Tag: 2015

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-02-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve child safety, in the light of the levels of sexual coercion reported by teenage girls in England compared to other European countries.

    Lord Nash

    The findings on the levels of sexual coercion reported by teenage girls in England published by the University of Central Lancashire are part of a collaborative research project involving five European countries – Norway, Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus and England. Protection from abuse is a fundamental right for all children and the Government continues to work to improve child safety.

    Our recent key actions include:

    • Commissioning the PSHE Association to produce guidance for teachers on teaching about consent, which will be published shortly. The statutory sex and relationships education (SRE) guidance also makes clear that young people should be taught about how the law applies to sexual relationships and be taught positive values and a moral framework to guide their decisions, judgements and behaviour.

    • Revising statutory safeguarding guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2013 and Keeping Children Safe in Education (April 2014), to provide clear frameworks for professionals and for schools to take action to protect children from abuse. These updated versions will be published shortly.

    • To help children stay safe online, we have also put online safety on the curriculum, published advice for parents on keeping young people safe from cyberbullying, and announced £500,000 extra funding in December 2014 to the UK Safer Internet Centre to provide guidance and training for schools. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Command of the National Crime Agency has developed a specific educational resource to tackle ‘sexting’, which is designed for use by teachers.

    • We are committed to improving the child protection system and are working with local leaders and professionals on a radical programme of reform, including improving social worker training and children’s services. The overall aim of this work is to bring about long-term change to help vulnerable children.

  • Stephen Mosley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Stephen Mosley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Mosley on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to assist people affected by the Ebola outbbreak.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The Ministry of Defence supports the Department for International Development led effort in Sierra Leone. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence, has just returned from Sierra Leone where he has seen for himself the great work being undertaken by the Ministry of Defence to assist those affected by the outbreak.

    We have deployed around 1,200 personnel over the last six months which represents our largest current overseas deployment and the second largest contribution to the fight against Ebola after the US.

    We have overseen the construction of six Treatment Centres to deliver specialist care to Ebola patients, one of which – Kerrytown – includes a specialist unit staffed and managed by UK military personnel; we have constructed an Ebola Training Academy and trained over 4,000 local nationals in a variety of Ebola related roles; we have deployed the extremely capable RFA ARGUS and its three Merlin helicopters to increase our logistical capability; and we have engaged widely with our international partners to ensure the response in West Africa is – as it should be – a global effort.

  • Chris Ruane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Chris Ruane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he held with the National Federation of SubPostmasters on the abolition of road tax discs.

    Jo Swinson

    The abolition of vehicle tax discs is a matter for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has not held any discussions with the National Federation of SubPostmasters specifically on the subject of vehicle tax.

    Ministers meet the National Federation of SubPostmasters regularly to discuss a range of issues relating to the Post Office network. The dates of these meetings are available on the gov.uk website.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons spending data for his Department for most months of 2014 has been published later than such data for the previous three years.

    Kris Hopkins

    My Department is more transparent than other parts of Whitehall, as we publish all spending over £250 and every item spent on Government Procurement Cards. This can result in slightly longer lead times to check and publish the data compared to other departments, but we believe that this enhanced transparency is in the public interest.

  • Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much NDA Properties Limited receive in income from its land and property holdings in each of the last five years.

    Matthew Hancock

    NDA Properties Limited received from its land and property holdings income of £6.402m in 2009-10, £6.234m in 2010-11, £6.107m in 2011-12, £5.589m in 2012-13 and £6.115m in 2013-14.

  • Mark Garnier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Garnier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Garnier on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consideration he gave to owners and other beneficiaries of intellectual property rights relating to tobacco products in deciding to bring forward legislative proposals for standardised packaging.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government has given careful consideration to all of the wider aspects that relate to standardised packaging of tobacco, including intellectual property rights.

    The Government has also published an impact assessment, assessing the costs and benefits of the policy. This can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/standardised-packaging-of-tobacco-products-draft-regulations

    “

  • Iain Wright – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Iain Wright – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 22 November 2012, Official Report, columns 566-7W, on police: Cleveland, what estimate she has made of the number of police officers allocated to Hartlepool constituency for frontline duties in each year since the basic command unit was abolished; and if she will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    As set out in the previous answer mentioned by the Hon Gentleman, the Home Office no longer collects police workforce information at the requested level. The deployment of available resources is a matter for chief officers locally, working with their Police and Crime Commissioner.

    At the overall police force area level, according to the definitions set out by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Cleveland Police plan to have 1271 police officers working in frontline roles by March 2015. This represents 91 per cent of the total police officer workforce.

    Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary has made clear there is no simple link between officer numbers and crime levels. This is supported by the reduction in crime of more than one fifth under this Government, according to the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales.

  • Lord Grade of Yarmouth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Grade of Yarmouth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Grade of Yarmouth on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of Iran’s financial and material support for Hamas.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We remain deeply concerned by Iran’s ongoing financial and material support for Hamas and other Palestinian rejectionist groups. The supply of arms to Hamas contravenes the embargo on Iranian arms exports established by UN Security Council Resolution 1747 and undermines prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East.

  • Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of amending the road traffic construction and use regulations to prohibit blue lights on non-emergency vehicles.

    Andrew Jones

    The specification including colour and use of lamps on road vehicles are the subject of The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989. Only emergency vehicles are permitted by this legislation to have blue special warning lamps and warning beacons. No assessment has been made to amend these regulations for blue lamps or warning beacons on non-emergency vehicles, as the prohibitions already exist.

  • Jeremy Lefroy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jeremy Lefroy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what analysis his Department has carried out on the comparative living costs of people (a) in the work related activity group of employment and support allowance and (b) on jobseeker’s allowance.

    Priti Patel

    The Department has not carried out any analysis on the comparative living costs of these two groups.

    If claimants experience additional costs as a result of their illness or disability, they may be eligible to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) which we have exempted from the Benefit cap and will continue to uprate by inflation.