The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Hillier on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average time taken to secure appeal hearings for people whose entry clearance applications have been refused.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Published figures can be found at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2015.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Paddick on 2015-10-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Airwave Solutions about the transition of emergency services communications as part of the emergency services mobile communications programme.
Lord Bates
The Home Office meets senior managers from Airwave Solutions Ltd regularly to discuss the service that ASL provides. The Home Office’s plans for transition from the existing Airwave service to the future ESN service is regularly discussed at these meetings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-10-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what comparative assessment he has made of the level of patents granted in the UK with other (a) EU, (b) OECD and (c) developed economies in each of the last three years for which data is available; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Figures for patents applied for and granted in different jurisdictions can be obtained from the website of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (www.wipo.int), which collates the figures from intellectual property offices around the world.
The table shows the number of patents granted by national offices and by the European Patent Office (EPO) as recorded by WIPO, for both resident and non-resident applicants.
Many applicants choose to apply for patent protection in the UK and other European states via the EPO. However these are not recorded as grants for the individual countries in the table. According to the EPO around 75% of granted EPs take effect in the UK.
The number of granted patents in any one jurisdiction is dependent on many factors including applicants’ business models, local market structure, and the legal requirements of the jurisdiction, since patent law varies. It also reflects the capacity of patent offices to process applications.
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Source: WIPO statistics database. Last updated: March 2015
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which cemeteries are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, by country; and if he will make a statement.
Anna Soubry
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission ensures that the 1.7 million people who died in the two world wars will never be forgotten. The Commission cares for cemeteries and memorials at 23,000 locations, in 153 countries. It is therefore not possible to list every cemetery in this answer. Detailed and searchable information on the numbers of graves at each location in every relevant country is available on the Commission’s website: http://www.cwgc.org/
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of specialist support within maintained schools to help students with mental health problems.
Mr Edward Timpson
The way in which specialist support is provided will vary according to local arrangements.
When specialist provision is required, schools and teachers should have support from appropriately trained and qualified local health partners and other organisations. Both education and health providers should be clear when referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are the most appropriate form of specialist support.
To support schools with doing this, on 16 June 2014 the Department for Education issued new non-statutory guidance for schools and teachers on pupils’ mental health and behaviour. This guidance helps school staff identify those pupils who may have emerging problems and provides guidance on appropriate routes of ensuring appropriate specialist support where necessary.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the causes and effects of falls in beef farm gate prices; and if he will make a statement.
George Eustice
With supplies of cattle outstripping demand both at home and abroad, domestic prime cattle prices have been under pressure and have fallen throughout 2014. In May, prices were at their lowest level since mid-2012 and 15-20% lower than the peak reached in 2013. The European Commission (EC) Short Term Outlook expects beef prices to remain firm although below the 2013 record highs.
On 1 July, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Farming, Food and the Marine Environment will be hosting a senior-level beef industry summit with retailers, meat processors and farmers to discuss falling farm gate beef prices and develop strategies for a sustainable British beef sector.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the commitment made by the UK Government in its economic pact with the Northern Ireland Executive in June 2013, what specific actions he has taken to encourage British embassies in emerging markets to promote jobs and growth in Northern Ireland.
Mr Hugo Swire
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) works to support business from across the United Kingdom. Over the last few years we have expanded our diplomatic presence in key high growth markets, which has allowed us to increase engagement and reach, including in the fastest growing cities outside major capitals. This network works for open Markets and free trade conditions, promotes the UK through the GREAT campaign, and supports individual companies in pursuit of specific business opportunities.
United Kingdom Trade and Investment works closely with Invest Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland’s trade and investment organisation, to ensure that all our businesses have access to the full range of UKTI services, as well as the additional support provided by each of the devolved administrations. In June 2013, the FCO organised a very successful G8 summit at Lough Erne, Northern Ireland. The G8 Summit demonstrated to the global community that Northern Ireland is a first class destination for business and tourism. In October 2013 Invest Northern Ireland, working with UKTI, organised an investment conference which attracted 121 international companies. Inward investment visits for the period from October to December 2013, following both the G8 Summit and the investment conference increased by 162% year-on-year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the effect of universal credit on the self-employed.
Esther McVey
There have been no recent meetings with Ministers but there have been extensive discussions between DWP officials and officials at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whilst designing the approach to supporting those who are self-employed in Universal Credit.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Stuart on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will provide additional financial support to disabled students following the removal of disabled students’ allowance.
Mr David Willetts
Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) has not been removed.
The maximum amounts for DSA were announced in March 2014 and are being maintained at current levels for 2015/16.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rory Stewart on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Afghan interpreters have been granted asylum since he announced in 2013 that the resettlement package for Afghan interpreters would extend to any interpreter serving for a year continuously up to December 2012.
Mr Mark Francois
The ex- gratia redundancy scheme for locally engaged civilians (LECs) which was announced on 4 June 2013, includes a bespoke immigration arrangement specifically for Afghan LECs which is unrelated to the UK asylum system.
The ex-gratia scheme includes an offer of relocation to the UK for LECs who meet the relevant eligibility criteria. We estimate that up to 600 LECs will be eligible to apply for relocation via the ex-gratia scheme; the majority of these individuals will have been interpreters. Two have been granted visas; visa applications are being processed for another 269. Further applications will be processed as our remaining LECs are made redundant. We expect the first LECs to arrive in the UK later this summer.