Tag: 2016

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has made available for training teachers to undertake the new key stage 1 and key stage 2 tests.

    Nick Gibb

    Schools are provided with general funding to teach the programmes of study, as set out in the national curriculum, to their pupils and to administer the statutory tests. Teaching the curriculum provides the best possible preparation for pupils to undertake the new key stage 1 and key stage 2 tests.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the steps being taken to consolidate and monitor the current ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh and to prepare the way for a full peace agreement.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are concerned about the recent outbreak of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Minister for Europe, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), issued a press statement on 2 April calling for the sides to halt the fighting and to exercise restraint. The UK strongly supports the work of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Minsk Group Co-Chairs, who have recently visited the region. We will continue to urge the sides to work with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to reach a negotiated peace settlement.

  • William Cash – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    William Cash – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Cash on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what representations she has received from (a) industry bodies and (b) the public on reviewing the treatment of electricity interconnectors under the reformed capacity market; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We have received a number of representations on this topic, most particularly in response to the three formal consultations on this topic over the last three years. A summary of all the responses we received to these consultations are available on the Government website.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to reintroduce the post-study work visa in Scotland.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Her Majesty’s Government announced the closure of the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) category in March 2011 and implemented its closure in April 2012, as part of a package of reforms to immigration requirements for overseas students.

    We closed the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) category because too many individuals in the route were unemployed or in low-skilled work. Furthermore, too many were using the student route merely as a means to work in the UK, without any intention of study, which does not help hard-working people or our educational institutions. We have replaced it with a more selective system.

    We continue to have an excellent post-study offer for graduates that helps us retain the brightest and best overseas students to undertake skilled work in the UK after their studies. In 2015, more than 6,000 international students switched from Tier 4 to Tier 2 from within the UK. This is up from around 5,500 grants in 2014, and around 4,000 grants in 2013. Unlike former post-study work schemes, these students will all be moving into skilled employment with employers who have appropriate sponsorship duties placed upon them.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Oates on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they consider the government of Zimbabwe would need to fulfil, in terms of demonstrating sustained adherence to the constitution of Zimbabwe and a sustained commitment to protecting the human rights of Zimbabwe citizens, before they would provide an economic support package.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK has no plans at present to provide an economic support package to the government of Zimbabwe. As we have made clear, any future decision on new funding through the International Financial Institutions would require considerable further progress on a wide range of reforms –including upholding the constitution and human rights alongside urgently needed economic reforms.

    The UK has made clear that the international community must continue to support the people of Zimbabwe in exercising their democratic rights and in building a free, peaceful and prosperous future. Delivering critical assistance and services to empower poor Zimbabweans is central to this support. No UK aid is channelled directly through the government of Zimbabwe. We only provide direct funding to foreign Governments when they commit to improving the management of public finances, tackling concerns about human rights and corruption and improving domestic accountability.

  • 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 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department were employed to work on human rights in 2014-15; and what the cost of these employees was to the public purse.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    As I said in my published article marking Human Rights Day, human rights work "is the responsibility of all British diplomats". Calculating the proportion of each UK diplomat’s time spent on human rights work, and their associated cost, would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people under the age of 18 in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK were recruited to the armed forces in each of the last five years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    No information is held regarding the number of Service personnel under the age of 18 who were recruited in Scotland alone.

    The figures for the annual intake of under 18’s into the UK Regular Forces as a whole are summarised below.

    Ministry of Defence policy dictates that no-one under the age of 18 can join the Armed Forces without specific parental consent, both for the recruiting process to begin and again prior to joining; nor can they be deployed outside of the UK or to front-line operations.

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    Number of people recruited into the UK Regular Forces under the age of 18

    2, 920

    2,260

    2,130

    2,180

    Notes: Figures reflect intake for the 12 months ending 30 September in each year. Statistics for 12 months ending 30 September 2011 have not been published, however, statistics for 12 months ending 31 March 2011 are available in Tables 5 to 7 of the Annual Personnel Report:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/280426/1-april-2011.pdf

    A detailed breakdown, by age, of the intake to UK Regular Forces can be found in Tables 8 and 8a of our Biannual Diversity Statistics publication:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-2015

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Annex on a Comprehensive Franco-British Partnership on Civil Nuclear Energy, Franco-British Summit, on 3 March 2016, if she will publish the internal review of the Hinkley Point C project’s organisation.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The organisation of Hinkley Point C is a commercial matter for EDF. In the UK it is for developers to fund, build and operate new nuclear power stations.

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to instruct local authorities to ensure that Discretionary Housing Payments are awarded to full-time carers affected by the benefit cap until their exemptions are implemented.

    Lord Freud

    It is important that local authorities are allowed to use their discretion to ensure Discretionary Housing Payments are awarded to those who most require assistance based on local circumstances. We have, however, amended the Discretionary Housing Payments Local Authority Good Practice Guide to reflect that those entitled to Carer’s Allowance or Universal Credit including the carer element should be considered as a priority group for whom Discretionary Housing Payments are specifically aimed.

  • William Cash – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    William Cash – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Cash on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many megawatts of Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine construction is taking place in the UK; and what the (a) size and (b) location is of each of those constructions.

    Andrea Leadsom

    There is currently one CCGT project under construction and commissioning. This has a connection capacity of 910MW and is located in Carrington, Greater Manchester.