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  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what programmes her Department has in place to facilitate access to wells and water in developing countries.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    In 2012 the UK Government set a target of reaching 60 million people in the developing world with one or more water, sanitation or hygiene (WASH) interventions by the end of 2015. The Department for International Development (DFID) delivered a range of WASH programmes in 19 countries through its network of country offices. In addition DFID ran 2 regional programmes and 4 centrally managed programmes from DFID HQ.

    The target was achieved 9 months early in April 2015.

    More detailed information on individual WASH programmes that contributed to meeting this target is available through the development tracker function https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/sector/3 on the DFID website.

    We are currently formulating our new portfolio to deliver on the UK government’s commitment to help a further 60 million people get access to clean water and sanitation by 2020.

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance the Government has given to former Gurkhas who are homeless as a result of recent earthquakes in Nepal.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    A Joint DFID and Ministry of Defence (MOD) response was launched immediately in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquakes in April and May 2015. The MOD through the Gurkha Welfare Trust (GWT) supported both immediate and longer term initiatives. The GWT carried out a detailed assessment of the damage to Gurkha communities and provided £1.2 million in emergency aid that included distribution of shelter kits, tarpaulins and corrugated iron sheets in remote areas immediately in the aftermath of the earthquake. In addition, a unit of the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers was deployed to repair and rebuild the homes and communities of approximately 2,200 Gurkha servicemen that were severely damaged by the earthquake. To date, 150 new houses, built to an earthquake resistant design, are under construction and a further 600 houses will be started this year. DFID has been supplying humanitarian assistance to the Gurkha communities hit by the earthquake since April 2015 and continues to do so.

    The GWT’s commitments for the earthquake response now stand at £19 million over 5 years. The MOD has provided an additional grant of £512,000 to assist the GWT in its on-going response operations. Between 2012-20 DFID has committed £14.19 million to support the GWT’s Gurkha Welfare Scheme, a programme predominantly supporting the Nepali servicemen and their communities, on water and sanitation programmes.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to discuss the issue of education for children in areas of conflict at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016; and what plans she has to ensure children have access to education in those areas.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Education will be a significant theme in the World Humanitarian Summit and we will use this opportunity to promote our aims to improve learning outcomes, to reach all children in fragile states, and to keep girls in school.

    DFID supports children overseas to go school and continuing learning even when they are forced from their homes. This includes our flagship £355 million Girls’ Education Challenge that will enable up to 1 million more of the world’s most marginalised girls to benefit from an education of sufficient quality and transform their lives. In addition, DFID is supporting improvements to how the international community provides education in emergencies, including support for the ‘No Lost Generation’ Initiative to provide over 251,000 Syrian children with formal and informal education inside Syria and in the region, allowing them to catch up on lost learning time and sit public school examinations.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) CRB checks and (b) Disclosure and Barring Service checks have been carried out in each of the last 10 years.

    Karen Bradley

    The table below shows the total number of Standard and Enhanced certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service over the last 10 years. The figures include applications for volunteer roles, which are processed free of charge.

    Organisation

    Financial Year

    Standard & Enhanced Certificates Issued

    CRB

    2005/06

    2,776,378

    CRB

    2006/07

    3,278,031

    CRB

    2007/08

    3,323,402

    CRB

    2008/09

    3,856,583

    CRB

    2009/10

    4,301,313

    CRB

    2010/11

    4,312,533

    CRB

    2011/12

    4,074,241

    CRB (to Nov-12)

    2012/13

    2,842,832

    DBS (from Dec-12)

    2012/13

    1,223,773

    DBS

    2013/14

    3,948,733

    DBS

    2014/15

    4,111,856
  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much revenue from (a) CRB checks and (b) Disclosure and Barring Service checks has been raised for the public purse in each of the last 10 years.

    Karen Bradley

    The Disclosure and Barring Service was established on 1 December 2012 when the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) merged. The table below shows total fee income from disclosures for the period 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2015 collated from the Annual Reports for the period. DBS is self-funding and operates on a full cost recovery basis.

    Financial Year

    Total Fee Income

    £(000)

    2005 – 06

    75,494

    2006 – 07

    93,042

    2007 – 08

    97,765

    2008 – 09

    113,117

    2009 – 10

    125,883

    2010 – 11

    117,898

    2011 – 12

    105,253

    2012 – 13

    115,193

    2013 – 14

    135,878

    2014 – 15

    145,773
  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the total number of people from the UK who have joined Daesh.

