Tag: 2015

  • Bob Blackman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Bob Blackman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to improve health literacy among children; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    Schools have a key role to play in teaching children about healthy lifestyles.

    The new national curriculum set the expectation that pupils are taught about the importance of leading healthy and active lives, across a variety of subjects. The new design and technology curriculum strengthens requirements for maintained schools to teach children about food, nutrition and healthy eating, and how to cook a repertoire of meals. Pupils in maintained primary schools should learn about healthy eating and a good, balanced diet. In maintained secondary schools, food education is now compulsory in years 7–9 for the first time. The new science curriculum makes young people aware of different types of diseases and the impact of lifestyle factors on the incidence of some diseases.

    Physical Education is a compulsory subject at all four key stages in the national curriculum in maintained schools. The programme of study makes clear that a high-quality PE curriculum should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically active in a way which supports their health and fitness.

    In addition, the Department is actively engaged in work across government to develop a national childhood obesity strategy.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on television recruitment campaigns for the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Navy Reserve in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 , (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The table below details how much each of the three Services spent on television recruitment campaigns for both Regular and Reserve Armed Forces personnel in each of the last five financial years.

    Financial Year/Service

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    £ millions

    Royal Navy

    1.80

    1.50

    2.80

    4.45

    7.46

    Army

    Not held

    Not held

    2.99*

    1.28

    1.42**

    Royal Air Force

    3.1

    2.25

    2.67

    3.92

    *From 1 October 2012 to 31 March 2013

    **Figure for Financial Year 2014-15 is less than previously reported. This is because the previous figure included production and other costs.

  • Lord Ahmed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Ahmed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether there are any tensions within the South Asian community in the UK due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to London.

    Lord Bates

    The operational policing of protests and demonstrations are principally a matter for Chief Officers of each force in England and Wales. As is the case with visits of this nature, careful plans have been put in place to ensure the safety and security of the visit by the Prime Minister of India, in discussion with the Indian High Commission. The right to peaceful protest is guaranteed under UK law and we respect protesters’ rights to express their views peacefully. As part of the planning for the visit the police will have assessed any issues which could give rise to public disorder and will have factored this into their planning accordingly.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether it is her policy to replace the Green Deal with other measures to help improve home energy efficiency.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government is committed to meeting its legally binding target to help as many fuel poor homes as reasonably practicable reach energy efficiency Band C by 2030, with interim targets on Band E by 2020 and Band D by 2025.

    This Government has also set a specific goal of insulating 1 million homes by the end of this Parliament, in line with our commitments on fuel poverty.

    A reformed domestic supplier obligation (ECO) from April 2017 will upgrade the energy efficiency of well over 200,000 homes per year. This will help to tackle the root cause of fuel poverty and continue to deliver on our commitment to help 1 million more homes this Parliament. We are providing support for households to improve their energy efficiency through the new supplier obligation, which will run for 5 years.

    Our extension of the Warm Home Discount to 2020/21 at current levels of £320m pa will alsohelp households who are at most risk of fuel poverty with their energy bills.

  • Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the continued case for the 25 per cent proposed budget cuts to UK Anti-Doping in the light of reports that widespread doping exists in the world of athletics, and what steps they plan to take in the light of any assessment.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) works tirelessly to promote clean sport and is highly regarded internationally.

    Any decision regarding funding is subject to the forthcoming Spending Review.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of the budget of the Turks and Caicos Islands has been allocated to the funding of the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT) and associated legal costs; and if he will take steps to offset the cost of SIPT for the Turks and Caicos Islands government to enable the necessary investment in other projects on those islands.

    James Duddridge

    In 2015/2016, expenditure on the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team represents approximately 1.34 per cent of Turks and Caicos Islands Government expenditure. Legal aid and security costs are 2.2 per cent and 0.98 per cent respectively. The Governor has committed to provide a full and transparent breakdown of Special Investigation and Prosecution Team costs, with as much detail as possible, once the trial has concluded. The implementation of good governance reforms alongside increased tourist arrivals means that Turks and Caicos Islands Government is projected to show a budget surplus of around $40 million in 2015/2016. This has also been supported by a loan guarantee from the Department for International Development to Turks and Caicos Islands Government of up to $260 million. Turks and Caicos Islands Government is therefore well placed to invest in projects without intervention from the UK.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2015-11-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider introducing stronger sentencing powers against those involved in illegal dog fighting.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government recognises the seriousness of offences involving illegal animal fights. We will look to increase the maximum sentence when a legislative opportunity arises.

  • Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurses trained abroad were recruited by the NHS in each year since 2010.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department does not hold information on the numbers of National Health Service nurses that have received training outside of the United Kingdom.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Catherine McKinnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 12365, what savings have resulted from the police-led prosecution initiative in each year since 2012-13.

    Robert Buckland

    The police-led prosecution initiative has led to a significant reduction in motoring offences prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in magistrate courts, as the following figures indicate:

    Motoring offence cases finalised in the Magistrates Court

    2012-13: 229,875

    2013-14: 171,517

    2014-15: 112,955

    While the reduction has led to a fall in expenditure on these low-level cases, the overall effect on CPS budgets has been cost-neutral. A high proportion of these cases are dealt with as summary first-time guilty pleas, in which the Court requires the defendant to pay the prosecution costs as part of any financial penalty. Therefore, whilst the CPS has benefitted from a reduction in expenditure, it has foregone the receipt of cost awards that are routinely made in motoring offence cases, as these awards are now payable to the police.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 11834, whether the additional £25 million transitional funding announced by the Prime Minister was provided by HM Treasury or from within existing Departmental funds; how much of that funding has been allocated or spent to date; and what new funding for this purpose has been provided in the departmental settlement in the Spending Review 2015.

    Jane Ellison

    The £25 million was announced by the Prime Minister in March 2015, to support transition to a reformed scheme. The money will come from existing departmental funds. We expect to announce our plans for that money once we have a better understanding of what wider scheme reform might comprise following the outcomes of the consultation.

    Funding for specific programme budgets, following the Spending Review, will be set out as part of the normal business planning cycle, as we work on the detail of our central budgets over the coming months.