The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-10-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support his Department is providing to the spirits industry in Scotland.
Damian Hinds
The government is committed to supporting the spirits industry in Scotland. The duty on spirits was cut by 2% at March Budget 2015, building on the duty freeze at Budget 2014. These measures have benefited the Scotch whisky industry in addition to the overall spirits industry across the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel following reports that the Israeli army is preventing a Palestinian woman from travelling to her own wedding ceremony in Jordan.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities over this specific issue. We do, however, remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised this issue with Israeli National Security Advisor Cohen on 2 November. Our Consul-General to Jerusalem also raised this issue with the Mayor of Jerusalem on 28 October.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities have contacted his Department on the future of the Homelessness Prevention Grant in the last six months.
Mr Marcus Jones
Homelessness prevention grant is part of our £500 million investment in local authority and voluntary sector homelessness services. It has helped local authorities to prevent 935,800 households from becoming homeless since 2010 and assisted 220,800 in 2014-15 alone.
The Government does not evaluate the effectiveness of local authority grants including the Homelessness Prevention Grant. As democratically elected organisations, local authorities are independent from Central Government and are responsible for managing their budgets in line with local priorities. Since 2010, local councils have had more flexibility over how they spend the money they receive from central government. Together with the money raised through council tax and other local sources, they have considerable freedom to work with their residents to decide how best to spend available resources on local priorities.
My Department regularly engages with a wide range of partners on homelessness prevention. We have received five written representations directly from local authorities on the future of the grant since April 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 17 November (HL3184), how many electoral registration officers have visited schools and colleges in the last twelve months; and what proportion of the total number of electoral registration officers that figure represents.
Lord Bridges of Headley
This information is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) assets and (b) personnel of his Department took part in NATO Exercise Dragon 2015 in collaboration with the Polish armed forces.
Penny Mordaunt
Exercise Dragon 15 was a Polish-led multinational exercise involving up to 7,000 personnel and 900 combat vehicles at multiple training locations across Poland. The UK contribution to the exercise is a clear demonstration of the UK’s significant support to NATO’s Assurance Measures which are designed to reassure East European NATO members and deter aggression against them. Totalling approximately 1,350 Army personnel and around 400 vehicles, Exercise Dragon 15 constituted the largest UK armoured deployment in Eastern Europe in 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government at what level the UK will be represented in the Open Ended Working Group established on 5 November by the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (Disarmament and International Security) and to be convened in Geneva.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK and the four other Non-Proliferation Treaty Nuclear Weapons States voted against the Resolution “Taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations” in the UN General Assembly First Committee earlier this month which established an Open Ended Working Group. The Government believes that productive results can only be ensured through a consensus-based approach that takes into account the wider global security environment. We remain open to an appropriately-mandated Open Ended Working Group provided that it is conducive to a constructive dialogue and we are considering whether to attend the meeting in Geneva in 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will assess the effect of the lack of a support mechanism for small-scale wind projects in Northern Ireland on those projects.
Andrea Leadsom
Energy policy is devolved in Northern Ireland and it is for Ministers in Northern Ireland to decide on what support mechanisms they deem appropriate.
The primary focus of the current review of the Feed-in Tariffs is to ensure generators are incentivised appropriately whilst seeking views on how to control future costs.We therefore do not consider it appropriate at this moment to extend the scope of the scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Turkey, following the killing on 15 November in Nusaybin of Selamet Yesilmen; and whether they intend to call for full compensation for killed and injured civilians and property damaged throughout south-eastern Turkey.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware of the case of Selamet Yesilmen, who was killed in clashes between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Turkish authorities in Nusaybin, and closely monitor the human rights situation across Turkey, including the southeast. As we have made clear, the PKK must cease its violence and the peace process needs to be resumed, in the interests of Turkey and the wider region.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the new Israel Defence Forces rules of engagement with Palestinian stone-throwers, and the Israeli sentencing policy towards those individuals.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware of press reports of changes to Israel Defence Forces Rules of Engagement. We are also aware of changes to sentencing policy. Like all countries, Israel has a right to defend its citizens from attack and to hold perpetrators of attacks to account. We nevertheless regularly raise with Israel concerns over the use of force, including lethal force, by Israeli security authorities. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv did this most recently on 4 November with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Envoy on the Peace Process, Isaac Molho, stressing the need for proportionality and proper accountability.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of (a) (i) men, (ii) women and (iii) people aged 16 to 24 and (b) people aged (i) 16 to 24, (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 20, (iv) 21 to 22 and (v) 23 to 24 had been unemployed for more than 12 months on the last date for which figures are available.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.