The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his (a) US counterpart and (b) other NATO counterparts on the role of the 77th Brigade.
Penny Mordaunt
None.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when funding bands for apprenticeships starting after April 2017 will be published.
Robert Halfon
Details of proposed funding bands for existing apprenticeship frameworks and standards were published on 12 August: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-proposals-for-funding-from-may-2017. The proposals were supported by a short employer survey which closed on 5 September.
We aim to publish final funding bands for apprenticeship frameworks and standards in October for those that start on or after 1 May 2017.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cleverly on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what contribution from the public purse has been made to the Commonwealth Secretariat in each of the last five years; and how much the UK is expected to so provide in each of the next five years.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK remains the largest financial contributor to the Commonwealth Secretariat, providing around 32% of the total budget. To establish a reasonable baseline, financial contributions to the Secretariat’s general budget are based on scales agreed at the UN. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) assessed contributions for the last five years were as follows:
2011/2012 £5,168,586
2012/2013 £5,262,654
2013/2014 £5,326,331
2014/2015 £5,455,484
2015/2016 £5,469,640
UN scales of assessment 2016 – 2018 were agreed in New York in December 2015. They will form the basis for future FCO contributions to the Secretariat’s general budget. Under existing Commonwealth guidelines, the budget is shared amongst the membership in accordance with three principles: Capacity to Pay, Equitable burden sharing and shared ownership and responsibility. This ensures that all members enjoy an equal voice within the organisation.
In addition to FCO assessed contributions, the Department for International Development also makes voluntary contributions to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation and a number of Commonwealth programmes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward proposals to require local authorities to conduct a needs assessment of local sexual health and contraceptive services before issuing tenders.
Jane Ellison
The Department’s Framework for Sexual Health Promotion in England (2013) sets out our ambitions and objectives to improve sexual health for all people. It takes account of the commissioning arrangements from 2013 including the new role for local authorities (LAs) as commissioners of most sexual health services. Later this month Public Health England (PHE) will undertake a survey of local commissioning arrangements for sexual health. It has also produced sexual health and reproductive health profiles to help LAs and others monitor the sexual and reproductive health of their populations and the performance of local public health related systems.
It is for LAs to decide on what research and evidence they need to inform their tenders for sexual health and reproductive health services in line with procurement requirements and good practice. In 2014 PHE published Making it Work, a guide to commissioning for sexual health across the whole system, to improve the sexual health of both individuals and the wider public.
We have made no formal assessment of the effect on sexual health services of reductions in the Public Health Grant to LAs for 2015/16, although PHE continues to monitor relevant outcomes data for every LA in England. Decisions on local public health spending are a matter for LAs. They are mandated by legislation to commission open access sexual health services that meet the needs of their local population. Officials meet regularly with sexual health organisations who would raise any concerns if LAs were not meeting their mandatory requirements for sexual health services.
The Framework for Sexual Health Improvement includes as a priority reducing unwanted pregnancies and highlights the need to increase access to long acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods and emergency contraception for women of all ages. We have no plans to evaluate the effect on general practitioner surgeries of LA commissioning of LARCs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support her Department offers to people affected by overpowering odour escapes from landfill sites.
Rory Stewart
The permits issued to landfill operators by the Environment Agency under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 regulations include conditions covering the management of odour. Operators of landfill sites are required to take appropriate measures to prevent odour pollution or minimise it when prevention is not practicable.
In addition, as landfill sites are likely to give rise to odour problems operators are often required to submit an Odour Management Plan (OMP) for approval to the Environment Agency. The provisions in a site’s OMP, once it is approved, are treated as part of the permit and must be complied with.
The Environment Agency undertakes routine monitoring to verify compliance with permit conditions and will respond to and investigate public complaints about odour. The Environment Agency will consider enforcement action to ensure compliance with permit conditions in accordance with its published guidance on enforcement and sanctions.
Environmental permitting will usually provide sufficient protection against overpowering odour from landfill sites. If not, Local Authorities also have powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to take action against smell from industry, trade or business premises if found to be a statutory nuisance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) stakeholders involved in poverty reduction in Malawi on the contents of a new tax treaty with Malawi.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The Secretary of State for International Development has not had any such discussions. Negotiation of tax treaties with the UK is carried out by officials from HM Revenue and Customs under the direction of HM Treasury ministers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure charities in receipt of public funds do not express a view on the forthcoming European Union Referendum.
John Penrose
The rules on campaigning at the referendum are set out in the European Union Referendum Act 2015 and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. There is no general restriction on institutions and organisations in receipt of public funds expressing a corporate opinion on the European Union Referendum. However, there are restrictions on organisations whose expenses are met wholly or mainly from public funds publishing certain material relating to the referendum in the final 28 days.
As the independent regulator for charities in England and Wales, the Charity Commission published guidance for charities on 7 March 2016 regarding the forthcoming EU referendum. This clearly sets out the threshold necessary to justify any charitable activity on this specific issue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate of real world diesel emissions for Euro 6 vehicles, relative to the laboratory test limit, was used in the evidential basis supporting her Department’s conclusion that eight air quality zones would not comply with Nitrogen Dioxide limits by 2020 if no action is taken.
Rory Stewart
The modelling used for the air quality plan was based on the best available data and uses the latest COPERT (Computer Programme to Calculate Emissions from Road Transport) (4v11) factors to calculate emissions from diesel cars.
These COPERT factors reflect that there is a difference between laboratory testing of vehicle emissions and real world emissions. They assume Euro 6 diesel cars are, on average, emitting 2.8 times the level of emissions allowed for the Euro 6 standard.
In May, the Government will present the results of its vehicle testing programme (www.gov.uk/government/publications/vehicle-emissions-testing-programme-conclusions) to European Research for Mobile Emission Sources (ERMES), the body responsible for collating vehicle emission data, to inform its updated emissions factors later this year. This will ensure that EU-wide emission factors continue to focus on the latest data updated on the basis of real world testing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many special needs schools offer (a) before-school care, (b) after-school care and (c) both before and after-school care in England; and what proportion of special needs schools each of those numbers represents.
Edward Timpson
This data was collected for the first time in the January 2016 school census. Later this year we will update the school performance tables and plan to publish alongside them information about all schools’ childcare provision including breakfast clubs. This will include information on all state funded and non-maintained special schools.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will estimate the proportion of Countryside Stewardship schemes that will be signed-off before the Autumn Statement.
George Eustice
The application deadline for Countryside Stewardship multi-annual agreements is 30 September. Natural England will be looking to make offers to all successful applicants before the Autumn Statement.