The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to support a role for Chinese companies in the construction or ownership of new nuclear power stations in the UK.
Jesse Norman
It is for the private sector to fund build and operate new nuclear power stations. We welcome proposals by qualified companies for new nuclear power.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the power conferred on Ofcom to regulation offensive communications sent in the UK on (a) the internet and (b) social media platforms.
Matt Hancock
We are aware of concerns about offensive content on social media. Where this is the case Government expects social media providers to have robust process in place and act promptly when abuse is reported. The UK has strict laws governing such content, which apply equally online and offline.
Ofcom does not regulate offensive communications on either the internet or social media platforms. The Communications Act 2003 requires Ofcom to set standards to ensure that generally accepted standards are applied to the content of television and radio programmes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government’s publication, Call to End Violence against Women and Girls’ Action Plan 2014, published in March 2014, what progress has been made on putting in place a new code of practice to ensure that safe addresses of victims of domestic and sexual abuse are protected; and if he will make a statement.
Karen Bradley
Protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence remain key priorities for the Government. We will continue to improve the protection for victims and to bring offenders to justice.
The Home Office has been working with a number of relevant Government Departments to assess what processes and guidance are currently used to protect the addresses and personal information of vulnerable persons and victims of crime. We are now developing a voluntary code of practice to address the identified gaps.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department spent on advertising to raise awareness of the dangers of drug driving in 2014-15.
Andrew Jones
In 2014-15 the Department’s THINK! Drug Drive campaign supported the drug drive legislation change by informing an ‘all adult’ audience about the new law and its consequences using PR and local press ads. In addition, we targeted those most likely to drug drive (young males aged 17-34) to challenge and deter them from drug driving, using radio, digital display, video on demand and outdoor advertising.
The total spent on advertising was £1.4m.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-02-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to ensure that young people gain key transferable skills in order to increase their future employment opportunities.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
This Government is taking a series of important steps to help young people gain a good broad education with transferable skills such as literacy and numeracy, as well as employability skills from work experience.
This includes our reforms to GCSEs to ensure that they are more stretching and provide greater assurance of core literacy and numeracy than the old GCSEs. We are also reforming Functional Skills to improve the rigour and relevance of these qualifications as well as improving their recognition among employers. The new Functional Skills qualifications will be ready to teach in 2018.
As of August 2015, the condition of funding has been revised, so all 16-18 year old full-time students starting their study programme who have a grade D GCSE or equivalent in maths or English must be enrolled on a GCSE or approved IGCSE qualification in maths or English to work towards attaining a good pass.
We have also built English and maths into the heart of traineeships and apprenticeships to ensure that young people have the literacy and numeracy skills needed by employers. Our traineeship programme is supporting 16-24 year olds to gain the skills and work experience they need to be able to compete for apprenticeships and other jobs. In addition, all of the new employer-led apprenticeship standards must demonstrate acquisition of transferable skills and offer more than just training for a single job or employer. Standards must ensure that an apprentice can adapt to a variety of roles, with different employers, developing the ability to progress in their careers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fixed penalty notices have been issued by police forces for driving on a motorway lane closed with a red X in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.
Mike Penning
Information on the number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued by police forces for driving on a motorway lane closed with a red X is not available.
Driving in a motorway lane closed with a red X comes under the broader offence category ‘neglect of traffic signs’ and cannot be separately identified.
The Home Office has issued no formal guidance or instructions to the police on the enforcement of non-compliance of red X light signals. The enforcement of this offence is an operational matter for the police, as determined locally and based on local priorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of neonatal deaths in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK in each of the last ten years; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what further steps the Government plans to take to reduce the incidence of drownings of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean.
Mr David Lidington
The Government’s focus is on addressing the root causes of irregular migration so as to reduce the need for people to make perilous journeys to Europe. We have taken action to tackle smugglers and save lives at sea: HMS Enterprise is deployed as part of the EU’s counter migration operation, Operation Sophia. The UK has rescued almost 18,000 people, and disrupted suspected people smugglers, in the Mediterranean since 2015. At the G7 Summit in Japan on 27 May, the Prime Minister announced that the UK will work on a plan to boost the capability of the Libyan coastguard to stem the flow of illegal migration across the Mediterranean into Europe. Once a detailed plan has been agreed with the Libyan authorities, the UK will send a training team to assist in its implementation, and as soon as the relevant permissions and UN Security Council Resolution are in place, we will deploy a naval vessel to the South Central Mediterranean.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will meet with the hon. Member for Copeland and representatives of the Civil Nuclear Police Federation to discuss the Civil Nuclear Constabulary Police Officers’ retirement age.
Jesse Norman
The Minister responsible for matters relating to the Civil Nuclear Constabulary has agreed to meet with all parties to discuss the pension age of Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to ensure that (a) the Maximum Sustainable Yield and (b) other objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy are incorporated into UK legislation by 2020.
George Eustice
No decisions have yet been taken, although the Government remains committed to sustainable fisheries and the ending of discards, as set out in its manifesto commitments.