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Tag: 2015

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many complaints the Citizens Advice consumer helpline has received about ticket resale websites.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government has not made a separate assessment of complaints made to the Citizens Advice Helpline at this time , but the Government is committed to reducing consumer detriment from ticket mis-selling and is supporting an independently-led review of consumer protection measures for ticket re-sale websites. The Government awaits the recommendations of this Review and will report its conclusions to Parliament by 26 May 2016.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage other countries to fulfil their commitments to funding initiatives to tackle HIV, TB and malaria.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK government supports calls for shared responsibility and global solidarity in the response to HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

    We strongly believe countries should commit according to their ability to contribute. The UK uses fora such as the UNAIDS and Global Fund board meetings to urge other countries to contribute their fair share to end AIDS, TB and Malaria.

    The UK is also helping to build the evidence that additional domestic resources invested in health can provide high returns, e.g. through the work of the Commission on Investing in Health.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to educate children at schools about the health implications of excessive alcohol consumption.

    Edward Timpson

    Effective drug and alcohol education is essential in tackling the problem of drug and alcohol misuse.In the science curriculum, pupils should be taught to recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way their bodies function at Key Stage 2. At Key Stage 3 pupils should be taught about the effects of recreational drugs (including substance misuse) on behaviour, health and life processes.

    In addition, schools have the autonomy to tailor their local Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) education programme to reflect the needs of their pupils, including teaching about alcohol consumption. Schools can draw on the resources and evidence provided by experts and use tools such as ADEPIS (Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Information Service). In March 2013 the department launched a new drug and alcohol information and advice service for practitioners. This provides practitioners and commissioners with accurate, up-to-date information and resources on what works and can be found at: http://mentor-adepis.org/

    “

  • Vernon Coaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Vernon Coaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress she has made on the establishment of the Joint Agency Task Force on cross-jurisdictional organised crime.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Following the Fresh Start Agreement I recently attended a tri-lateral cross-border Ministerial meeting along with the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government. At the meeting we agreed new measures to enhance law enforcement co-operation aimed at tackling organised crime and criminality, including that linked to paramilitarism. In a concerted effort to tackle cross-jurisdictional organised crime, a Joint Agency Task Force has been announced by the United Kingdom Government, the Irish Government and the NI Executive.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to (a) measure the number of butterflies and (b) restore butterfly habitats.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra publishes an annual indicator on butterfly abundance, using data collected by volunteers. Large fluctuations are typical of butterfly populations but in England the indicator shows that butterfly numbers have generally fallen since 1990, although with numbers of some common species stabilising over the last five years.

    In England, we will take forward our manifesto commitment to produce a 25 year strategy for the environment, which will include biodiversity. Our approach will be designed to meet the habitat needs of many species including butterflies. In England’s National Pollinator Strategy we are aiming to expand flower rich habitats across different types of land to benefit pollinators including butterflies.

    The England network of protected areas provides benefits for many species even when those areas are not specifically designated for the conservation of those particular species. This network includes local and national sites protected under domestic legislation and international sites protected under European and International law. Some of these sites are specifically designated for species of particular importance, including the marsh fritillary butterfly, which is a notified feature of a number of Special Areas of Conservation, designated under the Habitats Directive.

    Agri-environment schemes play a major role in the conservation of butterflies in England. For instance, across grassland habitats in Dorset, between 1990 and 2010 the marsh fritillary increased in abundance by around 278% on land managed under these schemes.

    In the summer of 2014 the critically endangered high brown fritillary experienced its best season since 2004 with numbers increasing by more than 180% as compared to 2013 across Dartmoor, Exmoor, and Morecambe Bay in Lancashire and sites in the Lake District.

    The Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package in the new Countryside Stewardship scheme contain options to improve habitats and provide nectar sources for butterflies. It will play a key role in supporting the National Pollinator Strategy.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) staff are working temporarily at a higher grade to cover a vacancy; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such arrangements on the relationship between DVSA staff and management.

    Andrew Jones

    Temporary promotion allows the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to develop people and give them opportunities to gain new skills and experiences; it would always seek to make use of this opportunity.

    At the last quarter 376 people within DVSA were on a form of temporary promotion, this includes opportunities to cover vacancies but also to conduct fixed term projects at a higher grade.

    Since the creation of DVSA there have been a greater number of people on temporary promotion than normally expected and has started to address this with permanent recruitment.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Afghan government on sexual abuse of and physical attacks on young boys and girls in Afghanistan.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK continues to raise this issue both with the Government of Afghanistan and in multilateral fora. We welcome the Government of Afghanistan’s public commitment of support for human rights and eliminating violence against women and girls, most recently at the September 2015 Senior Officials Meeting in Kabul.

    Through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund almost £400,000 has been allocated to address the psychological needs of victims of sexual harassment and violence; support state institutions to improve their response to victims; and raise awareness of the threats.

    We are also funding the United Nations Population Fund in Afghanistan (UNFPA) to provide family protection units, which will include psychological aftercare for survivors of sexual violence. This complements the Department for International Development’s work to strengthen access to justice for survivors of violence.

    Afghanistan is one of six focus countries for the UK’s National Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security, for which there is a joint implementation plan across FCO, MOD, and DFID. We have also been involved and continue to support the Afghan National Action and Implementation plan.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Return to Work plans produced by the Fit for Work service made recommendations to employers which were accepted in full since the launch of that service.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The number and proportion of Return to Work Plans produced by the Fit for Work service that made recommendations to employers which were accepted in full is not readily available and to provide the information requested would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to introduce blood tests for the detection of ovarian cancer on the NHS.

    George Freeman

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 23 November 2015 to Question 16523.

    “

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of (1) all multi-academy trusts, and (2) multi-academy trusts with at least five schools, achieve above average value added.

    Earl of Courtown

    Value added scores are routinely published for individual schools as part of the department’s performance tables, which include the functionality to filter results by an academy sponsor.

    The department does not publish a summary of value added scores for each academy chain or multi-academy trust. Simple aggregations of performance measures can lead to misleading conclusions about performance within a chain since they will often reflect the type of schools that have entered into the chain relationship.

    Earlier this year, the department published a statistical working paper to consider how these issues may be addressed and invited comments from users. This can be found in the attachment to this answer.