The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.
Michael Fallon
Special Advisers provide policy, political, and communications advice to Ministers, across the business of the Department in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-03-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have received an explanation from the government of the United States as to why the approved biometric permit enrolment centres are delayed in that country; what is the revised targeted roll-out date; and what steps they are currently taking to assist those applying under the UKF form citizenship route to achieve their UK citizenship in a timely manner, whilst those centres are facing delays in implementation.
Lord Keen of Elie
The use of US Application Support Centers (ASCs) to capture biometrics for nationality (‘citizenship’) applications has required new IT provisions, as well as a refreshed Memorandum of Understanding. These changes have required the approval of both the US Department of Homeland Security and the State Department. Agreement has drawn on our strong existing relationships, but due to competing priorities has taken longer than expected.
There were some initial challenges in delivering the intricate IT arrangements, resulting in delays in implementation; these have now been resolved and the IT is in place.
We have advised applicants of the reasons for the delay and have put in place provisions for customers in urgent cases to attend the UK Visa office at the UK Consulate in New York to exceptionally enrol their biometrics there.
Within the last week, the necessary authority has been received to proceed and we will now move to urgently finalise arrangements. We hope to be able to complete the necessary contractual work as a priority and then to begin the roll out as soon as possible thereafter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2016 to Question 32962, how her Department calculated that the Climate Ready Support Service enabled hundreds of organisations to understand their climate risk and take action; and what the exact number of such organisations was.
Rory Stewart
The Environment Agency does not have exact figures for the number of organisations accessing the Climate Ready Support Service because the service worked extensively through partners and intermediaries, as well as directly with organisations.
The number given in my previous answer was calculated using statistics that the Environment Agency does have available, for example:
Download statistics show that over 8000 businesses have used the Climate Ready Business Resilience Health Check tool online.
The service, in partnership with Climate UK, provided training and qualifications in business resilience, including preparing for severe weather and climate change, to over 300 business advisors and small businesses (SMEs).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether healthcare professionals in Greater Manchester expressed support for the introduction of charging for (a) primary care and (b) emergency care in response to his Department’s consultation, Making a fair contribution: consultation on the extension of charging overseas visitors and migrants using the NHS in England.
Alistair Burt
The Government is currently analysing responses to this consultation and will publish its response in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support the Government gave to Lord Davies during his work to produce his report on women on boards.
Margot James
Lord Davies chaired the independent and business-led Women on Boards review from 2010 to 2015 to increase the representation of women on FTSE 100 boards to 25% by 2015.
The former department (BIS) provided a small secretariat to support his work. A number of sponsors and stakeholders also contributed to the successful publishing of his reports.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris White on 2016-10-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policy on Yemen of the airstrike in Sanaa on 8 October 2016.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
I visited Riyadh on 13 October and met with Saudi Foreign Minister Al Jubeir to discuss the airstrike on a funeral hall and efforts to revive the stalled political process in Yemen. I welcome the release of the report by the Coalition’s Joint Incidents Assessment Team into the incident. This will be used to contribute to our overall view on the approach and attitude of Saudi Arabia to international humanitarian law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what modelling his Department has conducted on future growth of apprenticeship numbers in individual sectors of the UK economy.
Nick Boles
Apprenticeships are paid jobs and their availability is employer demand-led, so we do not publish future forecasts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to amend social care charging guidance so that compensation awarded to military veterans injured before 6 April 2005 is fully disregarded from financial assessments for support.
Alistair Burt
Armed forces veterans injured in service receive payments either through the War Disablement Pension (WDP) or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS). The AFCS applies to veterans injured from 6 April 2005. These payments are divided into a personal injury compensation element and other payments. Traditionally, only the personal injury compensation payment has been fully disregarded.
Since October 2012 Guaranteed Income Payments made to veterans under the AFCS have been disregarded. The Department has been in discussion with the Royal British Legion about how WDP payments are treated. Currently the first £10 per week of WDP payments is disregarded. The Government is considering how WDP payments to veterans should be treated in the financial assessment for social care charging in future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26611, whether the Clean Growth Committee has met to discuss air quality.
Rory Stewart
The inter-Ministerial group on Clean Growth considers issues relating to air quality and decarbonisation where these have a cross-Departmental aspect. To protect the integrity of the policy making process, we do not comment on what was discussed at a specific meeting.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-03-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of rising house prices, they intend to make representations to the Bank of England discouraging it from reducing interest rates.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The UK’s monetary policy framework, set out in the Bank of England Act 1998, gives operational responsibility for monetary policy to the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Decisions on the use of monetary policy tools are for the judgement of the MPC.