The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on retuning systems it operates as a result of the release of 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz spectrum bands.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence is currently forecasting a £47.1 million spend on remediation costs retuning systems from the 2.3GHz spectrum band. There are currently no known remediation costs associated with 3.4GHz.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she has taken to remove barriers to small energy providers using the services of the Data Communications Company.
Andrea Leadsom
DECC has undertaken a continuous programme of outreach with independent suppliers. This has allowed us to monitor their views on a range of issues, including costs and their ability to use the services of the Data Communications Company (DCC). One challenge we recognised independent suppliers may face was the cost effective procurement of adaptor software enabling them to access DCC services. Over the last twelve to eighteen months, this challenge has been taken up by a number of commercial providers bringing managed service IT solutions to the market which allow independent suppliers to access the DCC with minimal upfront cost. We will continue to monitor the situation to verify that smaller suppliers are able to access the DCC services satisfactorily.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what projections his Department has made for the number of people who will have diabetes by 2050.
Jane Ellison
The Department has made no such estimate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seeker applications were received from Syrian nationals in each of the last five years; and how many such applicants were (a) refused, (b) granted refugee status, (c) granted humanitarian protection and (d) granted discretionary leave to remain.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office publishes an analysis of applications for whole-year cohorts of asylum seekers to establish the overall success rates following appeal; this is available in Table as_06 (Asylum data table Volume 2) of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release. For the latest years, some cases will still be outstanding. This cohort analysis is therefore not able to provide a complete picture for the latest applications but for most years will provide the most complete description of the outcome for asylum seekers. The analysis of the outcomes of asylum applications are the recorded outcomes of the group (or cohort) of applicants in any one year, at a particular time. This dataset is updated, in full, annually and is currently available up to 2014.
Insert Table
A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics April – June 2015, is available from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contribution of 26 March 2015 by the then Parliamentary under Secretary of State, on Immigration: Detention, Official Report, House of Lords, column 1587, what recent assessment she has made of changes in the number of people held in immigration removal centres; and what steps she is taking to reduce growth in such numbers.
James Brokenshire
Home Office published statistics show that as at 30 June 2015, 3418 people were in detention, an increase on the number recorded at the end of June 2014 (3,079). This data is available online https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2015/detention.
Capacity of the detention estate is kept under constant review. Decisions will continue to be made according to operational priorities. Haslar Immigration Removal Centre was transferred back to the National Offender Management Service in April 2015, reducing the overall detention estate capacity.
On 9 February the Home Secretary announced an independent review of detainee welfare in immigration detention, led by Stephen Shaw. The report is expected in the autumn and the Government will publish the report by laying it before Parliament, alongside the Government’s response to the recommendations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Access All Areas Report 2015, published by Guide Dogs, what steps he is taking to address taxi refusals for assistance dog owners.
Andrew Jones
The Equality Act 2010 includes a legal requirement for all taxi and private hire vehicle drivers to carry assistance dogs and not to charge more for doing so.
In addition to their ability to take appropriate action in the event that licensed drivers fail to comply with this duty, local licensing authorities can inform taxi and private hire drivers of all their responsibilities as licensed drivers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the recommendations made in the report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons of February 2014 reviewing the monitoring of Gypsy, Romany and Traveller prisoners.
Lord Faulks
I welcome the report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, People in Prison: Gypsies, Romany and Travellers.
Meeting the needs of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) prisoners has traditionally been challenging due to very low declaration rates. To address this, and to improve the support received by them, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has carried out work to increase the confidence of these prisoners to declare their ethnicity.
In March 2014, NOMS implemented a new tool to monitor various outcomes for prisoners against a range of protected characteristics, including GRT prisoners. This has proved to be successful and declaration rates have increased. The tool allows NOMS to better understand where gaps in services for GRT prisoners are, and for services to be commissioned where appropriate.
NOMS has worked closely with organisations such as the Friends Family and Travellers and the Irish Chaplaincy in Britain to provide information to staff and prisoners regarding best practice when working with GRT prisoners.
The Youth Justice Board (YJB) commissioned and jointly published (with HMIP) the report: ‘Children and Young People in Custody 2012-13: An Analysis of 12-18 year olds’ perceptions of their experience in secure training centres’. This was the first published annual summary of children and young people’s self-reported experiences and perceptions from surveys carried out with young people in each of the four Secure Training Centres (STCs). The YJB will continue to commission these reports and monitor the findings from this survey in future years to gain a better understanding of the representation GRT young people within STCs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the Royal Naval Division memorial from the original charity.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
In 2002, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), as the current occupant of the Old Admiralty Building, agreed to assume the costs for general cleaning of the Royal Naval Division Memorial and the costs of the water supply to the memorial’s fountain. The costs of any maintenance, other than cleaning, remain the responsibility of the Committee for the Royal Naval Division Memorial. In November 2013, the Committee informed the FCO that it intended to commission a condition survey of the memorial and had raised funds for any repair work. The survey commenced on 17 February 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Turnberg on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 10 February (HL4453), what plans they have to encourage NHS Trusts to employ and re-employ experienced medical staff who wish to practice part-time towards the end of their careers.
Earl Howe
It is for local National Health Service organisations to decide how many and what staff they employ, and they are best placed to do this based on the needs of their patients and local communities.
Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for ensuring the NHS workforce has the right numbers, skills, values and behaviours to meet the needs of patients.
HEE will work with NHS Employers and other key partners to develop a more strategic and cost-effective approach to staff retention including the encouragement of greater employer focus on retaining and investing in their current staff.
To support nursing workforce requirements, HEE announced on 29 September 2014 that it is putting £4.7 million into training resources over the next three years as part of a major national campaign that will allow former nurses to return to the workforce.
Over 1,000 have entered Return to Practice programmes this year. These programmes fast track experienced nurses back into the NHS in 3-6 months, compared to 3-4 years training new nurses.
HEE is working with NHS England, the British Medical Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners to standardise a funded scheme which allows general practitioners to return to United Kingdom general practice following a career break. This is anticipated to be launched at the end of March.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether any employees of Rio Tinto plc has been seconded to his Department in the last five years.
Jo Swinson
The Department has not seconded any employees from Rio Tinto plc.