The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-11-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the breakdown of the lay magistracy by socio-economic profile.
Lord Faulks
No information is recorded which would give an accurate indication of magistrates’ socio-economic status.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2015 to Question 17676, on military bases, whether those beds spaces have been consistently present and utilised in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Julian Brazier
The bed spaces at Force Development Training Centre (FDTC) Grantown-On-Spey, Joint School for Adventurous Training Instructors (JSATI) Llanrwst and FDTC Fairbourne have remained constant over the last five years. Since August 2015, FDTC Crickhowell has increased the bed spaces available from 80 to 260, at Cwrt-Y-Gollen Cadet Training Centre, which is adjacent to FDTC Crickhowell.
Bed space use is driven by the training requirement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of UK GDP is spent on science and research in the UK, and how that figure compares with other countries in the EU.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The UK invested 1.7% of GDP in research and development in 2013, compared to an EU28 average of 1.9%.
The UK has a world-class science and research base and achieves a high rate of return for its investment. With 0.9% of global population, 4.1% of researchers and 3.2% of R&D expenditure, the UK accounts for 6.4% of articles, 11.6% of citations, and 15.9% of the most highly cited articles. We are the most productive science base in the G7, and rank first amongst comparable major research nations for Field Weighted Citations Impact.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on child protection of the recommendations of HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ thematic report on Behaviour management and restraint of children in custody, published in November 2015.
Andrew Selous
Restraint is only be used as a last resort, when young people are putting their own safety and the safety of others at risk.
The recent report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons welcomed our new arrangements, which are designed to limit the use of physical restraint on young people in custody as far as possible.
The report does raise some concerns over how the new system is operating and we will carefully consider its recommendations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-11-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contact, if any, they have had with the Assad regime in Syria over the last two months.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Since the closure of the Syrian Embassy in London in August 2012, the British Government has had only limited contact with the Assad regime in relation to consular matters. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), last wrote to the Syrian Foreign Minister in August 2015 about a consular case.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what financial support her Department has provided to (a) the Convention on Migratory Species and (b) the Preventing Poisoning Working Group of the Convention on Migratory Species in the last five years; and what her policy is on continuing financial support to these organisations.
Rory Stewart
The UK has paid £1,261,317 in subscriptions to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) between 2011 and 2015.
The UK provided £25,000 towards the Preventing Poisoning Working Group in 2012.
With the Spending Review concluded, Defra is now looking at what this settlement means in terms of the detailed allocation of its budgets, including the future funding of the CMS.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Dowd on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when post-16 education will be reviewed in Merseyside under the area review process; and if he will make a statement.
Nick Boles
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. Their purpose is not to secure savings to Government. However, early evidence from the pilot reviews indicates that there is potential for the reviews to secure efficiency savings.
The second wave of area reviews will start in January 2016 and we aim to announce details within the next few weeks. We are currently looking at the geographies and phasing for other areas and will aim to issue further information on this before the end of the year but in doing this we recognise that the position should remain fluid to take account of the views of local partners and also cases of college failure. We expect all reviews to be completed by March 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions a special adviser in his Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.
Jane Ellison
A special adviser has accompanied a Minister on one overseas trip since May 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.
Matthew Hancock
Officials in my Department have liaised with the Department for Work and Pensions as the lead Department for the Family Test to embed it into the policy process. This has included training officials on applying the Test, disseminating relevant evidence, learning materials and best practice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, in which countries her Department plans to spend the additional £1 billion of Government funding for humanitarian efforts in and around Syria; and how much of that spending has been allocated for each country.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UK has always punched above its weight in helping deal with the effects of the Syria crisis. We will continue to do so for the reconstruction of Syria. On 26 November, the Prime Minister announced at least £1 billion for Syria’s reconstruction. This signalled the UK’s enduring commitment to Syria and focused international attention on the need to plan now for reconstruction inside Syria. This funding will be used to support activities inside Syria and is additional to the existing £1.1 billion the UK has already pledged to respond to the ongoing crisis inside Syria and the region.