The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-06-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they estimate the Cardiff Rail Operating Centre will be commissioned.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Cardiff Regional Operating Centre opened in 2010 and has been signaling trains since that date.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will pay the outstanding payments to farmers affected by storms Eva and Desmond last December.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
More than 1,000 applications for funding under the Farming Recovery Fund have been approved by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).
Farmers have until the end of December 2016 to carry out the restoration work and then submit a claim for payment to us. RPA aims to process and made payments within a month of receiving a fully completed claim.
To date the RPA has received 358 claims for payment and 268 of these have been paid.
RPA is waiting for the remaining 750 claims to be submitted, the majority of which are expected in October and November.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has plans to encourage the planting of trees to enhance the visual amenity of farmland.
Rory Stewart
This Government is committed to planting 11 million trees over the course of this Parliament, creating 24,711 acres of new woodland. This will be delivered by £31m per year of new Rural Development Programme funding that will be spent on forestry. £13m will be spent on woodland management and £18m on new planting. Farmers and landowners will be eligible to apply for the scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to respond to Question 12142, tabled by the hon. Member for Coventry South on 15 October 2015.
Tracey Crouch
The Government believes that all-seater stadiums are the best means to ensure the safety and security of fans at football in England and Wales. All-seater stadiums have helped improve crowd management, crowd behaviour and policing. They also provide more comfortable facilities to enjoy football matches.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the UN Human Rights Council on the persecution of Christians.
Mr David Lidington
The UK has a strong record of supporting freedom of religion or belief, including christianity, at the Human Rights Council. We supported the resolution on freedom of religion or belief in both the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly in 2015, and will look to do so again in March 2016. The UK also supported the appointment of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, who is tasked with monitoring and reporting these issues worldwide.
In addition, we regularly support language in country specific resolutions about the importance of protecting religious minorities, as evidenced in the Syria resolution of September 2015. We also regularly work with EU partners to ensure a strong EU position on freedom of religion or belief at the Human Rights Council.
When raising persecution faced by one faith group, we endeavour to frame our remarks in the wider context of the rule of law and freedom – making the point that when one faith community is persecuted, the liberty of all is jeopardised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for freedom of speech in universities of recent reports of violent protests at an Israeli Society event at King’s College London.
Joseph Johnson
The Government strongly opposes any kind of violence or intimidation that curtails free speech in universities and leads to the closure of peaceful meetings.
King’s College London has undertaken its own review of the protests at the Israeli Society event on 19th January and concluded that a number of individuals “intentionally disrupted the rights of others to exercise freedom of speech within the law”.
Whilst the violent protests were deplorable, KCL has acted to reiterate its commitment to free speech and take disciplinary measures against individuals concerned.
The Prevent duty introduced in September 2015 requires institutions to have robust policies and procedures in place to manage events such as this in order to protect students and staff and safeguard freedom of speech. As the designated monitoring body, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will be making an assessment of compliance with the requirements of the duty.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2016 to Question 25356, whether the Traffic Collision Avoidance System fitted to 43 Tornado GR4 aircraft is the Honeywell TCAS II system.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) in use on Tornado GR4 is the Honeywell TCAS II system. We continue to make progess on fitting TCAS to Tornado and 48 aircraft are now fitted with the system. The project is planned to be completed by the end of 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many migrants from other EU countries work in the NHS in London.
Ben Gummer
The Health and Social Care Information Centre collects data on the number of staff working in National Health Service hospital and community health services (HCHS) in England.
Nationality is a self-reported field within the electronic staff record system. The following table shows the number of HCHS staff from other European Union (EU) countries who declared their nationality who work in the NHS in England and in London.
Information on the number of employees from other EU countries working in London is only available for those people working in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups.
|
England 30 September 2015 |
Headcount |
||
|
All staff |
People from other EU countries working in England |
People from other EU countries working in London |
|
|
Employees in NHS Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups |
1,151,138 |
52,812 |
17,735 |
|
Employees in Central Bodies and Support Organisations |
36,456 |
1,015 |
n/a |
|
Total |
1,187,594 |
53,827 |
17,735 |
Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre, NHS Hospital and Community Health Service workforce statistics
Information on how many employees working in the NHS have no recourse to public funds is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he is making to the Nigerian government on securing the release of non-Muslim underage girls who have been abducted, forcibly converted and forcibly married in states in the north of that country.
James Duddridge
We have received a number of reports on the abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage of women and girls by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria. These women and girls reportedly come from both Muslim and Christian communities. Due to the nature of Boko Haram attacks, which often take place in remote areas, it is difficult to obtain precise data on such activities.
We welcome the progress made by Nigeria and its neighbours against Boko Haram, including the release of women and children. We regularly raise the issue of abducted women and girls with the Nigerian government at the highest levels, and have stressed the importance of providing appropriate support to those who are rescued.
The UK remains fully committed to supporting Nigeria’s efforts to tackle Boko Haram, support those targeted by its indiscriminate campaign of violence, and find those who are missing. We are providing a substantial and increasing package of intelligence, military and development support to Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-06-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to prevent the dumping of Chinese steel in the event of the UK leaving the EU.
Anna Soubry
The UK remains a full member of the EU until we formally exit and all rights and obligations under the EU, including trade defence measures, still apply.
We will continue to support the EU’s trade agenda, including tackling unfair trade and continue to do all we can to support a sustainable UK steel industry.
The Cabinet Office has established a new unit to oversee arrangements for the UK’s exit from the EU and they will consider issues such as the UK establishing its own trade defence measures on exit from the EU.