The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has provided support to the US administration for its remotely piloted aircraft system strikes in Yemen.
Penny Mordaunt
The UK Government has not provided support to the US for Remotely Piloted Aircraft System strikes in Yemen.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether 77th Brigade’s full operating capability has been met.
Penny Mordaunt
Following its establishment in April 2015, 77th Brigade is planned to reach full operating capability in December 2019.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department provides to students with refugee status.
Edward Timpson
The Government is wholly committed to ensuring that refugees who are resettled in the UK receive appropriate support and have a positive experience while they remain in the UK. Children with refugee or humanitarian protection status have access to the education system in the same way as citizen children.
Many pupils with refugee status will be classed as having English as an additional language (EAL). Current school funding arrangements enable local authorities to allocate a proportion of their funding to schools on the basis of the number of pupils in each school who have EAL, and who have been in the school system for a maximum of three years. Local authorities, in agreement with their schools forum, have the freedom to set the pupil rate for this, based on local circumstances.
Furthermore, pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years attract additional funding to the schools they attend in the form of the Pupil Premium. This is worth £1,320 per annum for each eligible pupil in primary school, and £935 per annum for those in secondary school. Pupils who are looked after by the local authority, including unaccompanied refugee children, and those who have left care through adoption or other specified routes also attract the Pupil Premium Plus, at the higher rate of £1,900 per annum. Schools have flexibility over how they use the funding to improve the educational outcomes of their pupil premium-eligible pupils, and are held to account through the focus in Ofsted inspections and the school performance tables on the progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils.
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 recent discussions he has had on the renovation of the official residence and offices of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Secretary-General’s official residence is fully maintained and allowance is made in the existing Secretariat budget to provide ongoing general maintenance. It is custom to refurbish the premises on the appointment of a new Secretary General thus giving a cycle of approximately eight years. The budget for the renovation of the official residence was agreed by the Board of Governors at its meeting in June 2015, before the appointment of Patricia Scotland. Nevertheless, we welcome the Secretary-General’s statement that "any work on Hill Street must represent value for money and no extravagance."
We also welcome steps by the Secretary-General to create a Commonwealth Hub through the shared use of existing premises at Quadrant House. Incorporating the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Royal Commonwealth Society and the Commonwealth Local Government Foundation will help bring these organisations together alongside the Secretariat. It will also help the Secretariat to reduce overheads while obtaining value from existing resources and developing new partnerships to better deliver outcomes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what conditions the Government considers need to be met for the UK to divest itself of nuclear weapons through international negotiations.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK has a strong record on nuclear disarmament. As The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Mr Fallon) set out in his Written Ministerial Statement of 20 January 2015 (Official Report, column 4WS) the Government has met its commitment to implement the changes announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 to reduce the number of operationally available warheads from fewer than 160 to no more than 120.
As set out in the recent 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we consider that our nuclear deterrent is the ultimate means to deter the most extreme threats. The UK will retain a credible, continuous and effective minimum nuclear deterrent for as long as the global security situation makes it necessary.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2016 to Question 23324, for what reasons her Department has decided not to publish A-level data split by type of special educational need or to collect additional data on the outcomes achieved by students who have a disability but not an identified special educational need in 2015.
Edward Timpson
The statistical first release Level 2 and 3 attainment by young people aged 19 [1] includes attainment data broken down by School Action, School Action Plus and those with statements of SEN at academic age 15. The 2015 update will be published in April 2016.
The Revised A level and other level 3 results in England statistical first release does not currently provide SEN or disability breakdowns but, as part of our reforms to 16-19 accountability measures, we will consider if it is possible to provide these breakdowns at national level in the future.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/level-2-and-3-attainment-by-young-people-aged-19-in-2014
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26129, in which constituencies the £380,000 that the Government spent on community organisations preventing female genital mutilation and forced marriage in 2014-15 was spent.
Karen Bradley
In 2014/15, the Government provided over £380,000 to community organisations through the Home Office’s Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Community Engagement Initiative and the Department for Communities and Local Government’s FGM and forced marriage prevention projects.
Many of the projects had regional or national remits, or both, meaning it is not possible to breakdown the project spend by constituency. However, areas covered included:
Birmingham
Leeds
Bolton
Liverpool
Bradford
London
Bristol
Milton Keynes
Cambridgeshire
Nottinghamshire
Cardiff
Oxford
Coventry
Portsmouth
Derby
Rotherham
Essex
Solihull
Exeter
Stoke-on-Trent
Gloucester
Surrey
Greater Manchester
Wales
Hertfordshire
Yorkshire
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department has undertaken a cost-benefit analysis of retaining his Department’s office at St Paul’s Palace, Sheffield.
Joseph Johnson
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 27113 from the Hon Member for Sheffield Central.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the number of pupils recorded in the annual school census is who do not have English listed as their first language in (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools in each year since 2000; what the first language was of those pupils in each such category in each such year; and if she will provide the information by (i) local authority area and (ii) region.
Nick Gibb
The number and proportion of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English in primary, secondary and special schools in England is available at the following links:
For years prior to 2010: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120504203418/http:/education.gov.uk/rsgateway/sc-schoolpupil.shtml
For years from 2010 onwards: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers
These tables contain figures for each local authority individually.
Information is not readily available on the first languages of pupils whose first language is not English. Data for the years requested for local authorities and regions could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral evidence given by Lord West of Spithead to the Defence Committee on 7 June 2016, HC 221, at Question 20, what current budget is allocated to procurement of and building Type 26 frigates; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Philip Dunne
For equipment procurement programmes the cost and schedule is set at the main investment decision, and the Type 26 Global Combat Ships programme has not yet reached that decision point. I am therefore withholding budgetary information regarding the procurement and building of the Type 26 frigates as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.