The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how the Green Investment Bank has been classified in the Government accounts since its creation.
Anna Soubry
UK Green Investment Bank plc has been treated as a central Government body since its establishment in 2012.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of respondents supported each of the proposals in the consultation Reforming support for failed asylum seekers and other illegal migrants.
Lord Bates
The consultation response published on 5 November 2015 provides an overview of the responses, including by category of respondent, and summarises the responses to the proposals and questions set out in the consultation document. The individual responses varied in scope, detail and the extent to which they directly addressed those proposals and questions and it is not possible therefore to quantify the responses in the manner sought.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2015-10-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average duration is of a tax credit claim.
Damian Hinds
The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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 regarding the retention by Israel of the bodies of suspected Palestinian combatants, rather than returning those bodies to their families.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Deputy Head of Mission at our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised this issue with Israel’s National Security Council Director on 18 November. We continue to urge both the Israelis and Palestinians to maintain calm and refrain from taking actions which could make peace more difficult to achieve.
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 people were assisted by the Homelessness Prevention Grant in 2014-15.
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 Baroness Jolly on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which foreign governments were consulted as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.
Lord Bridges of Headley
Discussions were offered to all London-based foreign diplomatic missions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Fleet Ready Escort met the Russian Navy Research Vessel Yantar as it passed through UK waters; and what other assets were used to monitor the Yantar once inside the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
Penny Mordaunt
The designated Fleet Ready Escort was not activated on this occasion, but remained available at high readiness. There are always a number of Royal Navy units available in UK waters at any one time and, if it is appropriate, one of those units could be reprioritised to undertake a required task. In this case, HMS Severn was better placed to respond, and it made the most operational sense for her to undertake this task.
I am withholding further details of our capabilities and programmes as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the focus in the current dietary advice by NHS Choices to people with diabetes or who are pre-diabetic on the possible benefits of a diet combining protein with low glycemic load carbohydrates.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Public Health England (PHE) advocates a healthy balanced diet for all based on the eatwell plate; the national healthy eating guide. The eatwell plate shows for a healthy balanced diet people should try to eat plenty of starchy foods, fruit and vegetables, some milk, dairy, meat, fish and other non-dairy sources of protein and only small amounts of food and drinks high in fat and/or sugar.
The Government takes a whole population approach to healthy eating, and therefore does not provide specific dietary advice to individuals with medical needs. It is recommended for anyone with a medical condition who is in search of dietary advice to consult their local general practitioner or a dietician.
In July 2015, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published its report on Carbohydrates and Health, a review of the latest evidence on dietary carbohydrates and health. SACN recommended reducing sugar consumption, increasing fibre consumption and minimising consumption of sugars-sweetened drinks. A copy of Carbohydrates and Health is attached.
Following publication, advice on what constitutes a healthy balanced diet, for the general population, which includes those with diabetes, was updated to reflect SACN’s recommendations. As part of this, PHE is undertaking a review of the eatwell plate; the refreshed resource will be launched in early 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to improve access to second language teaching in primary schools.
Nick Gibb
Since September 2014, maintained primary schools in England must teach a modern foreign or ancient language to pupils at key stage 2 (ages 7 to 11). Schools can choose which language or languages to teach and should enable pupils to make substantial progress in one language by the end of primary school.
To support the introduction of a compulsory foreign language at key stage 2, the government is funding nine projects across the country to provide training for primary and secondary teachers. These projects bring together teaching school alliances, university-led consortia of schools, and a national organisation, the Association for Language Learning.
In addition, the EBacc has had a positive effect on the take up of languages in schools, with a rise in the proportion of the cohort in state funded schools entered for a modern foreign language rising from 40% of pupils in 2010 to a provisional figure of 49% in 2015.
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 Bahrain following the arrest of Issa Al-Tajer, the father of the president of Lawyers for Human Rights.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We understand from lawyer Mohammad Isa Al Tajer that his father is not in detention however his brother, Ali Isa Al Tajer, remains in detention following his arrest on 5th November 2015. His arrest was prompted by the discovery of a “secret tunnel” below one of the houses his company built in a village. Investigations are ongoing and charges remain unclear. We continue to monitor the situation closely.