The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-EU workers hold visas to work on IT projects in the UK.
James Brokenshire
Acquiring this information would involve examining each individual case record held by UKVI for the category. To do so would incur a disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 19 June 2013, Official Report, column 718W, on AWE Aldermaston, what the final write-off costs were of the cancellation of Project Hydrus at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.
Michael Fallon
The final write off costs for the termination of Project Hydrus were £117.7 million. The hydrodynamics testing capability will now be delivered through the joint UK and France programme, Project Teutates. Components valued at £71 million which were constructed under Project Hydrus have subsequently been incorporated into Project Teutates.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to implement the family test.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The Family Test policy does not apply to DFID’s work as foreign policy is outside of the scope of the Test.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to ensure equitable application of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 across all UK exam boards.
Matthew Hancock
The Government currently has no plans to alter the scope of the Freedom of Information Act in relation to exam boards. However the scope of the Act is kept under review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Prime Minister, whether he raised the issue of persecution and human rights abuse of Christians living in China during the recent state visit by President Xi Jinping.
Mr David Cameron
I was clear during my wide-ranging discussions with President Xi Jinping of the importance that the UK attaches to human rights as part of our wider relationship with China. The joint statement reconfirmed our commitment to the Human Rights Dialogue, an important part of our engagement.
We raise the range of our human rights concerns directly with China, including during the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, most recently in April 2015. We also highlight them publicly in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights. We will continue to pursue our concerns both privately and in public fora.
We believe that freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right. I remain concerned by the restrictions placed on Christianity in China. We are aware of reports of the closure or demolition of churches, the removal of crosses from buildings, and that individuals are being harassed or detained for their beliefs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require enforcers of the Pet Travel Scheme to carry out visual checks on dogs entering the UK.
George Eustice
The UK carries out more checks on pets at the border than most other EU Member States. It is a condition of their approval that the transport companies check 100% of pets declared by their owners for compliance with the EU Pet Travel Scheme. The only way that we are practically able to have a system of checking every declared pet dog entering Great Britain, on an approved route, is by working in partnership with the transport companies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Johnny Mercer on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information he holds on whether Sir Peter Hendy’s review of Network Rail’s programme plans will consider extending electrification to Plymouth and the South West Peninsula.
Claire Perry
The Secretary of State for Transport asked the new Chair of Network Rail, Sir Peter Hendy Review to review the enhancements programme as detailed in the Network Rail’s Control Period 5 (2014-2019) Rail Enhancement’s Delivery Plan. This did not include the electrification to Plymouth and the South West Peninsula. Electrification of this route is expected to be considered as part of the future strategy for the railway.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote international support for and defence of religious minority communities in the Middle East.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We remain deeply concerned about the plight of Christians and other religious minorities across the Middle East and North Africa. In March this year at a United Nations Security Council debate on the persecution of minorities in the Middle East, I called for bold leadership in the region to continue working for tolerance and reconciliation.
In September the UK participated in an international conference in Paris on the subject, and called on the international community to do more to assist vulnerable populations. On 19 November Baroness Anelay and I convened a workshop with non governmental organisations and experts in the field to examine what more Her Majesty’s Government might do to practically support Christians and other minorities in the Middle East and protect Freedom of Religion or Belief. Officials are now examining how to put these ideas into practice.
On a practical level, we assisted Kurdish and Yezidi fighters to liberate vulnerable minority groups in Sinjar in Iraq in November. The Royal Air Force provide vital air support for local, legitimate ground forces, focused on defeating ISIL and minimising civilian casualties.
We raise violations with individual countries, and work with them to ensure that discriminatory legislation and practices are tackled. We also ensure that the international consensus in the UN on tackling religious intolerance is maintained.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have (a) sight loss and (b) hearing loss in (i) Barnsley East, (ii) Barnsley, (iii) South Yorkshire and (iv) Yorkshire and the Humber.
Justin Tomlinson
The information requested is not available at parliamentary constituency level.
For Yorkshire and Humber it is estimated that there were 140,000 (+/- 40,000) people with a sight impairment and 190,000 (+/- 40,000) people with a hearing impairment in 2013/14.
Source: Family Resources Survey, 2013/14
Notes:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to collect information centrally on how many children and young people are admitted to hospital due to mental health problems.
Alistair Burt
Hospital Episode Statistics data already gives details on the number of admissions to hospital by age group and by condition, including mental health conditions. We are also investing in new data sources on both prevalence and service use. From January 2016, the new Mental Health Services Dataset will begin to provide data for both adults and children on outcomes, length of treatment, the source of referral, location of appointment and demographic information.