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  • Vernon Coaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Vernon Coaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans she has for pre-legislative scrutiny of proposals to implement new bodies to deal with the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    The UK Government remains committed to establishing the new bodies contained in the Stormont House Agreement and I will continue to work with the political parties, Northern Ireland Executive and victims groups to achieve the consensus needed for legislation. I will give consideration as to whether further drafting or documentation should be published as part of engagement on how to move forward on this issue.

  • Vernon Coaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Vernon Coaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many sectarian attacks have been carried out by dissident republicans in each of the last five years.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    PSNI produce regular statistics on the security situation which are publicly available online. These do not specifically record ‘sectarian attacks’ by dissident republicans.

    Dissident republicans continue to represent a severe threat to national security. This year to date they have carried out 16 national security attacks in Northern Ireland.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18925, which visits referred to that (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department made included a visit to a food bank.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department does not hold the information requested. Ministers have conducted visits to food banks in various capacities, including in their roles as Members of Parliament.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises of the closure of the Business Growth Service.

    Anna Soubry

    We do not expect closure of the Business Growth Service to have an impact on the growth of Small and Medium sized Enterprises or the Northern Powerhouse.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on the Northern powerhouse of the closure of the Business Growth Service.

    Anna Soubry

    We do not expect closure of the Business Growth Service to have an impact on the growth of Small and Medium sized Enterprises or the Northern Powerhouse.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the benefits that the Growth Accelerator Programme has had for small and medium-sized enterprises since the launch of that programme.

    Anna Soubry

    The Growth Accelerator was launched as our economy was still recovering from the worst recession this country had faced in 100 years, presided over by the hon Member’s party. An interim evaluation of the Growth Accelerator programme was published in November 2014.

    Thanks to the difficult decisions made by this government and the last, we now have the fastest growing economy in the developed world and a record number of businesses and as part of our continued commitment to live within our means and pay down our debts, we took the decision to discontinue the Business Growth Service in the Spending Review.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he had with small businesses and entrepreneurs on the planned closure of the Business Growth Service.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills continues to have discussions with businesses and their representatives. They have told us that there is strong appetite in the private sector to fill the gap in the market and develop sustainable offers of support.

  • Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect on police workloads of planned reductions in local authority funding on (a) emergency planning, (b) vulnerability strategies, (c) youth offending services, (d) anti-social behaviour strategies and (e) community safety strategies.

    Karen Bradley

    Funding for local authorities in England is a matter for the Department for Communities and Local Government. Funding for local authorities in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Government.

    It is for local authorities to decide how they spend their budgets on these and other issues. Many local authorities already understand the value of working closely with Police and Crime Commissioners and are best placed to make the right decisions for their communities locally.

    PCCs have a duty under the provisions of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act to work with local authorities in their respective police force areas.

  • Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much of the Police Innovation Fund was allocated to police forces in financial years (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

    Mike Penning

    The Police Innovation Fund 2014/15 allocated £53m to Police and Crime Commissioners (and their equivalents) in 2014/15 and 2015/16. The Police Innovation Fund 2015/16 allocated over £71m to Police and Crime Commissioners (and their equivalents) in 2015/16 and 2016/17.

  • Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect on police workloads of planned reductions in Ministry of Justice spending in (a) victims’ support services, (b) vulnerability strategies, (c) youth offending services and the Youth Justice Board and (d) legal aid.

    Mike Penning

    Funding for these services is a matter for the Secretary of State for Justice, who has confirmed that Police and Crime Commissioners’ budgets for victims’ services have been protected over the period of the spending review, and final funding levels for 2016/17 will be confirmed as soon as possible. The Secretary of State for Justice has also appointed Charlie Taylor to conduct a review of the youth justice system which will report in the summer of 2016 and will make recommendations on how the youth justice system will operate in future.

    The Ministry of Justice’s spending review settlement does not depend upon a reduction in criminal legal aid.

    We expect Police and Crime Commissioners to continue to work closely with local partners to provide an efficient and effective criminal justice system for their police force areas.