The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the cost of the trade envoy programme has been since its launch in September 2012.
Anna Soubry
To fulfil their overseas and UK travel commitments, there is a dedicated budget for the Trade Envoys.
Total cost of the programme to date has been £424,529
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data his Department collects on premature mortality in people on the autism spectrum.
Alistair Burt
The National Health Service is taking action to increase the health checks and cancer screening programmes for people with learning disabilities, including those who also have autism. In 2015, NHS England commissioned the world’s first Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme to support local areas to review deaths of people with learning disabilities and to use the information to improve service provision so that physical and mental health problems can be identified and addressed. This programme is currently being piloted and will be rolled out more widely in due course.
We would expect that the work of the mortality review as a whole is likely to generate new information on the causes of premature mortality in all people with learning disabilities including many who will also have had autism spectrum disorder.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of proposals to deny parole or release to people incarcerated for charges of murder for as long as they refuse to disclose the whereabouts of their victim’s remains.
Andrew Selous
I sympathise with the anguish caused to the families of victims where the offender wilfully refuses to disclose the whereabouts of their loved one. Such behaviour is already taken into account by the court when sentencing the offender, and by the independent Parole Board when assessing an offender’s continuing risk for the purposes of deciding whether he or she is eligible for possible release. The Parole Board has at my request, however, agreed to review its guidance on this particular issue as part of a review of all its guidance in 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-05-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authorities provide (1) free transport, and (2) subsidised transport, for students in years 12 and 13.
Lord Nash
The statutory responsibility for post 16 transport rests with local authorities who are required to publish a transport policy statement setting out the arrangements they make to support young people to travel to further education and training.
These arrangements do not have to include free or subsidised transport, but local authorities are expected to make reasonable decisions based on local needs, circumstances and resources. Discounts or concessions are also available from local transport companies and schools, colleges or other providers.
Local authorities are encouraged to develop a collaborative approach when developing their statements to provide a full picture of the transport and support available. But it is for local organisations to decide whether to provide support and what level of discounts and concessions to give. The department does not collect specific information on which local authorities, transport companies, or education and training providers give free or subsidised transport for students in years 12 and 13.
The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund is also available to help young people with the costs associated with attending education or training, and transport is the biggest single area of expenditure for which this fund is used. Schools and colleges are responsible for deciding how to distribute their bursary allocations to students, and for establishing what criteria to use.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on the future of the Erasmus programme.
Joseph Johnson
The EU referendum result has no immediate effect on students abroad under Erasmus or those applying in 2016/17. Payments will be made in the usual way. Access after we leave the EU is a matter for the forthcoming negotiations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will assess the potential merits of deploying fishing trawlers to patrol the UK coastline to prevent illegal immigration.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Border Force is actively engaged through partners in the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) with commercial fishing operators. The UK’s commercial fishing operators already form a valuable part of the Project KRAKEN network providing ‘intelligence’ reports based on their assessment of unusual activity, however, they are not specifically tasked with official patrolling.
Border security is a priority for this Government. We are committed to countering threats to the UK coastline using an intelligence-led approach and through working with the wider law enforcement community. Border Force has long-standing working relationships and intelligence-sharing practices in place, and is increasing interaction with key partners as well as undertaking joint operations in order to disrupt organised criminal gangs looking to facilitate illegal entry into the UK.
Border Force and operational partners are conducting activity on a number of fronts to prevent migrants from entering the UK via clandestine and illegal means, strengthening the coordination of maritime security assets so that maximum coverage at sea is delivered. Border Force currently operates three cutters in UK territorial waters at any given time.
The cutters form part of a layered approach to coastal defence, including patrols comprising additional law enforcement vessels, on-shore resources and intelligence and surveillance. Border Force has invested in additional coastal patrol vessels (CPV) to complement the work being done by our cutters to combat attempts to smuggle migrants and illicit goods into the UK illegally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Tim on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants claimed support for childcare costs in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Priti Patel
The information you have requested is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for UC therefore it is not yet possible to give a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future. These statistics however will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.
The latest official experimental statistics on UC and the Department’s release strategy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much is available to each NHS trust to fund new drugs and treatments assessed and recommended by NICE.
George Freeman
The Government believes that National Health Service commissioners and providers are best placed to decide how to allocate their budgets to deliver improvements in the outcomes for patients.
There is no separately identified ring-fenced funding stream associated with drugs and treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NHS commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended by NICE.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Government has made of the gender balance of public appointments to (a) executive non-departmental public bodies, (b) advisory non-departmental public bodies, (c) independent monitoring boards and (d) non-ministerial departments made since May 2015.
Matthew Hancock
The Government is committed to increasing the diversity of public appointments and has an aspiration that 50% of new public appointees should be women. We are making good progress; the most recent figures published for 2014-2015 show 44% of new appointments were made to women and a higher proportion of all public appointments (new appointments and reappointments) were made to women last year than at any other point in the last decade. I will continue to urge more women to apply for these important posts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many responses to the Government’s consultation on devolving Sunday trading rules were opposed to any relaxation of Sunday trading rules.
Anna Soubry
The consultation was about a specific proposal to devolve a power to extend trading hours on Sunday to local areas. The consultation did not ask respondents whether they supported or were opposed to a general relaxation of Sunday trading rules. The Department does not, therefore, hold information on this issue.