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  • Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with Dominic Cummings since Mr Cummings left his Department; and what the purpose of those meetings was.

    Matthew Hancock

    Mr Cummings is an ex-employee of the Department for Education. It is not uncommon for ex-employees to be in contact with Ministers and the Department. As the Secretary of State for Education explained to the House on Monday 16 June, many people seek to visit and contact the Department for Education to exchange ideas with old friends and colleagues.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the benefits of teaching emergency life-saving skills in schools.

    Matthew Hancock

    Emergency life-saving skills (ELS) can be taught as part of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education.

    PSHE can help children develop essential social skills that evidence shows are important for children’s achievement across all subjects, and for their preparation for a healthy and active life.

    Schools are encouraged to work with expert organisations to teach ELS, for example St John Ambulance who visited approximately 2000 schools in 2013. Their ‘Teach the Difference‘ website has over 7000 registered users, most of whom are teachers, and users downloaded over 16,000 first aid lesson plans in 2013.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will estimate the cost of sending a copy of the Magna Carta to every school.

    Elizabeth Truss

    Magna Carta and the emergence of Parliament are included within the new history curriculum, to be taught in maintained secondary schools from September 2014.

    To support teachers to commemorate the 800th anniversary, a range of projects and resources are being provided by Parliament and others for primary and secondary school pupils.

    We have no plans to send a copy of the Magna Carta to every school and therefore have not made an estimate of what this might cost.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 14 May 2014, Official Report, column 635W, on schools: land, in what circumstances he (a) would and (b) would not exercise his powers to protect public land when an academy closes entirely.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    My Rt hon. friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may need to make a determination in order to protect the public investment in the land where the land ceases, or will cease, to be used for an academy. The Secretary of State will consider a range of factors, including:

    1. the degree of public investment in the land and the degree of any enhancement to the value attributable to that investment;

    2. the degree of private investment in the land and the degree of any enhancement to the value attributable to that investment;

    3. the length of time that the land has been in public use;

    4. the value of the land at the date of determination.

    Additional protections for school playing fields would continue to apply, as set out in published guidance, which is available at:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice

    A copy of the guidance has been placed in the House Library.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Justin Tomlinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what progress has been made in rolling out Individual Electoral Registration across the country.

    Greg Clark

    Individual Electoral Registration was launched in England and Wales, as planned, on 10 June 2014. This included the introduction of on-line registration. IER is due to be launched in Scotland on 19 September. The roll out of IER is proceeding as planned, to date.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many ships from the Royal Navy were present in the recent joint manoeuvres with the Ukrainian navy.

    Mr Mark Francois

    None.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will restrict the use of fused multi-disciplinary intelligence at the forthcoming Joint and Combined Geo-INT event held by the Defence Geospacial Intelligence and Fusion Centre at RAF Wyton.

    Mr Mark Francois

    Sharing and fusing intelligence in an increasingly complex world is essential if we are to understand threats to UK interests. The Ministry of Defence intelligence community works closely with international partners in the fulfilment of this aim. Any intelligence sharing is conducted in accordance with UK law.

  • John Denham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    John Denham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Denham on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with BAE Systems about delaying the closure of the Portsmouth shipyard until the results of the Scottish referendum are known.

    Dr Andrew Murrison

    No discussions have been held with BAE Systems about delaying the closure of Portsmouth shipyard pending the results of the Scottish referendum.

    The Government is clear that Scotland benefits from being part of the UK and the UK benefits from having Scotland within it. The Government is not making plans for independence as we are confident that the people of Scotland will vote to remain within the United Kingdom in the referendum.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many cases of (a) rape, (b) sexual assault and (c) domestic violence were (i) reported to the Royal Military Police, (ii) referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors and (iii) directed for trial in each year since 2009.

    Anna Soubry

    The table below shows the number of cases of rape and sexual assault reported to the Royal Military Police, which of those were referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors and which were directed for trial since 2009.

    These represent any case worldwide where the Royal Military Police has jurisdiction. Decisions to direct cases for trial are taken by the independent Service Prosecuting Authority.

    Year

    Number of rape cases reported to the Royal Military Police

    Number of rape cases referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors

    Number of rape cases directed for trial[1]

    2009

    20

    15

    10

    2010

    20

    10

    10

    2011

    20

    15

    5

    2012

    20

    15

    10

    2013

    20

    5

    10

    Year

    Number of sexual assault cases reported to the Royal Military Police

    Number of sexual assault cases referred by the Royal Military Police to prosecutors

    Number of sexual assault cases directed for trial1

    2009

    60

    30

    10

    2010

    65

    45

    30

    2011

    50

    30

    40

    2012

    35

    25

    25

    2013

    45

    30

    25

    The figures have been rounded to the nearest five.The specific figure has not been disclosed to ensure that the alleged victim(s) cannot be identified. This is in line with the Sexual Offences (Amendments) Act 1976 and 1992.

    Because of the way domestic violence statistics are recorded it is taking some time to collate the information. I will write to the hon. Member with an answer shortly.

    [1] The figures relating to referrals and directions for trial use the date of referral receipt as the base line. The Service Prosecuting Authority often receive referrals in one year and the cases are directed, disposed and/or tried in the following year. As such there is no direct correlation to the number of cases brought in any one year. Over a period of time the figures may well fluctuate as additional referrals are either directed or non-instituted.

  • James Gray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    James Gray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Gray on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for further funding of Combined Cadet Forces; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    We have set a target of expanding the number of Combined Cadet Forces (CCFs) in state schools.

    We are moving towards a model for all CCFs which will involve schools making a small contribution towards the running costs of their units, irrespective of which sector the school is in. We are working with schools to establish the best way forward and our current plan is that funding changes will happen in a phased manner over a four-year period from September 2015.

    The Secretary of State for Defence has not had discussions with the Combined Cadet Force Association (CCFA), although officials are in regular contact. The CCFA is represented on relevant Government cadet committees, and has been briefed on the planned changes.