The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many former service personnel are in receipt of Armed Forces Independence Payments.
Mark Lancaster
As at 31 October 2015, there were 869 Service and former Service personnel in receipt of Armed Forces Independence Payments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2015-12-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to give effect to the sections of the Traffic Management Act 2004 that allow for the enforcement of moving traffic offences by wardens employed by local authorities in England.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
London local authorities already have powers to enforce moving traffic contraventions alongside the police under London specific legislation. The Government however has no plans at present to enable moving traffic enforcement by local authorities outside London as the police already have the necessary powers to take action where it is needed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will publish the minutes of all the meetings held during the St David’s Day process.
Stephen Crabb
I held a large number of meetings as part of the St David’s Day process. These included meetings with the parliamentary representatives of the four main political parties in Wales to identify which Silk Commission recommendations had political consensus to be taken forward. It was agreed that discussions at these meetings would remain confidential, and the Government has no plans to publish minutes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 25 November (HL3609), whether they plan to require nuclear power plants to collect and publish hourly or half-hourly radioactive emissions statistics, and if not, why not.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Current UK legislation requires nuclear power plants in England to limit their radioactive gaseous emissions to within safe levels. Similar legislation is in place in Wales and Scotland. The UK and territorial environmental agencies are responsible for implementing this legislation, which includes setting specific emissions limits and monitoring and reporting requirements for individual plants.
The regulators have powers to vary these requirements, including the scope and frequency of emissions monitoring and reporting, as they deem necessary for the purpose of verifying each plant’s compliance with its permitted emissions limits. The regulators also have powers to take robust enforcement action in respect of any breach in compliance.
The Government is satisfied that current legislation provides for effective control and monitoring of radioactive gaseous emissions and is content that the regulatory bodies should continue to mandate emissions monitoring and reporting requirements on a plant by plant basis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what plans she has to improve the representation of women among (a) hon. Members and (b) local councillors.
Caroline Dinenage
This is the most gender diverseParliamentin British history – we now have more female MPs than ever before and one third of those attending cabinet are women. However, we know there is more that can be done to increase women’s political representation. Getting more women into public life is vital to effectively represent and govern our country.
The Equality Act 2010 enables political parties to use positive action, should they wish, to increase participation by under-represented groups.
We also know that women are under-represented on local councils, making up only 31.7% of members. This is why schemes such as the ‘Be a Councillor Campaign’ run by the Local Government Association to encourage new candidates from all walks of life to come forward and represent their local community, are so important.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2015-12-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the poor performance of Isle of Wight secondary schools, and in particular the level of fixed-term exclusions, as reported in the latest Ofsted Annual Report; and what measures are being taken to increase the rate of improvement in those schools.
Lord Nash
Secondary schools on the Isle of Wight face a range of complex and longstanding challenges similar to those faced by schools in other coastal areas. For example, they face difficulties in recruiting high quality teachers, particularly at senior levels. Inadequate school improvement support provided by the local authority in the past compounded further the difficulties faced by schools on the island.
The Department for Education’s latest data (2013/14) shows that the main specific reasons for fixed term exclusions in secondary schools on the Isle of Wight are: persistent disruptive behaviour; verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult; and physical assault against a pupil.
This government has acted decisively to improve educational performance on the island. In July 2013 the Department for Education directed the Isle of Wight Council to enter into a five year strategic partnership with Hampshire County Council which has a sound track record of educational performance. Under this arrangement the proportion of pupils achieving five A*-C GCSEs including English and mathematics has increased at two maintained secondary schools since 2014.
To help bring talented new teachers onto the island, Teach First has commenced a pilot in three secondary schools on the Isle of Wight which they intend to expand next year.
The Regional Schools Commissioner for the South East and South London is working to support and challenge the island’s academies and academy sponsors, particularly the Academies Enterprise Trust, to ensure improvements in their performance continue, and that recent changes in school leadership lead to sustained progress.
Fixed-term exclusions in Isle of Wight secondary schools have fallen faster than the national average, from 1,136 (14.1% of the school population) in 2012/13 to 898 (11.8%of the school population) in 2013/14.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the retesting of Volkswagen vehicles being carried out by the Vehicle Certification Agency includes testing for carbon dioxide emissions.
Andrew Jones
The Government takes the unacceptable actions of Volkswagen (VW) Group extremely seriously. As we investigate what went wrong and what we can do to stop it happening again, the priority of course remains to protect the public. We expect VW to take every step necessary to protect its UK customers, but it is right that the Government carry out their own thorough and independent investigation.
A written statement was made today (10 November) informing the House of the latest developments on the Department for Transport’s vehicle emissions testing programme, following the revelations that VW had fitted defeat devices to some of its vehicles.
The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) is working to confirm that this issue is not industry wide. They have tested two VW group vehicles known to contain a defeat device and will rerun laboratory tests on popular cars sold in the UK to compare real world driving emissions against laboratory performance. This will include measuring CO2 .
The Secretary of State spoke to Dr Herbert Deiss of VW on 4 November to discuss CO2 emissions, seeking information on those vehicles affected in the UK and the extent of the discrepancy. VW have stated that they are working hard to clarify the situation and are liaising with relevant approval authorities.
The Secretary of State has written jointly with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to VW seeking clarification on several issues. Separately, officials from the Department for Transport, and its Agencies have held a number of discussions with VW regarding the recall of affected vehicles.
The Department for Transport has not made a specific assessment of on road emissions in relation to type approval requirements, but officials are aware of the findings in published reports suggesting significant differences.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rowe-Beddoe on 2015-12-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 30 November (HL Deb, col 931–3) about the non-devolution of the long-haul element of air passenger duty to Wales, how they differentiate between Edinburgh and Newcastle, and Cardiff and Bristol with respect to state aid.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
As set out in the St David’s Day Agreement, the government is considering the case and options for devolving powers to the Welsh Assembly over air passenger duty (APD). Any next steps pursued by the government will comply with EU State aid rules on tax devolution.
Discussion of State aid is relevant to options we are considering to mitigate the effects of APD devolution with respect to English airports. In July, the government published a discussion paper on several options to do this. We will respond to the consultation and announce next steps in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-11-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 4 November (HL2946), what advice they have given to the government of India about tackling the rise of attacks on religious minorities by Hindu nationalists in India.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are concerned by recent attacks on religious minorities by Hindu nationalists in India. The British High Commission in New Delhi regularly discusses the treatment of religious minorities with the Indian National Commission for Minorities and with state governments across India. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), also personally discussed the issue of religious minorities with the Indian Minister of External Affairs, General V K Singh on 5 November.
India has a strong democratic framework, which guarantees human rights, including minority rights, within its constitution. However, it also faces numerous challenges relating to its size, social and economic development. We welcome Prime Minister Modi’s reaffirmation that he governs for all Indians and his commitment to inclusive development. We will continue to work collaboratively with his government on a range of important issues, including the promotion and protection of minority rights.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of apprentices received (a) formal and (b) informal training in each year since 2007.
Nick Boles
In 2013/14, 79% of Apprentices received formal training. In 2011/12 and 2012/13 the figures were 76% and 77% respectively. Information on formal training was not collected prior to 2011/12.
In 2013/14, 80% of Apprentices received informal training, while in 2012/13, 85% of apprentices received informal training. . Information on informal training was not collected prior to 2012/13.
Information on types of training can be found in the Apprenticeships Evaluation: Learners survey report online.
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