The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what evidence the Government holds of terrorists linked to Daesh or Al Qaeda crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Libya.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of reports in the public domain that terrorist groups, including Daesh, have an ambition to infiltrate migration routes from Libya. We continue to monitor the situation closely.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Tugendhat on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the mean time was between application for payment and receipt of payment of the (a) Basic Farm Payment and (b) Single Farm Payment to individual farms in Kent in the financial year 2014-15.
George Eustice
We do not hold information on mean time taken between the application for payment and a receipt of payment for the Basic Payment Scheme and the Single Payment Scheme in England.
Like-for-like comparisons cannot be made as the scheme rules and consequent administrative checks are different.
As of 10 March 90.5% of farmers (1,661 of 1,835) in Kent had been paid their BPS claim.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the tendering process was for the Government’s EU referendum leaflet; and what the cost of that leaflet was under each cost heading.
John Penrose
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14th April to the Hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex on 14th April.
All external suppliers used were on existing Government procurement agreements, which have been awarded in compliance with the relevant procurement Regulations.
The Government will comply fully with the statutory restrictions in place from 27th May.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2016-05-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of powdered or vaporised alcohol and its availability.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government is taking action to ensure that alcohol in a powdered or vapourised form is subject to controls under the Licensing Act 2003 through a clause in the Policing and Crime Bill currently before Parliament.
This amends the definition of alcohol to cover its form in any state. We are not aware of powdered alcohol being sold in the UK. Vaporised alcohol is sold as a novelty item and its sale has not been widespread across the UK. Licensing authorities treat it in the same way as liquid alcohol for licensing purposes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-07-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of teachers left that profession (1) less than one year from starting teaching, and (2) within five years of starting teaching, between 2011 and 2016.
Lord Nash
We recognise that it is vital for schools to be able to retain good teachers – that is why we have made policy interventions in the areas that teachers tell us matter most such as improving pupil behaviour and reducing unnecessary workload.
The Department publishes statistics showing the percentage of qualified teachers who enter teaching within a year of completing their training and who remain in service each year afterwards. This information is available in Table 8 of the ‘School Workforce in England: November 2015’ statistical release which was published on June 30th 2016.
The latest statistics show that 87% of qualified teachers that entered service during 2014 were still in post one year later. The following table shows the one-year retention rate has remained within one percentage point of this level during the last five years.
|
Year qualified |
Recorded in service by |
Still in post after one year |
|
2010 |
November 2010 |
87% |
|
2011 |
November 2011 |
88% |
|
2012 |
November 2012 |
88% |
|
2013 |
November 2013 |
87% |
|
2014 |
November 2014 |
87% |
The latest available statistics also show that 70% of qualified teachers that entered service during 2010 were still in post five years later.
|
Year qualified |
Recorded in service by |
Still in post after five years |
|
2006 |
March 2007 |
73% |
|
2007 |
March 2008 |
74% |
|
2008 |
March 2009 |
74% |
|
2009 |
March 2010 |
72% |
|
2010 |
November 2010 |
70% |
Over the longer-term five year retention rate has remained stable, of the cohort of newly qualified teachers who entered teaching in 1996, 71% were still teaching in the state-funded sector five-years later.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which private consultancy firm her Department holds a contract with; what the value is of each such contract; and what services are being provided by each of those consultancy firms.
Rory Stewart
Detail on DFID contracts is available via the Contracts Finder website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent representations he has received from charities and families on the effectiveness of the operation of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976.
Caroline Dinenage
One piece of Ministerial correspondence has been received in the last six months concerning the family of a deceased person affected by the 1976 Act.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Saudi Arabian government on tackling the spread of Daesh in the Middle East.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We regularly hold discussions with Saudi Arabia about the threat from Daesh. Saudi Arabia has been at the forefront of international efforts to defeat Daesh and was one of the first countries to participate in air strikes against Daesh in Syria. The King and the religious establishment continue clearly and publicly to condemn Daesh and its poisonous ideology, and to emphasise that Daesh do not in any way represent the teachings of Islamic faith.
The Saudi Arabian Government is working to reduce the threat that religious extremists pose in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. It has a comprehensive set of laws in place to prevent terrorist financing, which it enforces vigorously. We welcome the recent announcement of the creation of the Islamic Military Coalition which, among other things, aims to help Islamic countries to counter the threat from terrorism. Regional and Arab countries are best placed to tackle extremism and confront Daesh on the ground.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports his Department has received on alleged mistreatment and torture of British citizens in detention in the United Arab Emirates since 2011.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Consular Directorate is aware of 37 cases of British nationals who have made allegations of torture or mistreatment in detention in the United Arab Emirates since and including 2011. The FCO takes all allegations or concerns of torture and mistreatment seriously and takes action appropriate to the circumstances of each case, including raising these with the Emirati authorities where we have permission from the individual.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2016-04-12.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s policies to tackle bank fraud and scams; and if he will make a statement.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government takes all types of fraud, including those targeted at banks’ customers, extremely seriously.
The Home Office is the lead Government department on crime, including fraud, and crime prevention overall. In February 2016, the Home Secretary announced a new Joint Fraud Taskforce. The Taskforce is a collaboration of banks, law enforcement and Government. This is the first time these organisations have come together to tackle fraud, and particularly to focus on those issues that have been considered too difficult for a single organisation to manage alone. The Taskforce seeks to identify the issues that will make the biggest difference to our collective fight against fraud.