The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-09-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what reports he has received on whether a UK-made cluster munition was (a) found and (b) used in Yemen in the last two years.
Mike Penning
Amnesty International wrote to the Prime Minister on 23 May 2016, and to the Ministry of Defence on 3 June 2016, on the alleged use of UK-produced BL-755 cluster munitions by the Saudi-led coallition in Yeman.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McColl of Dulwich on 2016-01-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the relationship between malnutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene.
Baroness Verma
DFID commissioned the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to undertake a review of the evidence on the links between water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and nutrition in 2012. The review concluded that there was good evidence that WASH has an impact on under-nutrition. At the very basic level, the act of infant and child feeding needs good personal hygiene – hand washing with soap and water, plus good food hygiene. In addition, water is important in that it is generally required to prepare complementary foods. It needs to come from a safe source and then be collected, transported and stored safely. The living environment of infants has to be free from faecal contamination to minimise the risk of ingesting pathogens or coming into contact with intestinal worms.
This review is currently being updated drawing on a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2014 which estimated that 50% of child under-nutrition is associated with repeated diarrhoea or intestinal worm infections as a result of unsafe water, inadequate sanitation or insufficient hygiene. There is increasing evidence that chronic diarrheal disease may inhibit nutrient absorption even if sufficient food is consumed. This latter condition referred to as Environmental Enteropathy is currently one of the subjects of a large randomised control trial being conducted in Zimbabwe with DFID support.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to help small and medium-sized enterprises protect themselves against cyber-attack.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government’s National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) aims to tackle cyber crime and make the UK the safest place in the world to do business in the world. This includes the Cyber Essentials Scheme to protect businesses against common cyber threats and the cyber streetwise campaign which offers simple cyber security advice to small businesses and consumers. In addition to the £860 million investment under the NCSP between 2011-2016, in November 2015 the Chancellor announced a new five year £1.9 billion investment in cyber security to make the UK one of the best protected countries in cyber space.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on smaller bus operators of local authorities franchising bus services; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Jones
I want to ensure that smaller bus operators, who drive innovation and invention, form part of the mix of bus service providers in any future franchising model. The Department’s assessment of the effects of franchising on smaller bus operators will be set out in the Impact Assessment which will accompany the introduction of the Bill.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many appeals against fines to lorry drivers under section 32 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 there have been in each year since 2005.
James Brokenshire
The value of fines issued to lorry drivers under section 32 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in each year since 2005 is as follows:
01/04/2005-31/03/2006 £1,105,103
01/04/2006-31/03/2007 £1,898,866
01/04/2007-31/03/2008 £1,946,705
01/04/2008-31/03/2009 £2,552,490
01/04/2009-31/03/2010 £2,609,737
01/04/2010-31/03/2011 £1,083,390
01/04/2011-31/03/2012 £931,618
01/04/2012-31/03/2013 £890,544
01/04/2013-31/03/2014 £4,070,471
01/04/2014-31/03/2015 £6,490,232
01/04/2015-31/03/2016 £5,249,894
This information is from management information reports. The data held on the Civil Penalty data base does not allow the penalty amounts to be separated between driver’s and hauliers, hence the data provided is the total number of penalties imposed for the period.
The number of appeals against fines to lorry drivers under section 32 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in each year since 2005 is as follows:
01/04/2005-31/03/2006 7
01/04/2006-31/03/2007 8
01/04/2007-31/03/2008 12
01/04/2008-31/03/2009 13
01/04/2009-31/03/2010 9
01/04/2010-31/03/2011 10
01/04/2011-31/03/2012 11
01/04/2012-31/03/2013 0 *
01/04/2013-31/03/2014 24
01/04/2014-31/03/2015 64
01/04/2015-31/03/2016 36
*High Court appeal cases, all appeals were held behind at the time until resolved. Appeals then fell into subsequent years.
This information is from management information reports.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsty Blackman on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Aberdeen North of 1 December 2015, on foreign aid.
Mr Nick Hurd
The Department does not have record of receiving a letter from the hon. Member for Aberdeen North dated 1 December 2015. My office has been in contact with the hon. Member’s office to receive a copy of the letter and we will respond in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-06-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Life Sciences of 18 April 2016, Official Report, column 262WH, what progress he has made in convening a task and finish working group for brain tumour research; and if he will make a statement.
George Freeman
The Department of Health Task and Finish Working Group on Brain Tumour Research is bringing together clinicians, charities and officials to discuss how, working together with research funding partners, we can address the need to increase the level and impact of research into this devastating disease.
The Working Group will be chaired by Professor Chris Whitty, the Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser, and will report directly to me. I anticipate that the Working Group will need to meet in person three times before completing its tasks by September 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK will support an independent, international investigation into alleged breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen at the Human Rights Council.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are pleased that we could reach a strong consensus Yemen resolution at the Human Rights Council. It is vital that the international community continues to be active in supporting efforts to improve the human rights situation in Yemen.
The Government is not opposing calls for an international independent investigation, but, first and foremost, we want to see the Saudis investigate allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) which are attributed to them; and for their investigations to be thorough and conclusive. Saudi Arabia has publicly stated that it is investigating reports of alleged violations of IHL, and that any lessons learned will be acted upon.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of funding for apprenticeships in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 was allocated to apprenticeships in the advanced manufacturing and engineering sector.
Nick Boles
Estimated funding for Apprenticeships in the Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies Sector Subject Area in 2014/15 was approximately £353million, that is, 24.9% of the total estimated funding for 2014/15. This data is not available for 2015/16. Figures for estimated funding come from the Individualised Learner Record and provide an indication of the level of government funding. They should not be treated as actual spend, since spending is not reported by Sector Subject Area.
Information on actual spend is available for the financial year 2014-15 at the link below and shows a total spend of £1.56bn for Apprenticeships.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the threat posed to children by domestic violence; and if she will make a statement.
Karen Bradley
Data showing the total number of women who have suffered domestic abuse in the last five years is set out in the Crime Statistics published on 11 February 2016: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-violent-crime-and-sexual-offences–2014-to-2015/index.html.
Since the 2004/05 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), the number of women aged 16 to 59 experiencing any domestic abuse in the last year has reduced from 1.71 million to 1.35 million (360,000 fewer victims and a fall of 21%) and the estimate of the number of women experiencing any domestic abuse in the last year is the lowest since the survey began.
Latest data published by the Office for National Statistics from the 2014/15 CSEW additionally show that in 46% of cases of partner abuse, a child was present in the household, of which 20% of children saw or heard the abuse.
Data on children referred to and assessed by local authority children’s social services in England in 2014/15 show that there were 197,700 assessments where domestic violence was identified as a relevant factor. This data is only available for 2014/15.
The Government works closely with charities, academics and statutory agencies to assess and address the impact of domestic abuse on children and wholly recognises the life changing impact domestic abuse can have on the lives of children. That is why we have expanded the Troubled Families Programme for a further five years (2015-2020) to work with an additional 400,000 families, including those affected by domestic abuse.
To further address the impact of domestic abuse on victims and their children, we have introduced a new domestic abuse offence to tackle coercive and controlling behaviour, and in England and Wales we have rolled out Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. Improvements have been made to the police response to domestic abuse, and we are supporting multi-agency working which takes a whole family approach.
We will shortly publish a refreshed cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy setting out how we will do more still to support victims and their children. The Government has already announced £40 million of funding for domestic abuse services between 2016 and 2020, as well as a £2 million grant to Women’s Aid and Safelives to support early intervention programmes.