Tag: 2016

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many meetings have taken place between ministers of his Department and their Saudi Arabian counterparts since 25 March 2015; and at how many of those meetings concerns were discussed about alleged breaches of International Humanitarian Law in Yemen by air strikes.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by actors in the conflict and take these very seriously. It is important that all sides conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into all incidents where it is alleged that IHL has been breached.

We regularly raise the importance of compliance with IHL with the Saudi Arabian Government and other members of the military Coalition. We continue to monitor the situation closely, seeking further information where appropriate.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) raised the issue of IHL compliance with his Saudi counterpart, Foreign Minister Al Jubeir on 22 August. I also raised it during my meeting with Foreign Minister Al Jubeir on 25 August in Jeddah. I also held an open meeting for parliamentarians on 7 September with Foreign Minister Al Jubeir where members from across the House raised questions, including alleged breaches of IHL.

01/01/2023
Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what meetings he has had with representatives of major sectors of the UK economy since he assumed office.

Mr David Jones

Government officials are carrying out a programme of sectoral and regulatory analysis, which will identify the key factors for British businesses and the labour force that will affect our negotiations with the EU. They are looking in detail at over 50 sectors and cross-cutting regulatory issues.

Details of Ministerial meetings will be published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK.

01/01/2023

Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-11.

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the maximum permitted spending by each campaign will be during the final weeks of campaigning on the referendum on EU membership; and what steps the Electoral Commission plans to take to ensure that spending by each campaign is subject to the same limit.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) sets out the spending limits that apply during the regulated referendum period at UK-wide referendums. The duration of the referendum period for the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union will be set out in secondary legislation.

PPERA does not set total spending limits for each of the referendum outcomes; rather it applies spending limits to individual campaigners that take part in the debate.

The Commission is already monitoring the campaigning activities of potential referendum campaigners so that it can identify any emerging issues and offer advice and guidance to those that intend to campaign at the referendum. Once the rules come into force, the Commission’s campaign monitoring will inform the use, if necessary and appropriate, of its enforcement and sanctioning powers where the rules are not followed.

For the EU Referendum, Parliament increased the limits set out in PPERA to take account of inflation. The limits for political parties that register to campaign in support of a particular outcome are allocated according to the party’s share of the vote at the last UK Parliamentary general election. Campaigners that do not register with the Commission are limited to spending £10,000. The new limits are set out in the table below:

	EU Referendum Bill spending limits for a referendum held before 31 December 2017	2015 UK general election vote share
Limits for designated lead campaigners	£7,000,000	–
Limits for political parties with:
>30% share of the vote	£7,000,000	Conservative (36.8%)
>20-30% share of the vote	£5,500,000	Labour (29%[1])
>10-20% share of the vote	£4,000,000	UKIP (12.6%)
>5-10% share of the vote	£3,000,000	Liberal Democrat (7.9%)
	£700,000	SNP (4.7%) Green (3.8%) DUP (0.6%) Plaid Cymru (0.6%) Sinn Fein (0.6%) SDLP (0.3%) UUP (0.4%) Plus all other parties that stood at least one candidate at 2015 UKPGE
Limits for other registered campaigners	£700,000	–

[1] Labour Party share of the vote is adjusted because votes cast for joint candidates are divided by the number of parties the candidate is standing for i.e. Labour / Co-op candidates (PPERA Sch14, para 1(4))

01/01/2023

Lord Lansley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lansley on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to make permanent the restriction on HGVs overtaking between Junctions 9 and 10 of the M11, following the trial.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

There are currently no restrictions on HGVs overtaking between Junctions 9 and 10 of the M11 and there are no plans to introduce restrictions. A permanent overtaking restriction on the uphill sections of the M11 between Junctions 8 and 9 is planned to be implemented in late 2016/17 subject to the completion of statutory processes and the availability of funding.

01/01/2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many new apprenticeships were created in East London in 2015.

Nick Boles

Information on the number of Apprenticeship starts by region, Local Authority and Parliamentary constituency is published as a supplementary table (first link) to a Statistical First release (second link). Latest published data includes Apprenticeship starts reported to date for August to October 2015. Data up to and including January 2016 will be published at the same link following publication of the next Statistical First Release on 23^rd March 2016.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493777/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xls

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

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01/01/2023
Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits to the Calder Valley of a high speed rail link between Leeds and Manchester.

Andrew Jones

Since the publication of the March 2015 Northern Transport Strategy, the Government and Transport for the North have been taking forward a programme of work on an ambitious Northern Powerhouse Rail vision. Parallel work is also taking place to understand the capability of the North’s road network.

Detailed analysis has not yet been carried out on the potential benefits of high speed rail links between particular locations across the Pennines. However the recent Budget allocated £60million to help develop the options for a High Speed 3 route between Leeds and Manchester.

01/01/2023
Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2015 to Question 18992, on military bases: religious buildings, what recent steps his Department has taken to fully implement Parliament’s sanction of same-sex marriages.

Penny Mordaunt

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 reflects the Government’s commitment that no religious organisation or representative will be forced to conduct or participate in same sex marriages.

Recognising the established position of the Sending Churches which does not allow for the conduct of same-sex marriages within military chapels, I have recently directed that a pilot project is implemented to explore registering Ministry of Defence sites for civil marriages and partnerships; this includes same-sex unions. The timing of the project is being finalised but I anticipate that it will start shortly and run for a number of months

01/01/2023
Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-06-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to adjust the pupil premium funding for schools to take account of the additional responsibilities proposed in the Children and Social Work Bill in its current form.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Children and Social Work Bill proposes a new duty on schools to appoint a designated teacher to promote the educational achievement of previously looked after children.

The pupil premium plus is additional funding for schools to support the educational needs of looked-after children and those who were previously looked after but who have left care through an adoption, Special Guardianship or Child Arrangements Order. The Spending Review confirmed that the pupil premium will be protected at current rates over the course of this Parliament. This protection applies to the pupil premium plus, which will continue at £1,900 per pupil.

Pupil premium plus funding for pupils who were previously looked after is allocated directly to schools and it is for the head teacher to decide how best to use it to support the needs of these pupils.

01/01/2023
Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the funding gap between research spending on adult autism and other health conditions.

Nicola Blackwood

The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including adult autism. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the potential impact of the proposal on patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.

Research currently funded by the NIHR includes a £0.8 million study entitled Supporting adults with high functioning autism and asperger syndrome: mapping and evaluating specialist autism team service models, and a £0.4 million study of guided self-help for depression in adults with autism spectrum disorders.

The Department’s Policy Research Programme has recently funded a project which aimed to synthesise both research evidence relevant to low-level support for people with high functioning autism and information on current practice and service provision in England. This research was undertaken by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York and the Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University College London.

01/01/2023
Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the objectives of the Ministry of Defence projects (1) Strike 155, and (2) Project Congreve.

Earl Howe

The Army is undertaking a scoping project known as ‘Medium Wheeled Gun System’ to examine 155mm calibre towed and wheeled self-propelled options to provide a medium weight fire support capability within the future Strike Brigades. At the concept stage it was previously known as Strike 155; no decisions regarding the choice of system have yet been taken.

Project Congreve was a study conducted by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and initiated in 2014. Its objective was to determine options for all future surface-to-surface fire systems capability. The work on the Medium Wheeled Gun System has been informed by Project Congreve and the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

01/01/2023