 2016, we have raised concerns about reports of organ harvesting, as well as about the torture and mistreatment of detainees, during the annual UK-China human rights dialogue. We will do so again at the next round which is scheduled to take place in October. My officials most recently raised the issue with the Chinese authorities on 1 September 2016.
The Kilgour/Matas/Gutmann report is an important source of information about China’s organ transplant system, which we take seriously, but we are unable to substantiate all the evidence presented in the report. We have not assessed any evidence from ‘the Bleeding Edge’, as we understand it to be a semi-fictional feature film.We encourage the Chinese authorities to provide more information about the sources of organs for transplant, and about the implementation of existing Chinese regulations in this area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-10-20.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many recorded incidents of fraud on contactless cards have been recorded since that technology became available.
Simon Kirby
The Government does not hold any data on the recorded incidents of fraud on contactless cards. Industry statistics received from Financial Fraud Action UK indicate that in the first half of 2016 there were £2.9 million losses attributed to fraud on contactless cards compared to a spend of £9.27 billion. According to the industry, fraud on contactless cards accounts for less than 1% of card fraud losses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on what date the £75 million Mayoral Investment Fund pledged as part of the Liverpool City Region Deal was paid to Liverpool City Council.
James Wharton
The Department for Communities and Local Government contributed £75 million in economic development funds as part of the Liverpool City Deal, with payments to Liverpool City Council on 30 April 2013 (£60 million) and 1 May 2014 (£15 million).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects Orkambi to be appraised by NICE.
George Freeman
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing technology appraisal guidance on the use of Orkambi (lumacaftor in combination with ivacaftor) for the treatment of cystic fibrosis in people who are homozygous for the F508del mutation. NICE’s anticipated publication date for this guidance is July 2016. Further information is available at:
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-tag530