The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the potential for Russia to use submarines to monitor internet traffic through undersea cables.
Mr David Lidington
Her Majesty’s Government continually assesses a range of possible threats to the UK’s infrastructure and interests.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to bring into force section 31 of the Welfare Reform Act 2009.
Priti Patel
There are no current plans to bring into force Section 31 of the Welfare Reform Act 2009.
The claimant commitment, which Work Coaches put together with claimants,
sets requirements that are tailored for a broad range of circumstances, including for matters relating to the wellbeing of children. These reasonable requirements are recorded within the jobseeker’s agreement or action plan.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in each of the last five years had Tourette’s syndrome.
Alistair Burt
Studies estimate that 200,000 – 300,000 people in the United Kingdom are affected by Tourette’s syndrome. Information concerning how many people had Tourette’s syndrome in each of the last five years is not collected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for (a) jobseeker’s allowance and (b) employment and support allowance were terminated as a result of a disallowance which followed a sanction in the most recent month for which figures are available.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to prevent jihadists recruiting young people through social media sites.
Mr John Hayes
Extremist and terrorist organisations such as ISIL are using the internet to disseminate propaganda and recruit individuals to their groups or to support their aims. Despite the vast majority of British Muslims wanting nothing to do with ISIL, some vulnerable individuals, including young people, are being misled by ISIL’s damaging propaganda through its use of social media sites.
We are therefore working with responsible social media companies to take robust action against terrorist material. Since 2010, over 110,000 pieces of terrorist-related material have been removed at the request of the dedicated Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). We are pressing social media companies to take stronger, faster and further action to combat the use of their services by terrorist and extremist groups. We want to see a zero tolerance approach to terrorist activity on their networks. We are also working in partnership with civil society organisations prepared to confront the extremist narratives online, increasing their confidence and capability to challenge extremist content effectively and to provide credible alternatives.
We have seen an increase in the pace and scale of terrorist communications by groups such as ISIL, encouraging vulnerable young people to travel to conflict zones like Syria and Iraq. Therefore, it is essential that we equip young people with an awareness of the dangers of terrorist and extremist propaganda and the skills they need to protect themselves from it. The Home Office funds local projects that encourage young people to think critically about potentially harmful or extremist views presented on the internet through addressing all forms of radicalisation.
The Prevent statutory duty introduced this year places an obligation on specified authorities to have due regard to preventing people from being drawn into terrorism. This includes, where relevant, having policies in place relating to the use of IT equipment and considering whether IT equipment should use filtering solutions that limit access to terrorist and extremist material. The Channel programme, which is part of the Prevent duty, is a multi-agency process designed to stop people being drawn into terrorism or terrorist related activity. People identified as being at risk of radicalisation from any source, including online radicalisation, are offered tailored support to address their vulnerability. This support often involves specialist intervention providers who understand the ideology of terrorism and extremism and will seek to steer the vulnerable people away from it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2015-11-30.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the current visa categories and visa application processes in line with their Britain is GREAT campaign, which welcomes the world to visit
Lord Bates
We keep all categories of entry and the application process under regular review. The Home Office recently concluded a wide ranging review and consultation that led to the changes to the Immigration Rules for visitors in April this year. The changes included consolidation and simplification of all visitor categories from fifteen into four routes to provide flexibility on the activities a visitor can do, as well as some expansion of the permitted activities. These included business related activities such as participating in or running training courses, meetings and conferences.
Under the Immigration Rules visitors are allowed to teach one-off classroom sessions in the UK without pay and their sponsors are welcome to provide funding for flights and accommodation.
More details on what people can do when visiting the UK and how to apply can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa and the detailed Immigration Rules for Visitors can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-v-visitor-rules
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many air passengers have made claims against airline companies for flight delays in each of the last five years; and how many such claims have been successful.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government does not hold this data, it is owned by the individual airlines. The Civil Aviation Authority, as the National Enforcement Body under EU Regulation 261/2004 on Air Passenger Rights, does however collate and publish data on complaints that it receives from passengers. This information can be found on the CAA website:
http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=80&pagetype=88&pageid=27&sglid=27.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2015-11-30.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships were created in the last Parliament (1) nationally, and (2) in North Lincolnshire, and how many they are intending to create during this Parliament.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
There have been 324,800 apprenticeship starts in the manufacturing technologies sector subject area nationally in the last parliament (May 2010 to April 2015).
In North Lincolnshire Local Authority there have been 1,500 apprenticeship starts in the manufacturing technologies sector subject area in the last parliament (May 2010 to April 2015).
We are committed to reaching 3 million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020.
The locations and sectors where apprenticeships are available are determined by employers choosing to offer apprenticeships and recruit apprentices. We have therefore set no specific regional targets.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-11-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the welfare budget was spent on child benefit in 2014-15.
Damian Hinds
The latest available estimates of Child Benefit expenditure in 2014-15 can be found in Table 4.19 of the publication ‘Economic and fiscal outlook – July 2015’ available here: http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/economic-fiscal-outlook-july-2015/
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-30.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any treaty obligations that the development of a solution for the disposition of plutonium will have to meet, and if so, what are those obligations.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Any solution for the disposition of plutonium will need to be fully compliant with the UK’s obligations under such treaties as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and the Euratom Treaty (including any Euratom directives issued thereunder, for example the COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2013/59/EURATOM of 5 December 2013, which requires safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation). The particular treaty obligations that may be triggered will depend on the nature of the chosen disposition solution.