The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Child Maintenance Service has collected in charges since their introduction.
Priti Patel
Income received from fees and charges for the 2012 Child Maintenance Scheme is disclosed on page 136 of the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2014/15. Up to 31st March 2015, £2.802 million has been collected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many general licences for pest control have been issued in each of the last five years.
Rory Stewart
In each of the last five years, four general licences have been issued for the purposes of pest control.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hon. Members have had a request to visit Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre refused in the last 12 months; and on what grounds each such refusal was justified.
James Brokenshire
One Hon. Member has had a request to visit Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre declined in the last twelve months.
As set out in the Detention Centre Rules 2001, visitors to immigration removal centres may only enter with the prior authorisation of the Secretary of State other than those for purposes specified under the Rules.
Requests to visit centres must be carefully considered and planned to preserve the privacy and dignity of the individuals who are detained.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with Four Seasons Health Care on the financial sustainability of that provider.
Alistair Burt
Up to September 2015, officials from the Department met with representatives from the five largest residential care providers on a quarterly basis to understand their financial position. This included Four Seasons Health Care.
From September 2015, responsibility for overseeing the finances of these providers passed on to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) Market Oversight team. CQC can confirm that it is operating the Market Oversight Regime in line with the published guidance ‘Market Oversight of difficult to replace providers of adult social care’ that can be found on CQC’s website at:
http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/market-oversight-adult-social-care
“The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the role of stakeholder banks in supporting regional growth.
Harriett Baldwin
Each quarter the British Bankers Association and the Council for Mortgage Lenders publish data showing the outstanding stock of lending in each postcode. This allows challenger banks, smaller building societies, credit unions and community development finance institutions (CDFIs) to find areas where there is a lack of lending so they can offer finance to those customers and support growth in that regional area.
The Government recognises the important role that stakeholder banks play in supporting their communities. We more commonly refer to stakeholder banks as credit unions, building societies and mutually-owned savings banks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on his Department leasing Lockheed Orion P-3 aircraft from the US administration.
Michael Fallon
I met Secretary Carter at the Pentagon on 11 December 2015 where we discussed our approach to delivering Maritime Patrol capability against the demanding timelines set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that higher education institutions make appropriate provision for disabled students who do not have complex needs.
Joseph Johnson
Higher education institutions are responsible for meeting their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010, including for students with dyslexia.
The legal duty to provide reasonable adjustments applies to all disabled students. In addition Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) are available where the needs of the student cannot be met by the institution by way of such a reasonable adjustment. A consultation on DSAs closed on 24 September and the Government response will be published in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the equipment procured by his Department was sourced from UK small and medium-sized enterprises in each year between 2010 and 2015.
Mr Philip Dunne
Cabinet Office Data published in February 2015 shows that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) combined direct and indirect expenditure with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as a proportion of total procurement spend was 19.4%. This represents some £3.9 billion in 2013-14 and £3.8 billion in 2014-15.
The MOD published details of its direct contracts with SMEs in the Finance and Economics Annual Statistical Bulletin: Trade Industry and Contracts. Details for each year since financial year 2010-11 can be found at the link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015
It should be noted that the statistics are for all contracts placed with SMEs, including those for equipment and other services.
It is the MOD’s ambition to spend 25% both directly and indirectly with SMEs by the end of this Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will fund the NextGen Skills Academy higher apprenticeships in order better to support games employers.
Nick Boles
We are introducing a UK-wide levy for all larger employers to help fund the increase in quantity and quality of apprenticeship training in England. The levy will put employers in charge of how and where apprenticeship budgets are spent by creating a fund which they can use to pay for external training for their apprentices.
As part of the apprenticeship reforms, employer-led Trailblazers are designing new apprenticeships to meet their skills needs. Over 1300 employers – including in the Digital Industries and Visual Effects sectors, such as Framestore – are currently involved in designing new apprenticeship standards. These include apprenticeships in occupations at a range of levels such as Digital & Technology Solutions Professional (L6); Software Developer (L4); Junior 2D Artist (Visual Effects) (L4); Games Quality Assurance Technician (L4) and Assistant Technical Director (Visual Effects) (L4).
The NextGen Skills Academy links to Amersham and Wycombe College and was awarded £2.7m of Employer Ownership Pilot funding for a 3 year project focusing on the VFX, animation and games industry in September 2014. The project is now led by Framestore and managed by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has received from his French, US and German counterparts on the UK’s decision to extend airstrikes to Syria.
Michael Fallon
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 December 2015 to Question 18966.