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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Naomi Long on Northern Ireland.

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Mrs Theresa Villiers

Like other UK Government departments, the Northern Ireland Office faces a significant reduction in its budget – of 11.15% in 2015/16. My department has therefore requested that all of its Arms-Length Bodies provide an impact statement on the practical measures that might be taken to meet such a reduction. I have not yet made any decision in respect of the Commission’s budget. I met the acting chair of the Commission last week.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for David Amess on International Development.

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Lynne Featherstone

The Department for International Development (DFID) will provide approximately £45.8m to Marie Stopes International (MSI) during the period 2014-15. DFID adheres to Development Co-Operation Directorate (OACD-DAC) expenditure coding requirements to allow comparison across donor spending towards attainment of the millennium development goal targets. This does not include the facility to calculate spend for individual components of sexual and reproductive health.

DFID assesses the value for money (VfM) of all its expenditure through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on an annual basis. Every project is subject to an annual review and a judgement is made as to whether the funding is achieving good VfM. More generally, investing in reproductive, maternal and newborn health is excellent value for money due to its low cost and far reaching benefits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for David Hanson on Home Office.

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Karen Bradley

Combating cyber crime is a core part of the National Cyber Security Strategy,
which is underpinned by the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) with £860
million of new investment over five years. The NCSP funds a range of work to
tackle cyber crime, including strengthening law enforcement capabilities with
the establishment of the National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime
Agency, and cyber teams within each of the Regional Organised Crime Units
(ROCUs) across England and Wales, as well as developing the capability of local
police forces. It also funds the Cyber Streetwise campaign, and the Action
Fraud reporting system for cyber crime that is run by City of London Police.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Adrian Sanders on Transport.

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Stephen Hammond

All Train Operating Companies (TOCs) are required under their franchise agreement to have in place a Passenger’s Charter which will include arrangements for compensation for passengers.

In connection with the severe weather related disruption earlier this year, the Department for Transport (DfT) sought to understand what First Great Western’s proposals on compensation were likely to be. Where discussions have taken place with other TOCs these will also have been to ensure that the DfT was aware of their intentions and not to seek to require these to be changed.

An improved system of compensation based on delays to individual journeys, known as Delay/Repay, is being introduced for all passengers in place of the system of poor performance discounts and optional Void Days for season ticket holders.　 Introduction is taking place as franchises are let following competitions and opportunities arise within Direct Awards and existing franchises.　 Where discussions have taken place between the DfT and TOCs these will have been in this context.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Robert Halfon on Health.

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Norman Lamb

The Care Act will require local authorities to ensure all assessors are appropriately trained to carry out assessments. This builds on the statutory guidance Implementing Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives which followed the 2010 Adult Autism Strategy for England, and which required autism awareness training to be available to all staff working in health and social care and specialist training for those in key roles that have a direct impact on access to services for adults with autism. The Department is currently consulting on the regulations and statutory guidance that will support the implementation of the Care Act, and we will remind local authorities through this of this requirement in Implementing Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives.

Due to the complexities of assessing people who are deafblind, regulations under the Care Act will require their assessments to be carried out by a specialist assessor. One of the questions in the consultation document is whether specialist assessors should be required to carry out the assessment of people with other conditions, such as autism, and to explain why this should be the case. Based on the evidence we receive through the consultation we will consider if this requirement should be extended to other conditions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Duncan Hames on Home Office.

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Damian Green

This is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Julian Huppert on Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

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Hugh Robertson

We are not aware of any recent action taken by the US against Bangladesh.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Douglas Carswell on Home Office.

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Damian Green

There have been no specific discussions with the Police and Crime Commissioner
for Essex on incidents involving knives in Clacton.

The Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme was announced by the Home Secretary on
30 April 2014, and the intention is to launch the Scheme in the summer. The
Scheme aims to achieve greater transparency and community involvement in the
use of stop and search by the police and support a more intelligence-led
approach leading to better outcomes, particularly improving the stop and search
to arrest ratio.

Only 9% of the 1.2 million stop and searches that took place in 2011/12 led to
an arrest. The adoption of an intelligence-led approach to stop and search by
the Metropolitan Police in January 2012 coincided with a fall of a third in the
number of recorded stop and searches taking place between 2011/12 and 2012/13,
while the proportion of resultant arrests increased from 8% to 12%. Meanwhile
in the same period, offences recorded by the Metropolitan Police involving
knives or sharp instruments fell by 20%.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Mike Thornton on Home Office.

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James Brokenshire

Her Majesty’s Passport Office regularly reviews the guidance issued to the helpline
provider, and updates it to reflect any changes in processes or customer
requirements.

Information on the progress of applications can be provided from information
that is either live or updated daily, dependent on the nature of the enquiry.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Watson of Wyre Forest on Culture, Media and Sport.

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Mrs Helen Grant

Planning for the commemoration, in 2015, of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo is being carried out by Waterloo 200, an umbrella organisation which is overseeing the anniversary. More information can be found on its website at the following link: www.waterloo200.org. In the June 2013 budget, the Chancellor announced funding circa £1m will be allocated to restore the site of the battle.

The previous Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Maria Miller, was also pleased to announce in October 2013 that at least £10m will be made available by the Heritage Lottery Fund over the next four years to fund projects marking some of the UK’s most important anniversaries and commemorative events, including the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo.