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Tag: 2015

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what criteria he is using to decide the future location of the Household Cavalry Regiment.

    Anna Soubry

    There are no plans to move the Household Cavalry Regiment from their current location in Combermere Barracks, Windsor.

    A study is being conducted into the future use of the Department’s central London estate, including the current location of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in Hyde Park Barracks. Any decision to relocate the Regiment will be based on the ability to deliver alternative facilities which meet the Regiment’s operational and infrastructure requirements, and the demonstration of value for money for the Defence budget.

  • Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what background checks are carried out when a qualified teacher from (a) outside and (b) inside the EU applies to teach in England.

    Mr David Laws

    The School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009, the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2014 and the Non-maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2011 require schools to carry out specific checks before they may appoint an individual, including from abroad, to work at the school.

    The regulations require schools to check: the identity of the individual; that the person meets any relevant staff qualification requirements; and that the person has a right to work in the UK. In addition, the school must obtain an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Certificate and where relevant a check of the children’s barred list. For those appointed into a teaching position, schools must ensure that the individual is not prohibited by the Secretary of State for Education from carrying out teaching work in England.

    Where the person to be appointed has lived outside of the United Kingdom the regulations require further checks to be made and that the school must have regard to statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State when deciding what those additional checks should be.

    The Department’s ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (KCSIE) statutory guidance makes clear that all schools and colleges have a duty to carry out mandatory safer recruitment checks that help to identify individuals who are not suitable to work with pupils. This guidance also signposts Home Office advice about obtaining criminal record information from overseas police forces and certificates of good conduct.

  • 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 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 222829, how much of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s expenditure on support costs was for (a) research and technology, (b) IT, (c) security, (d) facilities, (e) programme management, (f) procurement, (g) human resources, (h) finance, (i) head-office costs, (j) environment, health safety and quality, (k) regulatory engagement and (l) communications in each of the last five years.

    Matthew Hancock

    The information requested is in the table below:

    £m

    13-14

    12-13

    11-12

    10-11

    09-10

    [A] Research & technology

    5.0

    5.0

    4.9

    4.7

    5.9

    [B] IT

    2.4

    2.2

    3.9

    3.6

    3.7

    [D] Facilities

    1.9

    1.6

    3.2

    2.5

    2.8

    [E] Programme Management

    12.5

    11.0

    11.4

    13.7

    18.0

    [G] HR

    2.1

    2.1

    1.8

    1.9

    2.5

    [H] Finance

    4.3

    4.4

    3.7

    3.6

    6.5

    [L] Communications

    1.8

    1.6

    1.4

    1.6

    1.5

    Support costs for security, procurement, head office costs, environment health safety and quality, regulatory engagement cannot be accurately disaggregated from wider NDA expenditure.

    Due to internal reporting changes and/or organisational structure changes, certain headings may not be consistent across the five years.

    Finance costs include internal audit costs and NAO audit fees, in each year.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kerry McCarthy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Malaysian government regarding (a) the imprisonment of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, (b) Malaysia’s sodomy laws and (c) sedition laws.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The hon. Member will be aware of my statement of 10 February, the day the judgement was announced. In this I expressed deep concern at the Malaysian Federal Court’s decision to uphold Anwar Ibrahim’s conviction for sodomy. I had previously raised concerns about the case on 4 December when I met the Malaysian High Commissioner. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), also raised this issue when he met Malaysia’s Foreign Minister on 9 December.

    Our High Commission in Malaysia has discussed the matter with Malaysian ministers and officials on several occasions, and officials from the High Commission in Kuala Lumpur observed the trial alongside other local diplomatic missions.

    Wider representations on Malaysia’s sodomy laws have been confined to Anwar Ibrahim’s case as charges have been extremely rare.

    We have lobbied for the repeal of the Sedition Act over many years. We are aware of the recent comments by Prime Minister Najib concerning plans to strengthen the Act rather than repeal it. We await more information about the scope of the proposed amendments. Until we know what these entail, it would be inappropriate to comment further.

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of hip replacement operations that were carried out by West Midlands NHS trusts in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    The sum of Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs) with a main or secondary procedure of; (a) IVF cycle procedures, (b) cataract surgery procedures, (c) hip replacement operations, (d) knee replacement operations, (e) varicose vein surgery procedures and (f) breast reduction operations carried out by West Midlands NHS Trusts in 2013-14 is shown in the attached table.

  • John Randall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    John Randall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Randall on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any organisations contracted to provide specialist support and accommodation to victims of modern slavery are accommodating victims in hotels or bed and breakfast lodgings for (a) 24 hours or less, (b) one to five days and (c) more than five days; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government-funded Adult Victims of Trafficking Care Contract is delivered
    through The Salvation Army, who subcontract a range of support providers across
    England and Wales. One of these support providers provides accommodation
    within a commercial hotel, this includes for (a) 24 hours or less, (b) one to
    five days and (c) more than five days. Due to the nature of this accommodation
    it is only used to accommodate potential victims with lower level support
    needs, who are sufficiently independent.

    Under the European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
    (ECAT), the Government is obligated to provide potential victims of trafficking
    with a recovery and reflection period which includes appropriate accommodation.
    All support providers provide regular reports to The Salvation Army on their
    compliance with the ECAT obligations. Compliance is monitored by The Salvation
    Army, who undertake periodic inspections, including evaluating a sample of
    support plans and conducting feedback interviews with potential victims.

  • John McDonnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    John McDonnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what procedures are in place to inform victims of the reasons for any delays in criminal matters being listed for court.

    Mike Penning

    Witness Care Units (WCUs) update Victims on information relating to their case. Under the Code of Practice for Victims courts have responsibility for providing information to WCUs about matters affecting the victim and WCUs then provide a single point of contact for victims throughout the duration of the case.

    The Government has committed to creating a system that puts the highest emphasis on victims’ needs and set out their rights clearly in legislation.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what guidance her Department provides to its managers on how many days training should be made available to staff.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    My Department provides guidance to our managers and their staff on the Civil Service commitment to provide 5 days development a year.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-02-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department spent on training in each of the last three financial years.

    Alun Cairns

    The Wales Office spend in 2011-12 was £27,091, £6,043 in 2012-13 and £11,148 in 2013-14.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received from local authorities engaged in the accelerated rollout of universal credit to their areas from February 2015.

    Mr Mark Harper

    As part of the national roll out of Universal Credit (UC) which I announced on 12 October 2014, officials from my Department are in discussions with Local Authorities (LA) and their representative bodies across Great Britain including the Local Government Association, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association in taking UC forward.

    Senior Representatives jointly consider matters in the Partnership Forum, and in the Universal Support Task Force and most recently the Implementation and Expansion Sub Group.

    These discussions include; agreeing go-live dates, managing communications, discussion on level of support LAs can provide to UC claimants and associated costs. All Representations from LAs are being managed at a local level during the course of these discussions.

    The Minister for Welfare Reform has engaged with the local government sector including holding regular meetings with Councillor David Sparks, chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA).