The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Woodcock on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department conducted its most recent review of the procurement process for the Successor submarines.
Mr Philip Dunne
All Ministry of Defence programmes are routinely subject to regular review as part of the standard approvals and scrutiny process. The most recent review of the Successor programme was produced in December 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many former students have been arrested and detained for remaining in the UK beyond the term of their tier 4 student visa in each of the last two years.
James Brokenshire
In the time period 1 October 2013 to 30 September 2015, 2920 students are recorded on Home Office databases as having been arrested as Section 10 Overstayers. Of that number 2100 are flagged as having been detained.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2016 to Question 19716 and 18 February 2016 to Question 26688, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) average and (b) total cost to the public purse of (i) appeals heard in the First-Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) which have a Home Office representative and (ii) appeals heard in the First-Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) which do not have a Home Office representative in each year since 2009-10.
James Brokenshire
The information requested is not held centrally by the Home Office and can only be collated at disproportionate costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the average length of time was that an apprentice stayed on an apprenticeship in 2015.
Nick Boles
Estimates of the average length of Apprenticeships, overall and by Sector Subject Area, are published as a supplementary table (first link) to a Statistical First Release (second link). Latest published data in this table is for the 2013/14 academic year. Data for 2014/15 will be published at the same link in due course.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with HM Revenue and Customs on the level of prosecutions relating to cross-border fuel smuggling and laundering.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
Prosecutions relating to cross-border fuel smuggling and laundering are a matter for HM Revenue and Customs, whose policy is to arrest individuals where there is evidence that they have been involved in fuel fraud, as long as this is proportionate.
The Northern Ireland Executive, under the Fresh Start Agreement, is implementing additional measures aimed at tackling the impact of criminality and paramilitarism in Northern Ireland. That includes the establishment of a new cross-jurisdictional joint agency task force with a focus on a range of crimes, including fuel smuggling and laundering.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage better customer service in insurance companies that allow for consumers to make free claims.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules.
The FCA’s Insurance Conduct of Business Sourcebook (ICOBS) sets the conduct standards required of insurance firms in relation to their business which aim to ensure consumers are treated fairly. This includes provisions relating to the handling of claims by insurers. ICOBS states that insurers must handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim, and appropriate information on its progress; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people working for his Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.
Sir Alan Duncan
No member of staff of the Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) or its Executive Agencies who is directly employed is paid less than the living wage.
The FCO defines zero-hours contracts as a contract of employment which does not specify a fixed number of hours per week, and has no guaranteed minimum number of hours. The FCO uses this type of contract to cope with fluctuating demand and/or retain specialist expertise no longer available in the current workforce. For example, we bring back retired FCO officers with relevant skills/experience to act as sensitivity reviewers or VIP visit liaison officers.
Our centrally held records do not enable us to differentiate between staff on zero-hours contracts and those on contracts with a fixed number of hours. To provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.
We do not hold a record of contract status for staff employed by companies providing outsourced services to the FCO.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to (a) support the development of an effective market in cyber insurance products for small businesses and (b) encourage the establishment of standards within that insurance industry.
Matt Hancock
The Government is committed to making the UK one of the safest places in the world to do business online and we recognise the role cyber insurance can play in helping to raise security levels in all businesses, including SMEs.
In March 2015 we published a report on joint initiatives between Government and the insurance sector to tackle cyber risk. The report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cyber-security-insurance-new-steps-to-make-uk-world-centre
The Government also chairs an insurance industry working-group to look at key issues around supporting the development of the cyber insurance industry.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bernard Jenkin on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in her Department are working on matters related to (a) European policy, (b) the future of Europe, (c) reform of the EU, (d) the renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU, (e) the EU referendum and (f) the consequences of the EU referendum; how many full-time equivalent staff are working on such matters; what the (i) staff and (ii) other cost of such work is; what proportion of that work is undertaken by such staff on (A) communications, (B) strategy and (C) policy; whether her Department has established any specific unit or units to deal with those matters; to whom such (1) staff and (2) units report; whether her Department has issued guidelines to staff on those matters; and if she will make a statement.
George Eustice
The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain, to ensure we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe, including the renegotiation and referendum.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Colleen Fletcher on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is taking part in cross-departmental work to promote stability and good governance in fragile and conflict affected states.
Mr Desmond Swayne
Yes. DFID plays a key role in delivering the UK’s national security objective to build stability overseas, including in fragile states and regions. Our approach is set out in the Government’s National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review, which is publicly available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-security-strategy-and-strategic-defence-and-security-review-2015
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