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  • Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the level of risk of developing mental health conditions among remote combat pilots; and what safeguards his Department has in place to protect such pilots from any such risk.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Government is committed to improving the mental health of our Armed Forces and has long recognised that Service life can cause stress. Support to personnel has improved in a number of ways, including providing pre and post-operational stress management training, a wide range of psychiatric and psychological treatments and initiatives such as Decompression, Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) and Post Operational Stress Management.

    Trained TRiM providers are embedded in both – 13 Squadron and 39 Squadron, the Royal Air Forces’s (RAF) frontline Reaper units based at RAF Waddington and Creech AFB.

    For Financial Year 2014-15, out of a total of approximately 180 personnel, there were fewer than five RAF personnel from 13 Squadron or 39 Squadron who were seen for an initial assessment at Ministry of Defence Specialist Mental Health Services. This is a lower rate than the military population as a whole.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK’s submarine fleet is not detected by unmanned underwater vehicles deployed for anti-submarine warfare purposes.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence places a high priority on assuring the effectiveness of our submarine fleet and countering threats to our submarine operations. We continue to monitor and evaluate capabilities and technologies that could threaten submarines, including cyber and unmanned vehicles. It would not be appropriate to go into specific detail of the steps taken to mitigate against these threats. We assess, however, that the ocean will remain a complex and challenging environment in which to conduct large scale anti-submarine warfare, despite advancements in technologies. We are therefore confident that our submarine fleet remains safe and secure.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of senior civil servants in his Department are women.

    Mark Lancaster

    As at 1 January 2016, 25.1% of senior civil servants in the Ministry of Defence were women.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2016 to Question 27234, how many of the 135 women referred to in that Answer became widows after 31 March 1973.

    Mark Lancaster

    A war widow(er) is the spouse of an ex-Service person whose death in Service, or subsequently, was attributable to injury or illness caused by Service in the Armed Forces before 6 April 2005.

    Of the 135 women who remarried between 6 April 2005 and 1 April 2015, 110 registered as a war widow from 1 April 1996 onwards and 20 women registered as a war widow prior to 1 April 1996. The Ministry of Defence is unable to determine the registered date for war widows prior to 1996, and therefore cannot confirm whether they were registered before, or after, 31 March 1973.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of new recruits to the reserve forces in each of the last 24 months were from BME communities.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    Information on the intake of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) recruits to the Volunteer Reserves in the 24 months to 31 September 2015 is provided in the attached table.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to provide new swimming facilities in Easington constituency.

    David Evennett

    Sport England is currently supporting Durham County Council to conduct a review of its sports facilities strategy to ensure the provision of facilities for grassroots sports in the area, including swimming, can meet the needs of the local community.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what value and proportion of spending by his Department that was counted as Official Development Assistance was subject to the provisions of the International Development Act 2002 in each of the last three years.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    In the last three calendar years, my Department has spent £1,429,000 on Official Development Assistance (ODA). On an annual basis this can be broken down as £700,000 in 2013, zero in 2014 and £729,000 in 2015. For the years with expenditure this represents 0.01% and 0.05% of resource expenditure respectively.

    It should be noted that ODA is calculated on a calendar year basis, and my Department’s expenditure figures are on a Financial Year basis (Apr-Mar). As such, these percentages are indicative.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the extent of regional disparities in publicly-funded opportunities outside schools for children to learn musical instruments without charge; and if he will make an assessment of the effect of such disparities on the music industry.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government invested £171m between 2012-15 in 123 Music Education Hubs to ensure that children aged 5-18 have the opportunity to sing or learn a musical instrument. A further £75m of funding was made available for 2015/16. We have subsequently introduced a new, fairer funding system which reflects both the total number of pupils and the number of pupils who are eligible for free school meals. This means hubs can target money towards pupils who need it most and local areas are now much more accountable for how they deliver music. Alongside Hubs, the Government has also introduced the In Harmony programme which inspires and transforms the lives of children through community-based orchestral music-making in areas of exceptional deprivation. Both of these programmes offer opportunities for children and young people in the local area to attend after school sessions to learn music.

    In addition, originally set up by DCMS and UK Music and now overseen by UK Music, we have helped to create 14 pilot music rehearsal spaces for young people in a range of urban and rural areas of England experiencing multiple deprivation. The funds were used to provide instruments and equipment, and contributed towards the cost of necessary capital works, such as sound proofing.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the role of international sales agents on diversity in film and television production.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Government is committed to diversity in our film and television industries and encourages broadcasters and production companies to continue to deepen their commitment to diversity. At the same time, the UK is a world leader in international sales of film and television programmes. Revenue from international sales of UK TV and Film was over £2bn in 2014.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to protect customers from the practice of telephone slamming.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Ofcom, as the independent telecommunications regulator, introduced rules in May 2005 to protect consumers against slamming. Its most recent rules, updated in June 2015, prohibits all telephone companies from engaging in dishonest, misleading or deceptive conduct, and oblige providers to ensure consumers fully understand and consent to a contract before it is agreed.

    Ofcom’s most recent complaints data shows that slamming complaints have reduced significantly to an average of 140 complaints per month, compared with an average of over 700 in 2010. Ofcom can take action if companies repeatedly breach these rules and has the power to fine companies up to 10% of their annual turnover and to require them to remedy any issues that have arisen, including repaying affected customers who have lost money. In addition, safeguards have been built into the landline/broadband switching process on the Openreach network that are designed to protect consumers from being slammed. Consumers are required to receive a letter informing them that a switch is scheduled and that there is a 10-day switchover period, during which the order can be stopped if a customer has been inadvertently signed up.