The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jolly on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which foreign governments were consulted as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.
Lord Bridges of Headley
Discussions were offered to all London-based foreign diplomatic missions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 2 November (HL2691), when they expect to be able to collect reliable data on the incidence and cost of internet fraud; and whether they will publish that information.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will seek to improve the effectiveness of national and global measures to counter internet fraud and other online crime.
Lord Bates
Cyber Security, including combating cyber crime, is a top priority threat to national security. That is why, through the National Cyber Security Programme, we have invested over £90 million over the last five years to bolster the law enforcement response, and we will continue to invest. As the Chancellor announced on 17 November, we plan to almost double investment in cyber security, including cyber crime, to £1.9 billion over the next five years.
Cyber Crime, including internet enabled fraud will continue to call for a multi layered response from Government, Law Enforcement and Industry to successfully tackle the threat. At the National and International level the National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime Agency (NCA) will continue to lead operations to disrupt serious cyber crime at scale. This includes joint operations with industry and international law enforcement partners across the globe, to disrupt cyber criminals, attack their infrastructure and protect UK businesses and citizens.
Having an accurate national picture of the threat is critical to informing our ongoing response. That is why there has been and will continue to be significant investment in Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, which has seen the reporting of fraud and cyber crime trebled, from 72,000 before the centralisation of reporting to over 230,000 reports. As a result of this improvement in reporting we have now got a much improved intelligence picture.
Industry also has a central role in fraud and Cyber Crime prevention. That is why we are working with the banking sector and law enforcement agencies to more effectively disrupt fraudsters and protect victims. The Government also continues to raise awareness of cyber crime and fraud at all levels, through the Cyber Streetwise campaign, while providing advice to help individuals and small businesses adopt safer behaviours online and to be better protected. The third phase, launched in September this year focuses on promoting the adoption of three simple online behaviours: use of three random words to create a strong password; install security software on all devices; and always download the latest software and app updates as soon as they appear.
The UK also leads international efforts to raise global cyber resilience through our work with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe and others, to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the threat from Cyber Crime. In the past three years the NCA has used Government funding to increase the investigative capacity of a range of Law Enforcement partners around the World. The projects, which range from ‘on-the-job’ investigative mentoring to legislative and technical training in the UK, focus on supporting the NCA’s priority countries overseas and build capability and mutually beneficial relationships with key partners across the globe.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make representations to the government of China about not returning to North Korea nine refugees transferred to China from Vietnam; what assessment they have made of conclusions by Human Rights Watch that, should those refugees be repatriated, they will be at grave risk; and what assessment the British Ambassador in Pyongyang has made of the fate of other refugees returned to North Korea.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware of the situation and are discussing the case with the relevant authorities. We raise the issue of non-refoulement with the Chinese government regularly, including at the last UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports from the Shan Human Rights Foundation that between 9 and 12 November the Burmese Army carried out shelling and aerial bombing of Mong Nawng and that those attacks constitute war crimes.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are concerned by reports of continued fighting in Shan State, including around Mong Nawng and Wanhai, which the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates has displaced approximately 6,000 people since 6 October. Our Ambassador in Rangoon raised our concerns about the conflict in Shan with the Burmese military on 20 November. The UK has played a leading role in supporting efforts to broker ceasefire agreements, funding expert advice to both sides in support of dialogue and peacemaking.
We welcomed the signing of a ceasefire agreement on 15 October and we continue to urge armed groups who did not sign the ceasefire and the Burmese government to engage in ceasefire talks to bring the conflict to an end.
The UK has made no assessment of whether these allegations amount to war crimes. Any determination as to whether specific international crimes have occurred is a matter for an international judicial decision rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to tackle religious intolerance in schools.
Nick Gibb
Religious intolerance in schools is unacceptable. All schools are required to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. Schools should be places where we promote the understanding of other cultures for example, through the National Curriculum programme for citizenship, which includes teaching about the diverse range of identities in the UK and the importance of respecting others.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Morris on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to promote mental health education in schools.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Children and young people’s mental health is a high priority for the department, and that is why my Rt Hon friend the Secretary of State appointed me as the first DfE minister with specific responsibility for this important area.
Over the last 9 months, we have funded guidance for schools on counselling and lesson plans to support age-appropriate teaching about mental health. Today the Government is launching a new campaign to tackle stigma and discrimination which aims to involve schools, children and young people.
We are also contributing £1.5m to a joint pilot for training single points of contact in schools and specialist mental health services; and providing funding worth £4.9m this year, through a dedicated mental health strand within our VCS programme, to support 17 projects delivering a wide range of support across the country to children and young people with mental health issues. These include projects to promote positive mental health in schools with organisations such as MIND and Place2Be, and new resources for parents on MindEd.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Pow on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that sixth form colleges provide students with a high quality education.
Nick Boles
We are introducing reforms to ensure that sixth form colleges are providing high quality academic and technical education. We are reforming A levels and technical qualifications to ensure that young people are gaining the skills and knowledge they need to progress into employment, apprenticeships or further study.
We want A levels and technical qualifications to be robust and rigorous, so that they match the best education systems in the world and keep pace with universities’ and employers’ demands. A levels are therefore being reviewed to ensure that the qualifications equip students for higher education and to make them linear (i.e. with the exam at the end of two years), allowing more time for teaching and learning. In addition, all technical qualifications approved for inclusion in 16-19 performance tables now meet rigorous standards and are backed by employers.
The government has recently announced an ambitious plan for reforming technical and professional education which will simplify the skills system and work with employers to ensure that young people develop the skills most needed for the economy. To deliver the reforms, the Government will work closely with an independent panel, headed by Lord Sainsbury, former Minister of Science and Innovation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Andrew on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to meet demand for school places in Pudsey, Horsforth and Aireborough.
Mr Sam Gyimah
As announced at the Spending Review, the Government is investing £23 billion in school buildings to create 600,000 new school places, opening 500 new free schools and addressing essential maintenance needs. This commitment reflects our bold ambitions for education and provides a firm basis from which to deliver our goal of securing educational excellence in every corner of the country.
Local authorities are responsible for planning and securing sufficient school places in their area, and supporting them to do so is one of this Government’s top priorities. We allocate basic need funding to local authorities to help create new school places where they are needed. Leeds has been allocated £73 million of basic need funding for the period 2015-18. Leeds also received £99 million between 2011 and 2015, helping to create 8,800 new school places between 2010 and 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve schools in rural areas.
Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to achieving educational excellence everywhere so that children in all areas of the country benefit from a high-quality education. We made substantial progress in the last Parliament, and a million more pupils are in good or outstanding schools compared to 2010. But there are still too many areas where educational standards are not high enough.
Pupils in rural areas are more likely to achieve 5 or more GCSEs including English and mathematics at grades A*-C. Considering local area deprivation, however, pupils living in rural areas are less likely to achieve the same standards as pupils living in similarly deprived urban areas of the country.
We have already designated over 690 teaching schools and 1,050 national leaders of education (NLEs) in our drive to ensure that educational excellence is a reality in all areas of the country, particularly those that need most support. The new National Teaching Service (NTS) will place 1,500 outstanding teachers and middle leaders in underperforming schools by 2020, particularly in rural and other areas of the country that find it hardest to attract, retain and recruit good teachers.
Regional Schools Commissioners are ensuring the availability of strong academy sponsors for schools in all areas of the country including rural areas. The Department recently announced that five sponsors will receive funding from the Northern Fund to set up seven new hubs across three RSC regions.
We will introduce National Funding Formulas (NFF) for schools, high needs and early years so that funding is transparently and fairly matched to need rather than purely historic calculations.