The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) humaneness and (b) effectiveness of badger culls since 2013.
George Eustice
The approach Defra takes to monitoring the effectiveness and humaneness of the badger control policy, including the Chief Veterinary Officer’s advice, can be found on GOV.UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they have ensured that the National Health Service has fully absorbed the lessons of the Public Accounts Committee report identifying significant weaknesses in central government’s capacity to monitor and enforce contracts with large private companies.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department is addressing the recommendations set out in the Public Accounts Committee Report. Through our normal accountability arrangements we have sought assurance from our arm’s length bodies (ALBs), including NHS England, that they have the necessary organisational architecture in place to support good contract management and will continually strive to improve by applying best practice. The Department is building a contract management function which will seek to advise ALBs on how to apply effective contract management.
Each ALB will be responsible for determining its next steps. Each ALB will need to provide the necessary assurances that it is operating effectively and that it has the requisite capability and capacity to support effective contract management of significant amounts of public money.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to help young people engage with the digital economy.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government’s Digital Engagement team works in partnership with more than 90 signatories of the 2014 Digital Inclusion Charter, which supports programmes to increase young people’s engagement in digital skills and the digital economy. We also support the ‘Your Life’ campaign which is helping to change perceptions of technology and other STEM subjects among all young people. A network of STEM Ambassadors from industry and academia actively work with schools to encourage young people to choose STEM subjects, and embark on digital careers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Warburton on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Ofcom’s review of the future regulatory framework of the independent television production sector; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Ofcom reported on the operation of the television production sector on 23 December. I am now considering that report, and will make a decision in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations were received from (a) USDAW, (b) other trade unions, (c) ACS and (d) other trade and workers’ associations in response to the government’s consultation, Devolving Sunday trading rules, published on 5 August 2015; and what (i) number and (ii) proportion of those respondents answered (A) yes, (B) no and (C) otherwise to Question 1 in that consultation.
Anna Soubry
The Government received 7,171 responses to the consultation, though a significantly smaller number used the standard online consultation form and addressed the questions directly.
USDAW responded to the consultation and its representatives met with officials during the course of the consultation. USDAW answered no to Question 1 in the consultation.
TUC and the National Union of General and Municipal Workers (GMB) also responded to the consultation and their representatives met with officials during the course of the consultation. UNISON responded to the consultation but did not meet with officials. All three (100%) responded no to Question 1 in the consultation.
ACS responded to the consultation and its representatives met with officials during the course of the consultation answered no to Question 1 in the consultation.
The department does not hold full data from this consultation broken down by respondent type as a large portion of respondents chose to respond in their own words rather than addressing the consultation questions directly, and/or did not indicate the type of organisation they represented.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2016-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make representations to Highways England and Transport for the North on extending the A64 dual carriageway to Barton Hill.
Andrew Jones
Highways England’s forthcoming work on the next iteration of their Route Strategies is the means of assessing pressures and needs and generating proposals across the entire strategic road network, including the A64. The Route Strategies will inform the preparation of the next Road Investment Strategy. Any specific proposals that require investment will of course need to be underpinned by a strong and clear business case.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staple foods in the UK are subject to mandatory fortification.
George Eustice
Wheat flour is the only food with mandatory fortification requirements in the UK. All wheat flour (except wholemeal) is required to be fortified with calcium, iron, niacin and thiamin at specific levels prescribed in the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 29 April (HL7749), whether they have identified any prospective disadvantages of the Right to Roam policy; and if so, what those disadvantages are.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government has not identified any prospective disadvantages of the right of access for open-air recreation on foot on open country (mountain, moor, heath and down) and registered common land which is provided for under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. The Act was passed by a previous Government after public consultation and an appraisal of a number of options for increasing access to land where access had not been allowed before.
The legislation was therefore framed so that the right of access over such areas was carefully balanced against the needs of land managers, businesses and wildlife. Areas such as houses and their gardens, and buildings or their curtilage, are automatically exempt from the right of access to avoid intrusion on people’s privacy even where they fall within land which appears on a map of open access land.
The open access regime also includes general restrictions at the national level that exclude specific potentially damaging activities from the right of access and controls on people walking with dogs. To supplement these, local temporary restrictions on the right of access may be put in place to limit where people go or what they do, if it is necessary to protect against the harm that any access may cause to sensitive landscape or wildlife habitat, public safety or the ability of landowners to manage their land.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-12.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve BME representation on the Board of his Department.
Ben Gummer
Diversity and inclusion is a key priority for the Civil Service and for the Cabinet Office. The Executive Committee of the Cabinet Office recently commissioned work on a departmental diversity and inclusion strategy, which will be published this month. This strategy promotes a more inclusive culture in the department through key strands of work on leadership, declaration data, supporting those from under-represented groups and promoting the work of the employee diversity networks. A key aim of the strategy is to promote the advancement of those from all under-represented groups, including women and black and minority ethnic staff.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have had with representatives of (i) Bayer CropScience and (ii) Syngenta in each of the last five years.
George Eustice
Ministers and officials meet with Bayer CropScience, Syngenta and other parties on a range of issues.
Information on Ministerial meetings with organisations is available on GOV.UK and is published on a quarterly basis.