The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to tackle problems associated with the rise in availability of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals.
Tracey Crouch
The Government tightened controls on FOBTs last year, and we are continuing to monitor developments. The next Triennial review of gaming machines will look closely at all the evidence on this issue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of the policy in Schools that work for everyone, published on 12 September 2016, with the (a) UK’s general obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Article 24 to promote disabled pupils’ right to mainstream education, (b) Government’s Interpretative Declaration commitment to build the capacity of mainstream schools to be inclusive of disabled pupils and (c) General Comment No.4 on Article 24, published on 2 September 2016.
Nick Gibb
As part of its commitments under articles 7 and 24 of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the UK Government is committed to inclusive education of disabled children and young people and the progressive removal of barriers to education and participation in mainstream education. The Children and Families Act 2014 secures the general presumption in law of mainstream education in relation to decisions about where children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) should be educated and the Equality Act 2010 provides protection from discrimination for disabled people.
The Department is having, and will continue to have, due regard to equalities impact, both in the study of responses to the consultation document and throughout any development of policy areas, following the consultation.
In our new proposals, we have been clear that we expect selective schools to support non-selective schools, looking to them to be engines of academic and social achievement for all pupils.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the number of spare parts his Department has for equipment no longer in use; and what steps his Department has taken to ensure that spare parts for such equipment are not held in storage.
Mr Philip Dunne
Since the introduction of the Defence Equipment and Support Inventory Management Strategy (IMS) in 2012 the level of obsolete stock held has substantially reduced; currently, items identified as obsolete represent less than 0.2 per cent of the total value of inventory held by the Ministry of Defence. As at 1 April 2015 the IMS has achieved an overall stock reduction of £8.7 billion against a strategic target of £9.5 billion set for 31 March 2016. We are also working with industry to optimise inventory further and reduce the logistics footprint, while supporting operations and maintaining availability to the Front-line Commands.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many local housing allowance rates were set (a) at the 30th percentile, (b) within five per cent of the 30th percentile, (c) between five per cent and 10 per cent of the 30th percentile and (d) more than 10 per cent below the 30th percentile of market rents in the relevant broad market rental area in (i) 2011-12, (ii) 2012-13, (iii) 2013-14 and (iv) 2014-15.
Justin Tomlinson
In 2011-12, LHA rates were uprated on a monthly basis. Of the 960 LHA rates in Great Britain, in April 2011, 949 LHA rates were set at the 30th percentile and by March 2012, 943 LHA rates were set at the 30th percentile. The remaining LHA rates were set at the level of the caps.
From 2012-13 LHA rates were set annually. For the years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, the following table gives the number of LHA rates set (a) at the 30th percentile, (b) within five per cent of the 30th percentile, (c) between five per cent and 10 per cent below the 30th percentile and (d) more than 10 per cent below the 30th percentile of market rents in the relevant Broad Rental Market Area.
So for example, if the 30th percentile for a Broad Rental Market Area and property size is £200 per week (pw), the corresponding LHA rate would be included in (b) if it is greater than £190pw and less than £200pw, in (c) if it is between £180pw and £190pw, and in (d) if it is less than £180pw.
|
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
|
|
(a) 30th percentile |
943 |
695 |
475 |
|
(b) less than five per cent below the 30th percentile |
6 |
228 |
416 |
|
(c) between five per cent and 10 per cent below the 30th percentile |
2 |
26 |
42 |
|
(d) more than 10 per cent below the 30th percentile |
9 |
11 |
27 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applicants for asylum who have been served with a deportation or removal order have been allowed safe passage back to the UK after the order has taken effect in the last five years.
James Brokenshire
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse has been of the roll-out of the English Baccalaureate to date; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
The English Baccalaureate measure was introduced in 2010. The EBacc defines an academic core of subjects, including GCSEs in English, maths, science, humanities, and languages. Schools have been able to deliver significant increases in the take up of EBacc subjects over the last 5 years without requiring additional funding to do so.
EBacc entry has increased significantly, from 22% in 2010 to 39% in 2015. EBacc achievement has also increased, from 15% in 2010 to 24% in 2015.
The Department funds a range of support for teachers including 35 maths hubs which support maths teachers, the National Science Learning Network to provide high quality professional development for science teachers and the Network of Excellence for computing to provide professional development for computing teachers through a network of master teachers. English teachers have benefitted from the funding provided to the Royal Shakespeare Company, who produced and provided to all state-funded secondary schools a free copy of its RSC Shakespeare Toolkit for Teachers, and Poetry by Heart to help teachers deliver inspirational poetry teaching.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect on the number of people employed in Northern Ireland who are from non-EU countries of the salary threshold increase for Tier 2 visa applications to £35,000.
James Brokenshire
The Government announced in 2012 that from 6 April 2016 Tier 2 visa holders who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000. PhD level roles and those in recognised shortage will be exempt from the £35,000 threshold.
Data of the number of people employed in specific regions of the United Kingdom is not available. The Home Office holds individual records showing the working location of Tier 2 (General) migrants, but centralised records show the registered address of the Tier 2 Sponsor, which is normally that organisation’s Head Office.
The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. This includes the impact on the top ten occupations and is available on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions his Department’s cyber strike capability was used in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.
Penny Mordaunt
We continue to develop the ability of our Armed Forces to deploy a broad range of offensive cyber capabilities as an integrated part of military operations. As with other sensitive defence capabilities, we do not reveal specific details in order to safeguard national security. As we have previously made clear in the context of the war powers convention, we do not propose to define the circumstances in which we would consult Parliament about the use of particular military capabilities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the proportion of workshare which the UK will undertake on those Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft being procured by his Department.
Mr Philip Dunne
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock) on 13 April 2016 to Question 33058.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many representations he received from his (a) Yemeni and (b) Saudi Arabian counterparts in each of the last 12 months on the conflict in Yemen; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) is in regular contact with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Al Jubeir regarding the situation in Yemen. During his recent tour of the Gulf, the Foreign Secretary held constructive discussions with all six GCC countries, underlining the UK’s commitment to finding a peaceful resolution and working in partnership with key regional actors to achieve this. I also regularly engage with the UN Special Envoy for Yemen and President Hadi to encourage commitment to the political process and the UK Special Envoy to Yemen, Sir Alan Duncan, visited the region in April and May to deliver messages to key Yemeni and regional interlocutors. Yemen remains a top priority for the UK Government and we are committed to working towards a durable peace.