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Tag: 2014

  • Mark Durkan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mark Durkan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the scale of the threat of rape faced by women in South Sudan; and what steps her Department plans to take to reduce such threats.

    Lynne Featherstone

    Sexual violence has been widespread during the conflict. We have pressed the Government and Opposition to act to prevent sexual violence. Our humanitarian programmes help protect vulnerable women and girls, and provide support for case management for the victims of sexual and gender based violence.

  • Dr Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dr Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Julian Huppert on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to ensure that the temperature of water within a water cannon tank is retained at five degrees celsius.

    Damian Green

    The Home Secretary has now received the request to authorise water cannon for
    use by the police in England and Wales. She is considering this request and
    will announce her decision in due course and lay the relevant information in
    the House Library.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will urgently increase the number of personnel working in the Belfast Passport Office.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office is identifying staff who could be temporarily redeployed to
    work with HM Passport Office during this very busy period.

  • Huw Irranca-Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Huw Irranca-Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason the rules governing the provision of books to prisoners have recently been changed.

    Jeremy Wright

    Up to 12 books may be held by prisoners in their cell at any one time. Prisoners may have additional books stored locally at the prison. Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access.

    Ministers have not made any policy changes specifically about the availability of books in prisons. The changes to the Incentives and Earned Privileges national policy framework we introduced last year in relation to parcels were introduced to ensure consistency across the estate and to make sure that security can be maintained. There have always been controls on the sending of parcels into prisons, and allowing parcels to be sent in unrestricted would be operationally unmanageable and would lead to a significant risk of drugs and other illicit items being smuggled into prisons.

    The National Offender Management Service works closely with the Shannon Trust to support schemes such as ‘Toe by Toe’, which includes peer mentoring to improve reading levels.

  • Ben Wallace – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ben Wallace – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Wallace on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what economic assessment he has made on the effect on tourism jobs in seaside areas and seaside economies of deregulating school holidays.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The Government is giving more schools greater flexibility to adapt the shape of the school year in the interests of their pupils’ education.

    Whilst this will extend an existing flexibility to a greater number of schools, our advice will continue to include a clear expectation of schools working with each other and the local authority to coordinate dates to avoid unnecessary disruption to parents and their employers.

    The Department has consulted with representatives of the tourist industry. Where schools choose to change their holiday dates, following discussion locally with parents and local businesses, there may well be a positive impact on seaside economies. In areas of high-seasonal employment, for example, small variations to term-dates agreed locally may help parents to holiday outside of peak periods.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2014, Official Report, column 547W, on the Work Programme, if he will place in the Library the draft findings of the Work Programme evaluation received by his Department in August 2013.

    Esther McVey

    The evaluation of the Work Programme is still on-going, and the Department will publish findings once it is completed.

  • Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support his Department is giving to local authorities to implement changes to apprenticeship funding.

    Matthew Hancock

    We are giving employers control of the funding for the training and assessment of the apprenticeships that they design. This will enable them to work directly with education and training providers to secure the most effective training for their apprentices. We will be testing a new funding model via apprenticeship starts in the 2014-15 academic year based on standards developed by our Trailblazer groups of employers. We will develop a comprehensive communication programme for employers (including local authorities) to help them understand the changes.

  • Mrs Mary Glindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mrs Mary Glindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Mary Glindon on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have received the personal independence payment since April 2013.

    Mike Penning

    PIP is a brand new benefit that is replacing the broken DLA system, we published early management information on Tuesday 11 February 2014. Between April and December 2013, around 22,000 new claimants had been given an award of PIP.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether applicants to the Royal Navy who meet an initial body mass index requirement of 28 face a different check at any other stage of the process.

    Anna Soubry

    The recommended Body Mass Index (BMI) guidelines for entry into service in the Royal Navy are attached.

    Further assessment is by measurement of waist circumference: males with a BMI over 28 may join if their waist circumference is less than 94cm; females may join if their waist circumference is less than 80 cm.

    The standards do not change during the application process but BMI is measured as part of the medical assessment, and results may differ from a candidates’ individual declaration and/or the outcome of the initial BMI check.

  • Lord Rana – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Rana – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rana on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reassure consumers, who for religious or other reasons do not wish to consume halal or kosher meats, about the provenance of the meat they buy, in the absence of any informative labelling as to the method of slaughter used.

    Lord De Mauley

    The Government is of the view that consumers should have the necessary information available to them to make an informed choice about their food. Any method of slaughter labelling system needs to cover more than just the UK. We are awaiting the results of an European Commission study on method-of-slaughter labelling, which is due this summer. We will look at possible options in light of that report.