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  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the response made by human rights groups to figures released by the UK that it sold Saudi Arabia over £1 billion of weapons and air-to-air missiles between July and September 2015.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent export control regimes in the world. No licence would be issued if to do so would contravene the UK’s strict export control criteria. In this case a single licence accounted for 90% of the total value of potential exports authorised by the licences. This was for a long-term contract for the delivery of a new air-to-air munitions capability over a number of years [and is unconnected to current operations by the Royal Saudi Air Force in Yemen.

    Licences granted in a given period do not equate to goods shipped The Department for Business (BIS) export licensing statistics only indicate the number and value of licences granted in a specified period, not the value of actual exports. Licences are usually valid for up to two years and the value of the licence therefore represents an estimate of future export value. As such, the value of licences granted in any one quarter will generally not be the same as the value of goods actually exported and does not provide an indication of goods shipped.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of claims that Saudi Arabia has bombed several hospitals in Yemen, including Médecins Sans Frontières clinics.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of recent allegations regarding an attack on a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Sa’ada province on 10 January. We are also aware of reports of alleged attacks against a MSF hospital in Sa’ada on 26 October and on a MSF unit in Taiz on 2 December. We welcome the public announcement by Saudi Arabia to establish a fact finding committee into the alleged airstrike on the MSF mobile clinic in Taiz. It is important that Saudi Arabia conducts thorough and conclusive investigation into incidents that have raised concerns.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the evidence available regarding human rights violations committed by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Yemen. The UK supported the September UN Human Rights Council resolution which contains mechanisms for monitoring the human rights situation in Yemen. We continue to raise the importance of respect for human rights with all sides of the conflict. We used a wide range of evidence including credible non-governmental organisations, UN agencies and other sources of information to inform our assessment.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the legal opinion recently commissioned by Amnesty International and Saferworld, which claims that they are breaking the law by supplying arms to Saudi

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of this legal opinion provided on instructions from certain non-governmental organisations. We are also aware of our legal obligations as regards the licensing of arms for export to Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.

    The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world. All arms export licence applications are carefully assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking intoaccountall relevant information, to ensure compliance with our legal obligations, including under international law. A licence will not be issued, for any country, if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the mandatory Criteria. This includes the export of arms to Saudi Arabia. The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the financial advantages of a school converting to academy status.

    Lord Nash

    Academies and free schools receive per-pupil funding on an equivalent basis to all other maintained schools. A fundamental principle of the programme is that no school should be financially advantaged or disadvantaged in converting to academy status. Academies have greater freedom than maintained schools to determine the use of the money they receive.

    Academies also currently receive funding through the Education Services Grant in respect of services that local authorities provide for maintained schools and which academies provide for their own pupils. Academies and local authorities receive the education services grant on the same basis, according to a national per-pupil rate.

    Academies can form or join multi-academy trusts, allowing them to achieve efficiencies through economies of scale and shared procurement. By coming together in a formal joint-governance structure, multi-academy trusts give schools the ability to maximise the potential benefits from collaboration.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the planned process and timetable for consideration of a national funding formula for schools in England.

    Lord Nash

    We are committed to ending the unfair funding system that means children with the same needs attract different amounts of money simply because of where they live. As we announced at the Spending Review, we intend to do that by introducing a fair national funding formula in 2017. This would be a significant reform, and we will carry out a full formal consultation later this year.

  • Lord Stevenson of Balmacara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Stevenson of Balmacara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevenson of Balmacara on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take forward the consultation on the legal framework for debt administration proposed by the 2015 Farnish Review of the Money Advice Service, and if so, when.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government is committed to exploring whether some form of “breathing space” would be a useful and viable addition to the range of formal and informal debt solutions available to consumers and creditors. Officials in HM Treasury and the Insolvency Service have been asked to discuss this issue with stakeholders with a view to identifying possible options and have begun work on this review.

  • Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of Muslim students who have been unable to progress to higher education because their religious principles do not permit them to take out an interest-bearing student loan.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Government consulted in April 2014 on an Alternative Finance product that could be offered to students alongside traditional loans. 20,000 responses were received with 94 per cent believing there is a demand for Alternative Finance.

    The Government is working on the development of a Takaful Alternative Finance product and as part of this will be working with the Muslim community and others to understand the likely take-up of the product.

  • Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what help and advice is available to Muslim students who wish to progress to higher education but for whom an interest-bearing student loan would be a violation of their religious principles, and where that help and advice can be accessed.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Government is aware that some students, whose religious beliefs may prevent the taking out of a loan that bears interest, may feel unable to take advantage of student loans. In April 2014 BIS conducted a consultation on an alternative finance product for undergraduate students. Upon review of consultation responses, the Government supported the introduction of a Takaful Alternative Finance product available to everyone. This work is ongoing and subject to Parliamentary approval, the Government hopes to introduce the system through new legislation.

    All students can access advice and guidance on the financial support available to them from Student Finance England on the link below:

    https://www.gov.uk/contact-student-finance-england

    “

  • Lord Northbourne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Northbourne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Northbourne on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage or require maintained secondary schools to prepare young people, whilst they are still at school, for their probable future role as parents.

    Lord Nash

    This Government believes that schools are best placed to make decisions about the education of their pupils. Teachers can cover parenting skills in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education lessons. The non-statutory programme of study for PSHE includes the roles and responsibilities of parents, parenting skills, the value of family relationships, and the impact of separation, divorce and bereavement on families.