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Tag: 2016

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the last three exercises were carried out under the Five Powers Defence Arrangements; and how many armed forces (a) personnel and (b) assets were used in each of those exercises.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The last three exercises carried out under the Five Powers Defence Arrangements were:

    Exercise Suman Warrior 15 (27 July-6 August 2015). Eight UK Armed Forces personnel deployed on this exercise. No UK military ships or aircraft were deployed.

    Exercise Bersama Shield (8 May – 18 May 2015). 21 UK Armed Forces personnel and one JSATO DA20 (Joint Services Air Tasking Organisation) aircraft were deployed on this exercise.

    Exercise Bersama Lima (7-21 October 2014). 163 UK Armed Forces personnel and six Typhoon aircraft were deployed on this exercise.

  • John Glen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Glen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the emergency operations capability of Public Health England.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department and Public Health England (PHE) have specific responsibilities for planning and managing the response to emergencies and health protection incidents and outbreaks in an extended team that works across government. The Department commissions PHE to exercise specific functions on behalf of the Secretary of State under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, including a duty to ensure effective plans are in place, take part in national exercises, and co-ordinate responses. The Secretary of State has cross-government responsibility to provide assurance on the health system’s emergency preparedness. Thus PHE is required to complete an annual assurance exercise for the Department to ensure arrangements are in place for a sustainable and interoperable response in the event of an incident, emergency or business continuity event.

    The PHE National Emergency Operations Centre operates when the response requires national leadership and co-ordination. It coordinates PHE’s activities and as one of its functions produces briefings and situation reports for Ministers, the Cabinet Office briefing room system and officials.

    PHE was established in 2013. The National Emergency Operations function was previously carried out by the former Health Protection Agency. Therefore the Department has not been able to specifically identify the historical costs of creating the National Incident Coordination Centre in 2011.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 6 June 2016, Official Report, column 825, what the source is for the comments attributed to the Leader of Hull City Council.

    Greg Clark

    The source was the Hull Daily Mail on the 4th February 2016. The full article can be found through the following link:

    http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/Hull-people-happy-UK-average-official-statistics/story-28672567-detail/story.html

    “

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to publish the reviews carried out by his Department on the deaths of social security claimants since 2014.

    Damian Hinds

    All our currently published reviews can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-foi-releases-for-may-2016

    “

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with EU Science Commissioner Carlos Moedas on potential discrimination against UK academics who bid for EU funding.

    Joseph Johnson

    I am in close contact with Commissioner Moedas, who has responsibility for EU science, research and innovation and we have both publicly emphasised the importance of continuing to work together to produce high quality research. In addition, the European Commission has made it clear that while the UK remains a member of the EU, proposals from, or including, UK applicants must be treated in the same way as applications from other Member States. The Department remains vigilant and open to evidence of problems in this area. Specific instances of these problems can be fed back to the email address research@beis.gov.uk.

    “

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether an incident of sectarian violence against Protestant families took place in Chiapas, Mexico, on 4 January; and what representations they have made about that incident to the government of Mexico.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While British officials in Mexico City have not yet been in touch with the Mexican authorities on this specific reported incident, our Embassy has for some time been in touch with a range of Mexico and UK-based non-government organisations about discriminatory violence against Protestant families in Chiapas. The most recent reported incident on 4 January seems to suggest an escalation in this violence. Our Embassy also regularly lobbies to ensure the perpetrators of all crimes are brought to justice and that all minority groups are respected and, where appropriate, offered protection.

    We continually raise the issue of freedom of religion or belief in bilateral and multilateral fora. This forms a core part of our human rights work and we frequently raise security and human rights concerns with Mexico. For example, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron); the then Deputy Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr Clegg), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed human rights issues during the State Visit of President Enrique Peña Nieto to the UK in March 2015.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much central government funding has been allocated to programmes in (a) Salford City Council and (b) Salford and Eccles constituency to reduce and prevent homelessness in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16 to date.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness. We have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20. This builds on the Spending Review commitment to increase central government funding to £139 million over the next four years. We will work with homelessness organisations to consider other options, including legislation, to ensure those at risk of homelessness get earlier and more effective support.

    Funding is allocated at a local authority level. Salford City Council was allocated the following amounts based on the homelessness prevention funding formula within the Local Government Finance Settlement:

    – 2014-2015: £70,591

    – 2015-2016: £70,319

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Bahrainian counterpart on the arrest and sentencing of Ebrahim Sharif by that government.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We have raised Ibrahim Sharif’s case with the Government of Bahrain. We regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain, and call on the Bahraini Government to act proportionately in all such cases to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression and assembly. I most recently raised the issue of human rights when I met with the Bahraini Foreign Minister on 4 February.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of her Department’s reform of AS and A-level qualifications on the number of hours of study students are undertaking in post-16 education.

    Nick Gibb

    The number of guided learning hours for AS and A levels have not changed as a result of our reforms. However, with the move to linear qualifications, there will no longer be the routine and automatic external assessment of students at the end of year 12 which places unnecessary burdens on students’ and teachers’ time.

    Study programmes are funded per student rather than per qualification. Funding rates are based on an average of 600 hours per year of planned activities per student.

  • Naz Shah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Naz Shah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many contracts have been terminated early by the Skills Funding Agency due to the provider being at risk of failure in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.

    Nick Boles

    The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) does not terminate contracts on the grounds of a provider being ‘at risk of failure’.