Tag: 2015

  • Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 4 November (HL2982), what were the reasons for the decision not to appoint a new Middle East Quartet Representative, and what differences exist between the mandate of the Middle East Quartet Representative and the new Head of Mission of the Office of the Quartet.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The reasons for the decision not to appoint a new Middle East Quartet Representative are a matter for the Quartet Principals (UN Secretary General, US Secretary of State, Foreign Minister of Russia and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy).

    The “Office of the Quartet Representative” (OQR) has been renamed the “Office of the Quartet” (OQ). It will be led by two highly-regarded individuals: Kito de Boer, who joined in January 2015, will serve as Head of Mission and Sandra Wijnberg, who joined in July 2014, will serve as Deputy Head of Mission.

    The Head of Mission of the Office of the Quartet (OQ) is charged with delivering the OQ’s mandate. The mandate remains unchanged, and was set out in a June 2015 statement by the Quartet Principals. It is to “focus on economic and institutional development in the Palestinian Territory, addressing issues related to strengthening investment in the Palestinian private sector, rule of law, and movement and access. The OQ shall work in coordination and complementarity (sic) with bilateral and multilateral partners that implement technical assistance programs in the Palestinian Territory. As such, OQ will play an important role in advancing tangible steps on the ground to advance the Palestinian economy, and preserve the possibility of a two state solution.”

  • Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve protection from meningococcal disease; and what steps he plans to take to protect people with low immunity from contracting meningococcal disease.

    Jane Ellison

    Proptection from meningococcal disease is provided through our successful vaccination programmes. The vaccination programme was recently extended to include vaccines against meningitis B and A,C,W and Y.

    We also provide information in our resources on the signs and symptoms of meningitis.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the Human Rights Watch report that some Saudi Arabian air strikes in Yemen violated international humanitarian law.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law in Yemen by the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition. We take any report of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law in Yemen by all sides to the conflict very seriously. We have raised our concerns with the Saudi Arabian government and have received repeated assurances of International Humanitarian Law compliance. We continue to engage with them on those assurances. The Saudi Arabian authorities have their own internal procedures for investigations and we encourage them to be open and transparent in this. We have also raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with International Humanitarian Law and international human rights law.

  • Lyn Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lyn Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many National Crime Agency officers have completed the digital awareness e-learning course, The internet and you.

    Mr John Hayes

    As of 16 December 2015, 3921 Officers have completed the eLearning “Internet and You”. The course forms part of a five stage programme for NCA staff who require detailed training in this area.

  • Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to secure funding for research into mesothelioma over the last two years.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The usual practice of the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and of the Medical Research Council is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. Both funders welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including mesothelioma. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition.

    The NIHR launched a ‘themed call’ for mesothelioma research proposals in 2014. Fifteen individual applications have been received, of which two have been approved for funding to date, two are under review, and eleven have been rejected.

  • Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many legally owned .22 calibre semi-automatic rifles have been used in terrorist offences in the last 10 years.

    Mike Penning

    The National Ballistics Intelligence Service regularly assesses the volume and type of legal and illegal firearms in criminal use in the UK. The information is operationally sensitive and is not suitable for release.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to enable more looked-after children to go on to further and higher education.

    Edward Timpson

    This government believes that all children and young people in care should be provided with the support that they need in order to fulfil their potential.

    That is why we require local authorities, as corporate parents,to fulfil a legal duty to promote the educational achievement of the children they look after, including supporting them to progress into further and higher education.All local authorities are required to appoint a Virtual School Head to ensure that that duty is discharged, and that each looked-after child has a personal education plan which sets out how their aspirations and educational needs, particularly around transition points, will be supported in the short and longer-term.

    In addition, the government provides enhanced pupil premium funding of £1,900 each year for pupils who have been looked-after and we also ensure that looked-after children are given priority in school admission arrangements. Looked-after children and care leavers are also a priority group for receiving the 16-19 Further Education Bursary of £1,200 per annum.

    For care leavers, local authorities must offer a personal adviser and a pathway plan if they are in education or training up to the age of 21 or up to 25 if they wish to resume their education and training. Care leavers who pursue a recognised course of higher education are also entitled to a one-off £2000 bursary, given by their local authority, as part of the package of support they receive on leaving care.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Irish Government since the attacks in Paris in November 2015 on ensuring that the two governments share intelligence effectively on all potential terrorist threats.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    The Home Office is the UK Government Department responsible for dealing with the threat from international terrorism and regularly engages with international partners.

    I also regularly meet Ministers from the Irish Government, including with Frances Fitzgerald, the Justice and Equality Minister, to discuss a range of issues. There continues to be strong co-operation on security between the United Kingdom Government and the Irish Government.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on costs to consumers of the contract for difference awarded to Hinkley Point C.

    Andrea Leadsom

    As stated in my answer to PQ 15115, under the CfD consumers won’t pay anything for electricity until the plant is powering their homes and businesses. Payments under the CfD are expected to make up around £10 (real 2012 prices) of the average household energy bill in 2030. This should be seen in the context of Hinkley Point C meeting 7% of the UK’s energy needs, and set against our estimate that a new nuclear programme could reduce average household bills by up to around £30 in 2030 (again in real 2012 prices). This is calculated by comparing the costs for consumers in a modelled scenario for the future electricity mix with Hinkley Point C and a further role out of the new nuclear programme with the cost for consumers in a scenario where there are no new nuclear power stations by 2030. Savings could be higher or lower depending on changes in the cost of alternative generation technologies and what mix of technologies would ultimately be used.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding (a) in total and (b) by region of Road User Satisfaction Report was paid to AECOM from the public purse for those reports published by the Highways Agency on 11 December 2015.

    Andrew Jones

    The total contractual amounts Highways England pays are as follows:

    • £274,129 for the National Road User Satisfaction Survey from April 2015 to March 2016.
    • £376,846 for the Area Road User Satisfaction Survey from April 2015 to March 2016.

    Costs are not split by region.