The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK armed forces personnel deploying on Operation SHADER include Special Forces.
Penny Mordaunt
It is the longstanding policy of the Government not to comment on Special Forces.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Answer by Lord Faulks on 18 November (HL Deb, col 133), what is their assessment of whether they have the power under section 26 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to give direction to the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland to secure their compliance with the European Human Rights Conventions; and whether the Secretary of State has considered exercising any such power to secure full compliance in Northern Ireland with its obligations under the Convention in relation to equal marriage, blasphemy and defamation.
Lord Faulks
Under section 26 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (NIA) the Secretary of State may by order direct that action be taken by a Northern Ireland Minister or department if required for the purpose of giving effect to international obligations. However, international obligations in this context are defined as “any international obligations of the United Kingdom other than obligations to observe and implement EU law or the Convention rights” (Section 98 of the NIA). As such, the power under section 26 cannot be used for the purpose of bringing about action in Northern Ireland to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with animal welfare groups on the mandatory use of CCTV in slaughterhouses.
George Eustice
On 3/2/15, the Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC) published a report entitled “Opinion on CCTV in slaughterhouses”. I have had discussions with a number of animal welfare groups on the topic.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make representations to the government of Egypt about the alleged involvement of Egyptian forces in the death at sea of Firas Miqdad, a fisherman from Gaza.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware of reports of an incident on 5 November involving an Egyptian naval vessel and a Palestinian fishing vessel, leading to the death of the fisherman Firas Miqdad.
Details of the incident remain unclear. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials will continue to monitor this case.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel concerning the case for ensuring accountability for violence both by Israeli settlers and by the Israel Defence Forces as a means to restore calm in the West Bank.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We regularly raise the issue of settler violence and the need for accountability with the Israeli authorities. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv most recently raised our concerns over the use of force, including lethal force, on 4 November with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Envoy on the Peace Process, Isaac Molho, stressing the need for proportionality and proper accountability. Our Ambassador also raised this issue with the Israeli Commander of Government Activities in the Territories, General Mordechai, on 26 October, and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General on 28 October.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what percentage pay award was made to employees of each Government department in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.
Matthew Hancock
In line with Public Sector Pay Policy, Civil Service departments and agencies made average consolidated pay awards of 1 per cent in 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16. Departments and agencies are responsible for determining how to allocate the award to their staff, but the Government expects pay increases to be applied in a targeted manner within workforces to support high performance and the delivery of public services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2015-11-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 8 July (HL831), how many of the recorded fume or smell events during the 100 flights referred to in that answer were reported to the Civil Aviation Authority under the mandatory reporting scheme.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
No fume event occurred during this study (Aircraft Cabin Air Sampling Study, Cranfield University, 2011) which triggered the airline’s formal reporting procedures to the Civil Aviation Authority.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-23.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much Freshfields Brukhaus Deringer has received in legal fees from the public purse since 2010.
Harriett Baldwin
Legal fees paid to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in the last five financial years are as follows in the table below.
|
Supplier |
Year |
Spend |
|
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer |
2010-11 |
£0 |
|
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer |
2011-12 |
£0 |
|
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer |
2012-13 |
£0 |
|
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer |
2013-14 |
£23,603 |
|
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer |
2014-15 |
£1,920,914.24 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the contribution of (a) crowdfunding businesses, (b) peer-to-peer lending businesses and (c) big data businesses to the UK economy.
Anna Soubry
The state of equity investment in small businesses was assessed by the British Business Bank in March this year. Their report shows an overall increase in equity investment to small firms in each of the past four years, with both the number of deals and the total amount invested showing a clear upward trend. The contribution from crowdfunding has grown strongly since 2012. By the third quarter of 2014, deal numbers exceeded those of private equity, accounting for almost one-third of seed funding deals in the first half of 2014.
The Peer-to-Peer Finance Association publishes quarterly performance data, which show net new lending to small businesses of £91m in Q3 2015. According to NESTA, peer-to-peer lending in the UK grew at a rate of 250% annually between 2012 and 2014. The growth of the UK peer-to-peer lending sector has been facilitated by a responsive and flexible regulatory regime that recognises the importance of a competitive and diverse market for business finance.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates that the big data market could benefit the UK economy by up to £216 billion between 2012 and 2017. Research by NESTA has also found that UK companies making greater use of online customer data are up to 13% more productive than their peers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to improve the security of mobile devices that are used to access internet banking.
Mike Penning
Through the National Cyber Security Programme, the Government committed £860 million in the last Parliament to increase the cyber security of the UK. This has included a range of work with industry to increase their cyber resilience. For example, the Cyber Essentials scheme sets out the basic technical controls organisations should have in place to protect against common cyber attacks. As the Chancellor also announced on 17 November, spending on the UK’s cyber security programmes will be almost doubled over the next five years, with £1.9 billion funding. Although Government is making a significant investment, partnership between the public and private sector is crucial to making the UK one of the safest places to do business online. By identifying and closing down vulnerabilities in their systems and processes, the private sector can make it much more difficult for criminals to operate. That is why we are working closely with the private sector to drive up standards. In the coming months we will also publish, in collaboration with industry, information to help the public better understand key cyber security principles of devices to help them to make more informed decisions. This work will be a part of the Government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, which I intend to Publish next year.
At the same time, through our Cyber Streetwise campaign, we are helping to inform the public of simple security measures, such as installing security software, which in themselves can protect them and their devices against fraud.