The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel were in the Sea Cadets in Northern Ireland on 1 January 2014.
Anna Soubry
On 1 January 2014 there were 257 Sea Cadets in Northern Ireland, 22 of whom were Royal Marine Cadets.
In addition there were 157 Adult Volunteers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dominic Raab on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2014, Official Report, column 791W, on fossil fuels: imports, how much in thousand tonnes of (a) oil and (b) gas was (i) exported from and (ii) imported to the UK in 2012 and 2013.
Michael Fallon
Data on gas trade in units of thousand tonnes is not available, the standard unit of measurement is GWh.
In 2012, the UK imported 53,763 thousand tonnes of crude oil and 534,987 GWh of gas and exported 28,535 thousand tonnes of crude oil and 131,711 GWh of gas.
In 2013, provisional figures show that the UK imported 50,311 thousand tonnes of crude oil and 523,506 GWh of gas and exported 30,382 thousand tonnes of crude oil and 99,582 GWh of gas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Wiggin on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy that a proportion of any future underspend within the NHS is allocated to nurses’ pay.
Dr Daniel Poulter
The Department has made available in subsequent years the underspends delivered by local National Health Service organisations, but is not prescriptive on how those organisations use that funding.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in which local authorities 30 per cent or more pupils entitled to free school meals are not claiming them; and what steps he is taking to improve the take-up of free school meals.
Mr David Laws
The Department for Education routinely collects information on pupils who are both eligible for and claiming free school meals. This information is published in the ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2013′ Statistical First Release[1]. Identifying pupils who are eligible for but not claiming free school meals is more difficult.
The Department has published a research paper – ‘Pupils not claiming free school meals: 2013′[2] – which presents estimates of the numbers and proportions of pupils who are entitled to receive free school meals but are not claiming. The paper compares registration rates for children aged between four and 15 and highlights regions and local authorities where under-registration rates are high. A table showing under registration rates by local authority can be found in the annex.
The Department has developed a free school meals Eligibility Checking System (ECS). The ECS enables local authorities to check very quickly and determine whether a parent can claim free school meals by linking benefits information from DWP, HMRC and the Home Office. It represents a significant achievement in reducing bureaucracy and cost for local authorities and encouraging more parents to sign up their children for a free school lunch. The ECS has been extended to allow parents to check their own eligibility, and to apply online, for free school meals. The new system reduces the time, stigma and bureaucracy previously associated with applications for free school meals.
Resources are also available from the Children’s Food Trust to help schools increase take-up of free school meals.[3]
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013.
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupils-not-claiming-free-school-meals-2013.
[3]http://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/schools/resources/free-school-meals-matter-toolkit
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people died from cold-related causes in the winter of (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.
Mr Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of VE Day in 2015.
Anna Soubry
The 70th Anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day will have significant resonance in the UK and the allied nations. No specific plans have yet been developed, but this is something that we will be turning our attention to in the coming months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department provides to non-governmental organisations working in Vietnam to combat child trafficking and to help repatriated victims of trafficking.
Mr Hugo Swire
We currently fund a range of projects in Vietnam targeted at raising awareness of and combating modern slavery and human trafficking through victim reintegration programmes. There is a focus on alternative job creation for victims, and potential victims of trafficking.
In particular, our British Ambassador opened Compassion House in June 2013, a UK funded shelter in Lao Cai on the Chinese border for girls who have been trafficked. It is operated by the local government authorities in conjunction with a local non-govermental organisations, Pacific Links Foundation to provide life skills and vocational training.
Our Embassy also funds the ‘Capacity Building Activities for Victims of Gender-Based Violence’ project which provides support for women and children in Vietnam who have suffered from gender-based violence and the effects of human trafficking.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department will publish guidance for sixth form colleges that wish to convert to become 16 to 19 academies.
Mr Edward Timpson
Sixth-form colleges are classified as private sector institutions and already benefit from the freedoms that academies enjoy. For this reason, the Department for Education has no plans to publish guidance for sixth-form colleges that wish to convert to become 16 to 19 academies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Munn on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 6 May 2014, Official Report, column 80W on the Pacific Islands, how much support and under what categories her Department gave directly to Pitcairn Island in 2013-14.
Mr Alan Duncan
DFID holds a legal obligation to meet the reasonable needs of Pitcairn Island. In 2013/14 DFID provided a total of £2,809,462 to Pitcairn Island to ensure the maintenance of a range of basic public services (e.g. electricity, telecommunications), to ensure continued child safeguarding is in place for the remaining children on Pitcairn, and to support the shipping service that provides the only freight and passenger services to and from the island.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Evans on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officials are employed in her Department’s Human Trafficking Unit; what the purpose of the unit is; and what the role is of each such official.
Karen Bradley
A dedicated Modern Slavery Unit has been set up in the Home Office to lead and
coordinate cross-Government activity to stamp out this terrible crime. The
Modern Slavery Unit currently comprises 13 members of staff and is responsible
for a comprehensive programme of activity, which includes development of the
Modern Slavery Bill, and management of the adult victim care contract. In
addition, one member of staff has been seconded from the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office to lead on international issues. There are also six members
of staff working on the review of the National Referral Mechanism. This team is
independent of the Modern Slavery Unit.
The Modern Slavery Unit is further supported by a number of staff across the
Home Office who work on related modern slavery issues including child
trafficking and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. This is in addition to
the operational caseworkers in UK Visas and Immigration, who are involved in
decision making on individual cases.