The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many GCSE exam papers have been sent to other countries to be marked this year.
Nick Gibb
This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to increase enforcement rates for the national minimum wage.
Nick Boles
The Government is committed to cracking down on employers who break the National Minimum Wage (NMW) law. In 2014/15, HMRC conducted 2,204 investigations into potential NMW non-compliance, totalling £3,291,529 of arrears for 26,318 workers.
This is up from 1,455 investigations conducted in 2013/14, totalling £4,645,547
of arrears for 22,610 workers.
Building on our existing reforms, the Prime Minister announced on 1 September 2015 further measures to strengthen the enforcement of the NMW. These include:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people from a working class background were recruited onto the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme in each year since its inception.
Matthew Hancock
To govern modern Britain, the Civil Service needs to look and sound likemodern Britain. We need access to the broadest possible pool of talent, drawing on peoplefrom all backgrounds and all parts of the country.
The Civil Service is implementing a number of initiatives to recruit individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds onto the Fast Stream and Fast Track Apprenticeship schemes, including internship programmes, schools and colleges mentoring and discovery days, work experience programmes and engagement with universities with a high representation of lower socio-economic students.
Information on the socio-economic status of recent appointees to the SCS was published in 2014,and the socio-economic status of Fast-Stream applicants has been published since 2011.
In 2015 16.8% of new joiners to the Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme were from lower socio-economic backgrounds, up from 8.5% in 2013/14. From 2015 this data will be published as part of the Fast Stream applicants publication.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what forecast he has made of whether the total stock of local authority homes will increase or decrease in the next five years.
Brandon Lewis
Whilst we have made no forecast of what the stock of council homes will be over the next 5 years, I do note that more council houses have been built since 2010 than were built in the entire 13 years of a Labour Government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether all UK service personnel deployed to malarial areas since 2013 have been individually assessed for contraindications for mefloquine; and what the method of assessment was for those who were individually assessed.
Mark Lancaster
Since 2013, it has been Ministry of Defence policy that mefloquine should only be prescribed after an individual risk assessment. To verify that an individual assessment has been undertaken in every case since 2013 would require the examination of the medical records of all individuals who have deployed since 2013. This could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.
Templates exist to optimise consistency in the preparation of personnel requiring anti-malarials, including mefloquine. Defence Primary Healthcare has a malaria protocol to guide clinicians to use these templates. Work is currently in hand to develop it further, taking previous lessons into account, to ensure that all individuals are assessed in a consistent manner.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2015 to Question 7974, what research her Department has conducted into the ease of switching energy supplier.
Andrea Leadsom
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has, as part of its investigation into the energy market, commissioned research into consumer experiences and views of the energy market including the ease of switching energy supplier.
The CMA investigation is still ongoing but the report it commissioned has already been published can be found at:
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what regulatory arrangements apply to potential measures to control and cull invasive non-native waterfowl.
George Eustice
Defra, in conjunction with the Great Britain Non-Native Species Secretariat, takes the problems and risks associated with non-native waterfowl very seriously. Since the 1990s Defra has commissioned and invested in a range of research projects, carried out by the Animal and Plant Health Agency, on invasive non-native waterfowl, including an assessment of the options for large-scale control and field trials of removal techniques for Egyptian geese. Additionally, best practice management guidelines have been published for Canada geese.
Since 2005 Defra has also supported the UK Ruddy Duck Eradication Programme, and recently, established an Invasive Species Action Plan for the sacred ibis, and is developing an action plan for zoos to reduce the risk of escapes of all species, including waterfowl.
Section 14(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it illegal to release or allow to escape into the wild, any animal or plant which is not ordinarily resident in Great Britain and is not a regular visitor to Great Britain in a wild state, or is listed in Schedule 9 to the Act. This applies to all animals including waterfowl. An amendment to the 1981 Act, introduced this year in the Infrastructure Act 2015, introduced the provision of Species Control Orders, which can be used to remove any non-native species where they cause significant threats to biodiversity, the water environment, human health or the economy, in cases where a voluntary approach with landowners has otherwise failed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent violence in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
I am extremely concerned by the violence that we have seen across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in recent weeks. This only strengthens my conviction that a negotiated two state solution is of the greatest urgency. We continue to consult with international partners as to the best means to make progress towards that goal, and to encourage the parties to take steps which lead us towards peace. In the current circumstances we are encouraging both sides to promote calm and avoid taking actions which could make peace more difficult. On 9 October, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) spoke to President Abbas and urged him to do everything in his power to reduce tensions and restore calm. My officials and I have also been pushing the parties to implement steps that improve the situation on the ground and preserve the viability of the two state solution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects Public Health England’s Evidence into Action review of the evidence on reducing sugar consumption to be published.
Jane Ellison
There are no plans to introduce a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks. However all taxes are kept under review, with decisions being a matter for the Chancellor as part of the Budget process.
Public Health England’s (PHE) report Sugar Reduction: The evidence for action was published on the GOV.UK website on 22 October. We continue to work very closely with PHE and this evidence is integral to our ongoing policy development. We will publish our childhood obesity strategy in the new year.
Sugar Reduction: The evidence for action is available at:
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in each Parliamentary constituency to whom the cap on care costs would have applied in 2016-17 if brought into force.
Alistair Burt
We remain committed to the implementation of the cap on care costs, which will offer financial protection and peace of mind. The decision to delay followed careful consideration of feedback from stakeholders that April 2016 was not the right time to implement these significant and expensive reforms. The benefits of the cap have had to be weighed against the need to focus on supporting local authorities in caring for the most vulnerable.
Information regarding how many people will be affected by the delay by constituency is not held in the format requested.
Means-tested financial support remains available for those who cannot afford to pay for care to meet their eligible needs.