The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received about funding allocated by his Department to the organisation Action on Smoking and Health.
Jane Ellison
To identify relevant representations the Department has received would result in disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-12-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of why there has not been an improvement in the proportion of female high earners in the UK despite initiatives to reduce the gender pay gap.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
New figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that the gender pay gap in the UK remains the lowest on record.
I am proud of our achievements, but recognise there is still more we must do. To help eliminate the gender pay gap within a generation, we are requiring larger employers to publish information about their gender pay gaps and bonuses. We are also working with business to support and promote Lord Davies’ target of 33% of women on boards in the FTSE 350 by 2020.
The government is also introducing new regulations that will require larger employers to publish their gender pay gap information. This will encourage companies to take action and drive change on this important issue
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Brittany Ferries on the carriage of game birds on their ships.
James Brokenshire
Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website: http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the likely financial benefit to the UK from sales of Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicles to other countries.
Mr Philip Dunne
Watchkeeper is being considered by other nations alongside other capabilities to fulfil their own defence requirements. The details of these negotiations are commercially sensitive.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that fewer children who have been subject to abuse need to attend court to give evidence.
Mike Penning
The Ministry is committed to supporting all victims and witnesses, including children, when giving evidence in criminal trials. All victims and witnesses are eligible for special measures to relieve stress when giving evidence, including giving evidence by video remotely.
We have secured over £700m of funding to invest in our courts and tribunals. We have worked closely with the senior judiciary to develop a plan for investing this in reforming the courts and tribunals so they can deliver swifter, fairer justice at a lower cost. This will include digitisation and modernisation of our IT infrastructure. This will mean court users can attend hearings remotely, and not be inconvenienced by having to take a day off work to come to court. It will also mean victims of crime can give evidence from somewhere they feel safe.
Since March 2015 vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including child abuse victims, can give evidence from a remote site which is away from the court environment. There is at least one remote site in each of the seven Regions in England and Wales, and twelve sites in total.
In addition, the court estate is video-enabled so that any victim or witness can give evidence from a court building other than the trial site to ensure they do not come into contact with the defendant, or their family and supporters.
Whilst HMCTS collates data on the number of witnesses giving evidence by video, the ages of the victims and witnesses are not recorded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will review the adequacy of the maximum sentences available to the courts for offences of cruelty to animals under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
George Eustice
The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence to cause an animal unnecessary suffering. Anyone found guilty of an offence under the Act can be subject to an unlimited fine and/or six months’ imprisonment.
It is for the courts to decide on an appropriate penalty based on the individual circumstances of each case. To help magistrates to impose appropriate sentences and penalties they are provided with guidance in the form of the Magistrates’ Courts Sentencing Guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council. The guidelines give examples of offences, aggravating and mitigating factors, as well as the range of suggested sentences and penalties for various types of offences. The sentences currently imposed for such offences are not regularly set towards the upper end of the range. This suggests that courts are not finding their current sentencing powers inadequate.
Nevertheless, Defra understands the concern that existing levels of punishment may be insufficient in some cases. Overall policy on sentencing is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Defra Ministers have made sure that the MoJ is aware of these concerns.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will ring-fence funding for walking and cycling.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government is committed to the principle of devolution and decisions being made at the appropriate level. Local Authorities are responsible for local roads and are best placed to determine the need for cycling and walking infrastructure in their own areas. By not ring-fencing funding for cycling and walking, local authorities have the freedom and flexibility to choose how they spend their transport funding, including on cycling and walking, if they choose to do so. However, for spending for which the Government is responsible, in the five years 2011/12 to 2015/16 the Department has increased its spend on cycling in England from £1 per head to £3 per head, and more in the eight Cycle Ambition Cities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Apprenticeship Levy will apply to public and third sector organisations.
Nick Boles
The levy will apply to all UK employers. Employers with a pay bill of less than £3m will not have to pay the levy. This is more than 98% of all employers. These employers will continue to have access to government funding to support apprenticeships.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) disabled people aged (i) under 25 and (ii) under 30 who participated in apprenticeships and (b) apprenticeships undertaken by disabled people in each of those age groups in each of the last 10 years.
Nick Boles
Information on Apprenticeship participation by learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities, broken down by age, is published in supplementary tables (first link) to a Statistical First Release (second link).
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-equality-and-diversity
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people referred to the Work Programme since 2011 who had no classifiable qualifications at the time of their referral achieved a qualification before leaving that programme.
Priti Patel
The information requested, in the above three questions, is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.