The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has for developing for a crewed successor to Typhoon.
Harriett Baldwin
The Strategic Defence and Security Review of 2015 announced the out of service date for the Typhoon fleet would be extended to 2040. The Ministry of Defence will consider options to replace the capability closer to that date but so far no decision has been made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-17.
To ask the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, how many incidents of (a) hacking, (b) viruses and (c) data breaches were reported to the Parliamentary Digital Service in the last 12 months.
Tom Brake
We do not comment on matters of digital or physical security. I understand the Director of the Digital Service has discussed the matter with the hon. Member.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-12-16.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether priority in distributing aid will be given to those who are hard to reach, in the light of the new Sustainable Development Goals commitment to leave no-one behind”.”
Baroness Verma
The new UKAid strategy ‘Tackling global challenges in the national interest’ reiterates DFID’s commitment to tackling extreme poverty and helping the world’s most vulnerable, including hard to reach groups, which helps to build security, stability and opportunity that benefits all. Strategic Objective 4 outlines the UK Government’s ambition to be a world leader in implementing the promise to “Leave No One Behind”, as was agreed by the Prime Minister and other world leaders at UNGA in September 2015. To deliver our strategy, we will prioritise work that targets the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, the most excluded, those caught in crises, and those most at risk of violence and discrimination.
We have also made the commitment that at least 50% of all DFID’s spending is to be allocated to fragile states and regions. Fragile and conflict-affected countries typically have the highest poverty rates and in the future, extreme poverty is likely to be concentrated in fragile countries.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11026, whether the Inter-Ministerial Group on International Animal Welfare has met; when that group’s next meeting will be; and who will be chairing that group.
George Eustice
The IMG has yet to formally reconvene and therefor membership of the group is yet to be finalised. However, I have had discussions with Ministerial colleagues about reconvening the group.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Maynard on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason his Department decided not to renew funding of the extension of the Number 14 bus service to Peel Park.
Justin Tomlinson
The commitment at the time of the relocation of staff to Peel Park was to provide a bus service for three years. The cost of the current contract to provide the bus service is £216,955.50 per year and the actual usage of the service is low.
Blackpool Transport have made it clear any new contract will be at an increased amount and a decision was made that it was not possible to justify public expenditure and subsidy on this scale.
We are exploring alternatives which would offer better value for money, but no decision has yet been made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Grey-Thompson on 2016-03-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what involvement the Department for Work and Pensions has had with disabled people and their families to inform their thinking on the forthcoming white paper on improving support for disabled people and people with health conditions.
Baroness Altmann
The department regularly engages with disability charities and organisations, as well as disabled people and their families and carers, at both Ministerial and official level. We proactively seek stakeholder views on current health, care and employment services to understand what works and where improvements can be made through roundtables, focus groups and face-to-face meetings. These discussions inform and provide the opportunity to test our thinking as we being to develop proposals for the forthcoming White Paper, and we will continue to engage at all levels over the coming months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Allan on 2016-04-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2016 to Question 30728, what plans HM Revenue and Customs has for the future of its staff currently working in Abbey House and Parkside Court after the expiration of the leases of those buildings.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) occupies Abbey House, Telford, under the terms of its STEPS PFI contract which runs to 2 April 2021. The Department has a rolling agreement with Land Registry to use part of their space at Parkside Court.
In November 2015, HMRC announced its plans to create a Regional Centre in Birmingham and a Specialist Site in Telford as part of its UK wide Building our Future Locations Programme. HMRC will use flexibility provisions within its occupancy agreements at both Abbey House and Parkside Court to align their closure with the opening of its new facilities. Specialist roles will remain in Telford with others moving to the new Regional Centre.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-05-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) children under 18 years of age and (b) young people aged 18 to 24 applied for legal aid under the Exceptional Case Funding Scheme in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The purpose of the Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) scheme is to provide funding where it is legally needed. It does not provide a general power to fund cases which fall outside the scope of legal aid. Legal aid is a vital part of our justice system, but we cannot escape the continuing need to reduce the deficit. We still have a very generous system – last year we spent £1.6bn on legal aid, around a quarter of the department’s expenditure. Every ECF application is carefully considered by the Legal Aid Agency on an individual basis.
Applications to the Exceptional Case Funding scheme, by age of applicant, April 2013 to December 2015
|
FY application received |
Under 18 |
18-24 |
Unknown |
|
Apr 2013 – Mar 2014 |
55 |
86 |
6982 |
|
Apr 2014 – Mar 2015 |
27 |
116 |
67 |
|
Apr 2015 – Dec 20151 |
31 |
82 |
78 |
1 Statistics for Jan-Mar 2016 are exempt for future publication on 30 June 2016
2 Please note: Age data for Exceptional Case Funding were collected from October 2013 onwards, hence the greater proportion of unknowns in 2013-14 compared to the other years.
