The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Huppert on 2014-06-30.
To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what progress she has made on modernising marriage certificates.
Sajid Javid
I have discussed modernising marriage certificates with the Home Secretary and we are currently considering a range of options. The content of marriage registers has not changed since civil marriage was introduced in 1837, so it’s right that we look at whether it still meets our needs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Wiggin on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2014, Official Report, column 125W, on the Press, when he expects a date for meeting victims of press abuse and their representatives to be finalised.
Mr Edward Vaizey
DCMS, in line with government procedure, publishes details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations, on a quarterly basis. When published, details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-culture-media-sport&publication_type=transparency-data
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance he gives to schools on steps they should take to inform students of their right to wear or not to wear religious clothing.
Mr David Laws
It is for the governing body of each school to set their own policies on school uniform and other matters of appearance. The Department for Education’s guidance to schools on school uniform recommends that, once this policy is decided, the governing body should describe its uniform or appearance policy clearly and ensure that parents are informed.
The uniform guidance reminds schools of their need to have full regard to their obligations under equalities law when setting and enforcing their school uniform policy. It also recommends that the governing body considers carefully any reasonable requests to vary their uniform policy to accommodate individual pupils’ beliefs.
The school uniform guidance is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of (a) the value of the Senior Pacific Police Leadership Program; and (b) the effect of the level of investment in the program by his Department.
Mr Hugo Swire
The aim of the Senior Pacific Police Leadership Programme (SPPL), which ran in 2013, was to improve leadership skills, promote ethical policing practices and reinforce the rights of women in the Pacific. The programme was run in partnership with Australia and New Zealand and was well received by the students and their respective governments.
Twenty-one senior police officers from 15 Pacific Island Countries took part – and it was designed to complement larger scale assistance being provided by our allies in the region.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spent £23,000 on the SPPL programme. We believe that the SPPL programme has had a positive impact, and helped improve police leadership in the countries which participated. Feedback from our partners in those countries, and from our New Zealand partners who hosted the programme, suggests that the SPPL programme provided a quality of training that would not otherwise be available in the region.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to respond to the letter sent to his Department by Jeena International on 27 May 2014 on the misrepresentation of its organisation in a Parliamentary debate on abortion; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
A reply to the letter of 27 May has now been sent to Jeena International.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners recorded as taking car driving lessons or tests in 2013 (a) absconded and (b) attempted to abscond during such lessons or tests.
Jeremy Wright
My officials are currently working to provide the information requested but it has not proved possible to produce it in the time allowed. I will write to you in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people wait more than (a) three, (b) six, (c) nine and (d) 12 months to receive a tribunal appeal decision following an employment and support allowance decision; and what steps the Government is doing to speed up that process.
Mike Penning
The information requested is not readily available.
As a consequence of the recent significant drop in appeals the Tribunal service expects its clearance times to significantly decrease.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-06-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of China regarding the Basic Law and democratic elections in Hong Kong.
Baroness Warsi
We maintain a good dialogue both with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Chinese authorities, with whom we discuss Hong Kong regularly at senior levels. We did so most recently during the UK-China Summit in June, when the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and Premier Li discussed prospects for universal suffrage in 2017, alongside a variety of other issues. During his visit to Beijing in May, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), met with Wang Guangya, Director of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office to discuss the transition to universal suffrage, as well as Hong Kong’s continuing prosperity.
The Six Monthly Reports to Parliament demonstrate our commitment to closely monitor Hong Kong’s development. The latest Six Monthly Report is due to be published in mid-July.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the cost to industry of his Department’s requirement for Level 2 Building Information Modelling.
Mr Francis Maude
Building Information Modelling Level 2 operates alongside well-established industry standards such as ISO27001. Departments may specify additional security requirements as appropriate.
Industry has responded positively to the introduction of Building Information Modelling Level 2, which represents the construction sector response to the Government’s “Digital by Default” initiative.
BIM does not mandate the use of any specific software or hardware and supports innovation through its use of open standards. For SMEs BIM levels the playing field, allowing them to make their products immediately accessible to a global market, using freely-available tools.
BIM represents an opportunity for UK industry to increase efficiency, its know-how and exports, thereby continuing its significant global presence in construction design and delivery.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has contributed funds to assist local authorities in the payment of external contractors to deliver childcare services excluding fostering and adoption.
Mr Edward Timpson
Through its Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme, the Government is supporting local authorities to take new approaches to maximise the capacity and skills brought to bear in improving services for the most vulnerable children. Part of that work involves giving local authorities greater freedom to test new delivery models and harness external ideas and expertise by allowing them to delegate children’s social care functions to external providers.
In November 2013 we gave all local authorities the power to operate in this manner. So far five providers have registered with Ofsted as performing these functions on behalf of local authorities.
Local authorities also make widespread use of contractors in the provision of children’s services such as residential care and foster care.
The Government does not collect data on local authority spend on external contracts.