The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of dairy products procured for her Department was sourced from British producers in the latest period for which figures are available.
Mr Desmond Swayne
DFID do not purchase dairy products directly. However the Departments catering service provider procures 100% of their dairy produce from British sources.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding his Department provides to the NHS to treat people with gambling addictions.
Alistair Burt
The Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust provides the only specialised national problem gambling clinic. However, specialised addiction services, which mainly deal with substance misuse, do tend to accept people with gambling problems referred to them. People can also access addiction services in primary care and secondary care, which may provide support for problem gambling.
People may also access psychological therapies through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. Although problem gambling is not listed amongst the provisional diagnosis categories that IAPT treats, IAPT practitioners would be able to treat common mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety, which may be present in people with gambling addiction problems.
Data is not collected centrally on the number of specialist National Health Service professionals which provide support and treatment for gambling addiction.
Data is not collected on the funding of services to treat people with gambling problems. Funding to provide NHS mental health services is allocated to clinical commissioning groups which are best placed to commission local health services based on the needs of their local populations. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning local alcohol and drug treatment services which may also refer people to gambling support services where they identify people with gambling issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-09-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the trend of investment in the British economy since the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
Before the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, the UK government published short-term and long-term assessments of the likely impact on the economy of the UK leaving the EU. HM Government is monitoring economic developments closely and the independent Office for Budget Responsibility will produce an updated economic forecast alongside Autumn Statement 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-10-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 12 October (HL Deb, col 1889), what correspondence there has been between the Department for Education and Brighton and Hove Council pertaining to questionnaires seeking information about children’s self-perception of their sexual orientation; and whether they will place a copy of that correspondence in the Library of the House.
Lord Nash
These questions refer to an answer given by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 12 October 2016, and also link to previous questions asked by Lord Macginnis, and answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford in April 2016.
As Baroness Williams set out in her previous reply, the Department for Education provides guidance on the Equality Act 2010 to schools which contains advice on the Public Sector Equality Duty and on the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.
The Department is not responsible for the decision by Brighton and Hove Council to include gender identity information on the pupil registration form it issued in April 2016. The Council has the independence to make this decision. The Department has had no involvement and has not made any assessment of the questionnaire.
The Department does not hold details of any additional information collected by local authorities outside of those required by the Department for our centrally specified, mandatory data collections. Brighton and Hove Council is responsible for securing answers and restricting access to information generated by any questionnaire it issues.
The Department has not inquired into the gender identity of children in Brighton and Hove and has no correspondence on the matter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage schools to teach (a) CPR and (b) other life-saving methods.
Edward Timpson
All schools are required to teach a balanced and broadly based curriculum that prepares them for adult life. The new national curriculum focuses on the essential knowledge so that teachers can design a wider school curriculum that best meets the needs of their pupils.
Many schools already choose to include CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and defibrillator awareness as part of their PSHE (personal, social, health and economic education) teaching. The non-statutory PSHE Programme of Study produced by the PSHE Association, teaches young people how to recognise and follow health and safety procedures, ways of reducing risk and minimising harm in risky situations, and how to use emergency and basic first aid.
Many schools also make use of organisations such as the Red Cross and St John Ambulance, to provide information to young people about first aid and dealing with emergencies.The British Heart Foundation has offered to provide free CPR training kits to every secondary school in the country, allowing young people to gain first-hand experience of this important life-saving skill. We have promoted this kit to schools through the all schools termly email and social media channels and we expect many schools to take up this offer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on establishment of a Northern Ireland University Air Squadron.
Mr Julian Brazier
The two newly established staff posts in the Northern Ireland Universities Air Squadron were filled in October and November 2015, and the first students were accepted on 25 November. Of the 24 student places, 11 have so far been filled.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will (a) take steps to ensure that Saudi Arabia works for an immediate ceasefire in Yemen and (b) support the establishment of an international, independent, impartial mechanism to investigate alleged violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law by all parties in that conflict.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are urging all parties to the conflict to work towards resuming a meaningful and sustainable ceasefire that is respected by all sides. We are also doing all we can to support the UN to convene a further round of UN-facilitated peace talks over the coming weeks and firmly believe that a political solution is the best way to bring long-term stability to Yemen.
The Resolution on Yemen adopted at the Human Rights Council Session in September 2015 committed the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights to work with the Government of Yemen to help them investigate human rights abuses and violations. We urge the Government of Yemen to co-operate fully with this process. Yemen will remain on the Human Rights Council’s agenda: an oral report on developments will be given at the next session in March 2016 (31st session) and a written report will be presented to the Council in September 2016 (33rd session).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken for appeals for benefit sanctions.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support), administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits.
HMCTS does not record data specifically relating to appeals against sanctions imposed by DWP.
In order to increase the capacity of the Tribunal, and therefore speed up the appeals process, HMCTS has recruited extra judges and medical members, increased venue capacity and introduced more efficient processes. This action, coupled with a reduction in appeal receipts, has enabled HMCTS to reduce the overall average length of time to administer appeals from 28 weeks in the period July to September 2014, to 19 weeks for the same period in 2015 (the latest period for which statistics have been published). The median length of time to administer appeals (which will be the experience of the majority of appellants) has reduced from 18 weeks to 14 weeks in the same period.
Information on the length of time taken to administer appeals generally is published by the Ministry of Justice in Tribunal Statistics Quarterly. The most recent report, for the period July to September 2015, published on 10 December 2015, can be viewed at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for the completion of projects funded in England by EU structural funds in the event of the UK leaving the EU.
Anna Soubry
At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Nye on 2016-03-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many level 2 Craft, Creative Arts and Design (9.2) vocational qualifications were completed in each year since 2011 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland combined.
Lord Nash
As there is no formal definition of what constitutes “Craft, Creative Arts and Design”, it has not been possible to provide the information that is requested.