    Mr John Hayes

    We believe approximately 800 UK linked individuals of national security concern have travelled to take part in the Syrian conflict since it began. Of those who are known to have travelled, about half have returned.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made on the effect of the visa refund fee scheme on the number of Chinese people visiting the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office has made no assessment of the effect of the visa refund fee scheme because it is operated by Visit Britain on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

  • Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times project licence applications were referred to an independent assessor in each year since 2012.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Harm-Benefit Analysis (HBA) is undertaken, on behalf of the Secretary of State, by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit inspectors, all of whom are veterinary or medically qualified and trained in assessing research proposals. The HBA is the process of considering a research proposal to make a judgement whether the likely harms that the animals will experience are justified by the likely benefits. Under section 18 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, inspectors advise the Secretary of State who decides whether and on what terms a project licence should be granted.

    The number of project licences which were recommended for grant by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit inspectors between 2012 and 2015 are shown in table 1, column (c).

    The Secretary of State has not rejected any of the recommendations for granting project licences made by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit inspectors between 2012 and 2015.

    The Home Office does not keep records of applications that have been rejected or withdrawn at the concept or drafting stage [24507]. The Home Office does not keep records of which applications were withdrawn as a result of advice from the Animals in Science Regulation Unit inspectors.

    The Home Office refers project licence applications to both the Animals in Science Committee and external independent assessors for critical review. The number of project licences referred to both is given in Table 1 columns (a) and (b) respectively for the years 2012-15.

    Year

    (a) Project licence applications referred to the Animals in Science Committee[1]

    (b) Project licence applications referred to independent assessors

    (c) Project licences granted

    2012

    9

    4

    626

    2013

    3

    0

    604

    2014

    4

    1

    474

    2015

    3

    0

    577

    [1] Prior to 2013 the independent advisory body was entitled the ‘Animals Procedures Committee’

  • Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 12 of Advice Note: 05/2015 on the Harm-Benefit Analysis Process, how many project licence applications were withdrawn at the (a) concept and (b) draft stage as a result of advice from the Animals in Science Regulation Unit that the application would clearly fail the harm-benefit analysis in each year since 2012.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Harm-Benefit Analysis (HBA) is undertaken, on behalf of the Secretary of State, by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit inspectors, all of whom are veterinary or medically qualified and trained in assessing research proposals. The HBA is the process of considering a research proposal to make a judgement whether the likely harms that the animals will experience are justified by the likely benefits. Under section 18 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, inspectors advise the Secretary of State who decides whether and on what terms a project licence should be granted.

    The number of project licences which were recommended for grant by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit inspectors between 2012 and 2015 are shown in table 1, column (c).

    The Secretary of State has not rejected any of the recommendations for granting project licences made by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit inspectors between 2012 and 2015.

    The Home Office does not keep records of applications that have been rejected or withdrawn at the concept or drafting stage [24507]. The Home Office does not keep records of which applications were withdrawn as a result of advice from the Animals in Science Regulation Unit inspectors.

    The Home Office refers project licence applications to both the Animals in Science Committee and external independent assessors for critical review. The number of project licences referred to both is given in Table 1 columns (a) and (b) respectively for the years 2012-15.

    Year

    (a) Project licence applications referred to the Animals in Science Committee[1]

    (b) Project licence applications referred to independent assessors

    (c) Project licences granted

    2012

    9

    4

    626

    2013

    3

    0

    604

    2014

    4

    1

    474

    2015

    3

    0

    577

    [1] Prior to 2013 the independent advisory body was entitled the ‘Animals Procedures Committee’

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received in the last year from (a) Christian, (b) Jewish and (c) Muslim faith schools on the Counter Extremism Strategy used in schools; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    This Government believes all children should be educated in a safe environment, whether in a school or out of school.

    Department officials have briefed representatives of faith schools, including Christian, Jewish and Muslim schools, on matters relating to the Government’s Prevent and Counter-Extremism strategies. The Department received a number of queries from both faith schools and non-faith schools on how to implement the Prevent duty. The Department has issued practical advice to schools to help them understand their role under the new Prevent duty, and also launched a dedicated counter-extremism helpline in 2015 to enable front line staff, governors, and others to raise concerns directly. The Department has combined all its existing advice in the new Educate Against Hate website[1], which was launched by the Secretary of State on 19 January.

    The Department recently completed a call for evidence on proposals for the registration and inspection of out-of-school settings providing intensive education which were announced in the Counter-Extremism Strategy. Over 3,000 people, including representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, completed the response form, either online or manually. The Department received a significant number of further representations to the consultation by email and post. All responses and representations are being logged, analysed and verified.

    We will be publishing a response to the consultation in due course, in line with Cabinet Office guidance.

    [1] http://educateagainsthate.com/

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