Tag: 2016

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with his Indonesian counterpart the restriction on non-governmental organisations working in West Papua.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We welcome the Indonesian government’s commitment to improving the situation in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua. President Joko Widodo has visited 3 times since his election, most recently spending New Year in Papua. During his visit in May 2015, he granted clemency to a number of prisoners and announced the lifting of travel restrictions for foreign journalists and international organisations. Since then, a number of foreign journalists have successfully visited and reported from Papua and West Papua. Our Ambassador in Jakarta last visited Papua in January. As well as raising these issues, he also discussed ways to ensure the sustainable and equitable development of the provinces with members of the police, and religious and community leaders.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria the Government plans to use to calculate each school’s allocation of funds raised from the soft drinks industry levy for school sports.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Revenue from the soft drinks industry levy will be used to double the PE and sport premium for primary schools to £320m a year from September 2017, enabling them to improve the quality and breadth of PE and sport they offer. It will also provide up to £285m a year to enable up to a quarter of secondary schools to extend their school day to offer a wider range of activities, including sports clubs. Further details will be announced in due course.

  • Lord Oates – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Oates – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Oates on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Chancellor of the Exchequer last visited Africa to promote trade, investment and economic development; which countries he visited; and when he next intends to make such a visit.

    Lord Price

    Details of ministerial visits overseas are published on a quarterly basis and can be accessed via the gov.uk website. For security reasons, the Chancellor’s engagements are announced as and when appropriate.

  • Sir Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sir Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Nicholas Soames on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will order a review to be undertaken of the administration and operational effectiveness of NHS Property Services in (a) West Sussex and (b) Mid Sussex.

    George Freeman

    Review of the effectiveness of NHS Property Services’ operations in all areas of the country is an ongoing process by the Company’s Board, which includes a Departmental senior civil servant as a Director, and by officials in the Department’s Commercial Division.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking in response to the outcome of the EU referendum to boost the UK’s inward investment promotion and delivery effort.

    Greg Hands

    DIT Ministers and I have been clear that Britain remains open for business. On 5th September 2016, the Directorate General within DIT responsible for inward investment moved to a new, more focussed operating model to deliver inward investment. This focuses on attracting high-value FDI that maximises wealth creation within the UK in the sectors, places and markets that provide the greatest opportunity.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to include remanufactured paint as a material in Green Public Procurement.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The Government has been engaging constructively with the British Coatings Federation on making better use of leftover paint, including identifying potential regulatory barriers to its recycling and remanufacture and how these might be overcome.

    The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) encourages consumers to recycle and re-use household paint by providing information through the Recycle Now website. This includes a postcode locator which helps pinpoint local Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) that accept leftover paint. The Government’s Innovation in Waste Prevention Fund has also supported a pilot paint re-use project in Cheshire involving local charities, working with HWRCs and housing associations to increase paint donation and minimise disposal. WRAP will publish a summary of the project, lessons learned and a video case study later in the year.

    In terms of public procurement, it is for each Government department to consider sustainability and put this into practice in its own procurement activity. Government Buying Standards do not currently include remanufactured paint. WRAP has recently published a guide on ‘How to Include Re-use in Local Authority HWRC Procurement’.

  • Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people of each gender work in his Department.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    As at 31st December 2015, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had 1874 female and 2444 male paid employees.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of total postings and how many ambassadors have held Operational level (C1) examination passes in the official language of the country to which they were posted in each year since 2006.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We appointed 53 Ambassadors in 2015. Of these 24 were appointed to speaker slots and 10 have an Operational level C1 examination pass. The FCO Language Centre was re-opened in September 2013 to renew the focus and investment in languages as a core diplomatic skill to ensure that we get the right people with the right skills in the right jobs to deliver our foreign policy objectives. The Language Centre gives us a strong platform to grow our language skills as an organisation and develop a pipeline of talent to fill language slots on a continuous basis. To provide statistics for the years 2006-14 would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Nadine Dorries – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many women have died from primary cervical cancer at the age of (a) 20, (b) 21, (c) 22, (d) 23, (e) 24 and (f) 25 in each year since 2003.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2016 to Question 30084, if he will make the Attorney General’s advice available for inspection by the (a) Chief of the Air Staff (b) Deputy Commander of Operations and (c) Staff Branch Air Command responsible for authorisation of the drone strike which killed Reyaad Khan on 21 August 2015.

    Michael Fallon

    No. Military action is authorised in accordance with the Rules of Engagement which I approve in accordance with the legal position.