The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions Ministers or officials have had with HM Treasury regarding the disparity between diesel and petrol prices in the last three months.
Andrew Jones
Ministers and officials meet regularly with HM Treasury on a wide range of issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage more people to train as teachers.
Nick Gibb
We believe that all pupils,regardless of birth or background, should have access to high-quality teachers. That is why we are committed to attracting top graduates and career-changers into teaching, and supporting schools to recruit and retain good teachers. Since 2010, we have introduced a series of initiatives to increase recruitment and raise standards of teachers and teaching. We have increased scholarships and training bursaries in priority subjects, which are now worth up to £30,000; we have expanded Teach First and given graduates the chance to earn a salary while they train; our pay reforms have given schools greater flexibility to decide how much they pay teachers and how quickly pay progresses, so there is now more opportunity for good teachers to progress more rapidly.
Whilst ensuring that we recruit sufficient numbers of new trainee teachers, we are also committed to supporting schools to retain good teachers. That is why we have made significant policy interventions in areas such as improving pupil behaviour and tackling unnecessary workload for teachers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to promote the use of credit unions in the work of her Department; and if she will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury on 2 November 2015 to Question 13435:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to promote the use of credit unions in the work of his Department; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Robert Goodwill
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for West Worcestershire (Ms Baldwin) on 2 November 2015, UIN 13524.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS pharmacy services have transferred to the private sector in each of the last five years; what the value of each of those contracts for those services was; and what change to the cost of those services arose to each NHS Trust as a result of those changes.
Alistair Burt
The information requested is not held centrally. Such arrangements are made directly between National Health Service trusts and independent pharmacy providers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that British citizens travelling to India are aware of the illegal practice of capturing and breaking young elephants in India for use in the tourism industry.
Mr Hugo Swire
We are aware of reports that some elephants in use in the tourist industry in India have been captured as calves and then beaten and mistreated. This practice is illegal in India. Officials in London have discussed this issue with Save The Asian Elephant (STAE), an organisation that works to stop this cruel treatment.
The UK is committed to conserving Asian elephants and recognises the growing threats to their populations, particularly from poaching and cross-border, illegal trade in live animals to feed the demand by the tourist and entertainment industries. The UK has been working internationally through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in discussion with elephant range states, including India, to increase protection for Asian elephants. We secured agreement from the Indian government in 2014 for elephant range states to put in place measures to prevent illegal trade in live elephants.
It is not for the Government to make British citizens aware of this practice. However, we will continue to work together with the Indian authorities, as well as STAE and other non-governmental organisations, on protecting elephants.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if (a) statutory redundancy payments and (b) final salaries will be paid from the Government’s support funding package for those affected by recent redundancies in the steel industry.
Anna Soubry
I can confirm that the support package covers both of these aspects. The money allocated towards redundancies factored in payments for owed salaries and does not affect the money for training and regeneration of the local economy. I also note that without Government action, SSI workers would not have been paid their salaries in September.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Freedom of Information requests were rejected by government departments in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015 to date.
Matthew Hancock
The Government publishes statistics on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within central government, including on timeliness and the number of requests rejected by each government department. These reports can be accessed at the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of developments in the human rights situation in the Tibet Autonomous Region and ethnic Tibetan prefectures in China since March 2013.
Mr Hugo Swire
I most recently set out the Government’s position on the human rights situation in Tibet during a Westminster Hall Debate on Tibet on 18 June.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2015 to Question 12217, on judicial co-operation with Saudi Arabia, what the possible areas for co-operation are.
Dominic Raab
No work has yet been undertaken by the Ministry of Justice as a result of the Memorandum of Understanding.