The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the financial effect on the Horserace Levy Scheme of betting operators locating their online services off-shore; and if he will make a statement.
Tracey Crouch
The Government remains committed to replacing the current levy system to create a level playing field for British based and offshore gambling operators.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the use of performance drugs among young people in sport.
Tracey Crouch
Performance enhancing drugs remain a threat to the integrity of sport and the health and wellbeing of all our athletes. The Government supports the work of UK Anti-Doping which works tirelessly to ensure athletes and sport are clean. Through testing programmes, intelligence sharing with law-enforcement agencies on supplying and trafficking, and its excellent athlete education initiatives, UKAD is one of the world’s most highly regarded national anti-doping organisations
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2015 to Question 13126, how many of the refugees who have arrived at RAF Akrotiri have (a) claimed asylum, (b) had such asylum claims accepted and (c) had such asylum claims rejected to date; and if he will make a statement.
Penny Mordaunt
Following the arrival of 115 migrants at RAF Akrotiri on 21 October 2015, as at 12 November 2015, 60 migrants have claimed asylum. Six asylum seekers have been transferred so far into the Republic of Cyprus. The other asylum seekers are completing pre-requisite security and medical screening and we expect that they will transfer to the Republic of Cyprus asylum system shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reports have been made on the assessed material state of HMS (a) Astute, (b) Ambush and (c) Artful.
Mr Philip Dunne
A range of reports are generated on the material state of all Royal Navy submarines. Given the broad range of reporting that is undertaken and the large range of highly complex engineering systems reported on, this information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Dowd on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s publication, Reviewing post-16 education and training institutions, of 20 July 2015, how much her Department expects to save as a result of implementing the proposals set out therin.
Nick Boles
Area reviews of post-16 education and training institutions are predominantly focused on general further education and sixth form colleges in order to ensure that there are high quality, financially resilient colleges across the country. Schools with sixth forms can opt in to a review, if they wish to do so, and if they have the agreement of the review’s local steering group.
Each review will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the current post-16 provision in the area which will include the offer made by schools with sixth forms. Regional Schools Commissioners and local authorities will sit on local area review steering groups. These groups will identify issues with school sixth form provision, including provision by academy sixth forms, free school sixth forms, and University Technical Colleges, and feed these issues into the reviews. We expect Regional Schools Commissioners and local authorities to take account of the analysis from area reviews in any decisions they make about future provision.
The reviews are aimed at delivering a skills system that meets the economic and educational needs of areas whilst also ensuring the long term sustainability of colleges to support productivity. Early evidence from the pilot reviews indicates that there is also potential for the reviews to secure efficiency savings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment the Government has made of the potential contribution of carbon capture and storage to the UK meeting its 2020 carbon reduction targets.
Andrea Leadsom
In DECC’s most recently published reference scenario, Carbon Capture and Storage would generate one per cent of electricity in 2020. The UK has a carbon budget for the period 2018-22 which requires a 37% reduction in emissions on 1990 levels, which we are on track to meet and over-perform by 51 MtCO2e.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what joint work she and her French counterpart are undertaking on providing governance and capacity-building support for francophone Africa.
Nick Gibb
The Department for Education is not undertaking any work on providing governance and capacity-building support for Francophone Africa.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people participated in hunting with fox hounds in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.
Rory Stewart
The Government does not hold information on the number of people participating in foxhunting. However, according to the Countryside Alliance around 45,000 people regularly follow hunts (http://countryside-alliance.org/support-for-boxing-day-hunts-reinforces-need-for-repeal-of-the-hunting-act/).
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what difference there is between the wholesale price for electricity and the representative market price for baseload electricity referred to in her Departmental Minute of 21 October 2015.
Andrea Leadsom
The Department has used projections of the baseload wholesale price of electricity to calculate the support payments for Hinkley Point C in the Departmental Minute of 21 October 2015. They are therefore consistent with the reference price as referred to in the Annex of the same Minute.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on Turkish military action against (a) the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in northern Iraq and (b) ISIS since July 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Lidington
We are closely monitoring all of these and related events in Turkey and the region. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continues to kill members of the Turkish police service and security forces. We support Turkey’s right to defend itself against all forms of terrorism. We have been clear that the PKK must cease its violence and the peace process needs to be resumed. The UK stands ready to help in any way it can in this regard. I last raised this with my Turkish counterpart when we met in August.
The Government continues to monitor closely Turkey’s democratic reforms, including as part of the EU accession process, focusing particularly on freedom of expression, respect for the rule of law and minority rights.
We welcome Turkey’s invaluable contribution to the international campaign against Daesh, particularly its agreement for the use of its airspace and airbases, as a member of the Global Coalition committed to defeating it. Turkey has been carrying out military strikes against Daesh since July 2015, and state that they have detained over 2,500 Daesh suspects since 2013, of whom one third are foreigners. Turkey recognises the role that Syrian Kurds have to play in the fight against Daesh, and accepts that Syrian Kurds receive Coalition support.