Applications to the Exceptional Case Funding scheme, which were granted3, by age of applicant, April 2013 to December 2015
|
FY application received |
Under 18 |
18-24 |
Unknown |
|
Apr 2013 – Mar 2014 |
1 |
4 |
132 |
|
Apr 2014 – Mar 2015 |
8 |
20 |
3 |
|
Apr 2015 – Dec 20151 |
12 |
40 |
23 |
1 Statistics for Jan-Mar 2016 are exempt for future publication on 30 June 2016
2 Please note: Age data for Exceptional Case Funding were collected from October 2013 onwards, hence the greater proportion of unknowns in 2013-14 compared to the other years.
3 Granted by 29 February 2016
Applications to the Exceptional Case Funding scheme for immigration cases, by age of applicant, April 2013 to December 2015
|
FY application received |
Under 18 |
18-24 |
Unknown |
|
Apr 2013 – Mar 2014 |
– |
12 |
1332 |
|
Apr 2014 – Mar 2015 |
14 |
39 |
16 |
|
Apr 2015 – Dec 20151 |
11 |
33 |
25 |
1 Statistics for Jan-Mar 2016 are exempt for future publication on 30 June 2016
2 Please note: Age data for Exceptional Case Funding were collected from October 2013 onwards, hence the greater proportion of unknowns in 2013-14 compared to the other years.
Applications to the Exceptional Case Funding scheme for immigration cases, which were granted3, by age of applicant, April 2013 to December 2015
|
FY application received |
Under 18 |
18-24 |
Unknown |
|
Apr 2013 – Mar 2014 |
– |
– |
12 |
|
Apr 2014 – Mar 2015 |
4 |
8 |
1 |
|
Apr 2015 – Dec 20151 |
10 |
22 |
12 |
1 Statistics for Jan-Mar 2016 are exempt for future publication on 30 June 2016
2 Please note: Age data for Exceptional Case Funding were collected from October 2013 onwards, hence the greater proportion of unknowns in 2013-14 compared to the other years.
3 Granted by 29 February 2016
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the possible long-term exchange rate fluctuations resulting from the outcome of the EU referendum on the viability of the North Sea Link project; and if he will make a statement.
Jesse Norman
The North Sea Link interconnector is being developed by National Grid and Statnett as a commercial business. National Grid has confirmed to us that the outcome of the referendum does not affect the delivery of the project and that construction is continuing as planned.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) tutors and (b) students in higher education institutions was (i) male and (ii) female in each of the last 10 years.
Joseph Johnson
Information on students and the workforce at UK higher education institutions is collected and published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. Statistics on student enrolments by gender have been provided in Table 1, and on academic staff with teaching functions by gender in Table 2.
Table 1: Proportion of Higher Education enrolments by gender
UK Higher Education Institutions
Academic years 2005/06 to 2014/15
|
Academic Year |
Female |
Male |
|
2005/2006 |
57% |
43% |
|
2006/2007 |
57% |
43% |
|
2007/2008 |
57% |
43% |
|
2008/2009 |
57% |
43% |
|
2009/2010 |
57% |
43% |
|
2010/2011 |
56% |
44% |
|
2011/2012 |
56% |
44% |
|
2012/2013 |
56% |
44% |
|
2013/2014 |
56% |
44% |
|
2014/2015 |
56% |
44% |
Source: Information is derived from the Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record
Coverage:
– Includes students across all years of study, at all levels and modes of higher education and distance learners
– Figures include students of all domiciles.
Table 2: Proportion of Academic Staff with Teaching Functions by gender
UK Higher Education Institutions
Academic Years 2005/06 to 2014/15
|
Female |
Male |
|
|
2005/2006 |
40% |
60% |
|
2006/2007 |
41% |
59% |
|
2007/2008 |
41% |
59% |
|
2008/2009 |
42% |
58% |
|
2009/2010 |
43% |
57% |
|
2010/2011 |
44% |
56% |
|
2011/2012 |
44% |
56% |
|
2012/2013 |
44% |
56% |
|
2013/2014 |
44% |
56% |
|
2014/2015 |
44% |
56% |
Source: Information is derived from the Higher Education Statistics Agency Staff Record
Coverage:
– Members of academic staff who have the following academic employment functions: teaching only, teaching and research
– Percentages based on headcount of members of academic staff across all modes of working
– Atypical members of staff are not included. Atypical staff are those members of staff whose contracts involve working arrangements that are not permanent, involve complex employment relationships and/or involve work away from the supervision of the normal work provider.