The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2015-11-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will continue to fund the Routes into Languages programme after the current funding expires in July 2016.
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
This programme is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE). HEFCE will review its spending priorities (including for Routes into Languages) in the light of its grant settlement from Government, following the Spending Review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will establish an independent inquiry to consider the costs and benefits of frozen pensions.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Any independent inquiry to consider the costs and benefits of frozen pensions for the Civil Service Pension Scheme will be a matter for the Cabinet Office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2015-11-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of calls for a UN Commission of Inquiry into alleged human rights abuses by Egyptian security forces including those alleged to have taken place in July and August 2013.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware that calls were made for a UN Commission of Inquiry shortly after the events of July and August 2013, as well as on the recent anniversary of these events. In December 2013, Interim President Adly Mansour established a Fact-Finding Committee into the events that followed the removal of former President Morsi in July 2013. The Egyptian government released an executive summary of the Committee’s findings on 26 November 2014, which included recommendations for the police, educational institutions, the legislature, investigative authorities and the media. Since the publication of the summary of the Fact-Finding Committee’s report, the UK has encouraged the Egyptian government to release the report in full, and has stressed the importance of accountability for the deaths that took place during the clearances.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress his Department is making on doubling the proportion of people from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education by 2020.
Joseph Johnson
We have taken significant steps to widen participation in higher education. In particular, from 2015/16, we have removed the cap on student numbers, enabling more people than ever before to benefit from higher education. We have also established a stronger framework with increased responsibility placed on providers to widen access. The Director of Fair Access has agreed 183 Access Agreements for 2016/17 containing an estimated £745m to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds – up from £404m in 2009/10.
The Green Paper Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141 sets out additional steps the Government plans to take to increase the proportion of students from disadvantaged background entering higher education including through the new guidance that we plan to issue to the Director of Fair Access, and through the social mobility taskforce being set up by Universities UK.
We will work with the Higher Education Funding Council for England to target the Student Opportunity Fund in the most effective way and with the Director of Fair Access to ensure that universities take more responsibility for widening access, prioritising activities that demonstrate the greatest value for money.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Attorney General, which regulations his Office introduced as a result of EU legislation in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015 to date; which regulations his Office expects to implement as a result of EU legislation in (i) 2016 and (ii) 2017; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such regulation to the (A) public purse and (B) private sector.
Robert Buckland
The Attorney General’s Office has not introduced any regulations as a result of EU legislation over the past three years and has no plans to do so during the next two years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Stuart on 2015-12-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to increase the number of students studying Spanish in schools.
Nick Gibb
Since September 2014, maintained primary schools in England must teach a modern or ancient foreign language to pupils at key stage 2 (ages 7 to 11). According to the annual language trends surveys conducted by the Centre for British Teachers, 20 per cent of primary schools taught Spanish in 2014, up from 16 per cent in 2012. In order to support the new curriculum, the government is funding nine projects across the country providing continued professional development for primary and secondary teachers, including training and resources for the teaching of Spanish.
The government took action in 2010 to halt the decline in the number of school children taking language GCSEs by introducing the English Baccalaureate. This has had a positive effect on the take up of languages in schools. The proportion of the cohort in state funded schools entered for a modern foreign language has risen from 40 per cent in 2010 to 49 per cent in 2015. Over the same period, there has been a 46 per cent rise in the number of entries for Spanish GCSE in schools in England.
The government’s goal is that, in time, at least 90 per cent of pupils enter GCSEs in the EBacc subjects of English, maths, science, humanities and languages.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the likely cost of establishing and running his extended ministerial office.
Matthew Hancock
The costs of running all parts of the Cabinet Office will be accounted for in the Department’s annual report and accounts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Fox on 2015-12-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the payment window for the single farm payment and basic payment will open.
George Eustice
The payment window for the Basic Payment Scheme 2015 runs between 1st December 2015 and 30th June 2016.
We received around 88,000 Basic Payment Scheme applications for 2015. On the 1st December, the opening of the Basic Payment Scheme 2015 payment window, we paid around 33,000 claims. This means that, as a proportion, around 62% of claims are still being processed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will ensure that any agreement on a central registry of beneficial ownership in the Cayman Islands will include access for the public with legitimate reason.
Mr Hugo Swire
I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the answer given by my Rt Hon Friend, the Member for South West Hertfordshire (David Gauke MP), the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, to questions 10437, 10438 and 10448, which sets out the criteria we expect the Overseas Territories to meet in relation to their central register of company beneficial ownership, or similarly effective system.
We are continuing our dialogue with the Anguilla authorities on this and have offered any technical support that might be required as they develop their proposals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on the emergency services mobile communications programme.
Mike Penning
The purpose of the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) is to deliver a mobile communications network for use principally by the Emergency Services – the Emergency Services Network (ESN). The ESN will deliver integrated critical voice and broadband data services to all three emergency services (3ES) and other users throughout England, Wales and Scotland. The aim is to provide a mobile communications network capable of providing the full coverage, resilience, security and public safety functionality required by the 3ES.
The procurement of the ESN is divided in 3 main procurement lots supplemented by a number of related projects. The contract for Lot 1 – Delivery Partner was awarded to Kellogg Brown and Root in August 2015 . The Home Office announced it’s intention to award contracts to Motorola – Lot 2 User Services and EE Lot 3 Mobile Services on 13th November 2015. The procurement process was halted following a legal challenge by Airwave Solutions Limited, the incumbent supplier, on 23 November 2015, the last day of the 10 day standstill period. The Home Office submitted an application to lift the automatic suspension of the procurement and had been working with Counsel preparing for a hearing in the High Court on 8th and 9th Dec.
On Saturday 5th December, the Home Office was informed that ASL would no longer contest the Home Office application to lift the suspension and that subject to the consent order being agreed by the Court today, the Home Office will seek to sign contracts with Motorola and EE on 8th December. This will then start the Mobilisation phase of the programme during which the network will be designed, built and tested over a 21 month period. The 3ES will start to use the network from late 2017 following extensive tests and trials.